Atlanta Hawks: Larry Drew says Joe Johnson must ‘combat’ tough D like other stars
After Game 3 J.J., frustrated with the offense grinding to a halt against Chicago’s aggressive D, said he would “force the issue” Sunday. Basically Joe doesn’t think L.D.’s share-the-ball philosophy is the right way to do it even considering all the double teams faced by he and Jamal.
According to Synergy Sports Technology, Joe has used 26 isolation possessions against the Bulls out of 59 total isos for the Hawks. He’s scored 22 points on those 26 possessions.
Joe’s efficiency on those plays has declined with each game in the series.
In Game 1, Joe used 12 iso possessions and scored 14 points with 5 of 8 shooting, four free throws and two turnovers. In Game 2, Joe used six iso possessions and scored four points with 2 of 5 shooting and a turnover. In Game 3, Joe used eight iso possessions and scored four points with 2 of 8 shooting.
Joe was already gone when media were allowed access to the locker room today but L.D. addressed Joe’s frustrations:
“They are playing him physical. If he’s not being double teamed, they have climbed up in him. He is just going to have to combat that. There are a lot of key players on teams that other players play physical against and they just combat it. There are a lot of key players that get double teamed and they play out of double teams. A lot of playing out of double teams is not trying to beat double teams but making plays and you have to show a willingness to give the ball up and trust your teammates. If you continue to try to beat the double team by yourself you are playing into the opposition’s hands. We did a good job with that against Orlando. Orlando ran a very similar [scheme], the game plan was to take it out of his hands, double-team him. We made the right plays out of it. When you are playing against a team that is going to roughhouse you and play you physical, you have to combat that. A lot of these great players around the league, they face it every single night. You have got to look at how they play you, watch film, combat it. Don’t put yourself in situations where they can constantly be up on you. Draw fouls. That’s one of the things we need to do more of vs. that type of pressure, when they are playing like that.”
Could J.J. help himself by making quicker decisions against pressure?
“Without a doubt. When you know teams are playing you the way they are playing Joe, you have got to do things faster. That was something we put a lot of emphasis in at the start of the playoffs against Orlando is for him to do things faster. They are not going to let you and just jockey around with it. They are going to be on top of it right away. You have got to do things a lot faster. Your moves have got to be quicker and then just up into your shot. Just jockeying around trying to create space and go one-on-one against a set defense the way that they play him, chances are it is going to be tough for him. But if he does things just a little quicker–coming off screens, looking to shoot the ball right away–those are the kind of things that free you up.”
But is J.J. comfortable playing that way considering his deliberate style?
“Comfortable? I don’t know. Capable? Yes. He has shown the ability to come off screens and shoot the ball. Certainly I have seen him go into moves a lot quicker. I don’t know how comfortable he is doing it but I know he is capable.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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253 comments Add your comment
Rim Hog
May 8th, 2011
9:21 am
Lil Dang & Yannick Noah scrate schoolin dese Hawks. JJ,Horford,& J. Smith shows zero energy. dey looks like Zombies out dere.
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
9:24 am
@slim
“If Luol Deng was guarding Al Horford. Al would average 31 and 16 and draw doubles every time.”
I doubt it. Luol Deng is physical
Slim
May 8th, 2011
9:30 am
I can’t believe Drew went away from the big lineup. Firstly, we beat them before with it and came back from a 18 point deficit.
This is incredible, if Deng was guarding Smith in Game 3 with all those dunks and transition plays he would have fouled out. Marvin is just another version of JJ. He is a pure shooter. But can’t create a drive to the rim for free throws or capitalize everytime from 3.
PLEASE make an adjustment for Josh at the 3, sorry Damien must sit unless he wants to play the 2. Yesterday Memphis had 6′9.5 Shane Battier, a 260 cannonball PF in 6′9 Zach Randolph, and a 7 footer in Marc Gasol.
They shoot, miss and Shane Battier crashes and rebounds for the open shot.
Larry Drew is just like Stan Van Gundy in thinking that Josh Smith can overcome our lack of athleticism and size on the boards. Josh Smith is getting tossed like a ragdoll.
All we can do is flop and there is only so many times one can flop before Joakim has 20 rebounds.
Slim
May 8th, 2011
9:41 am
@JeJe
Shorter people are able to get under people’s legs but lol no Deng is not.
Josh Smith dominated him and by all draft accounts they are both 6′8. Do you remember when Noah was injured Josh beasted him for a triple double? Hawks were beating Bulls by 35 points and such?
the reason was we had Josh, Marvin, and Horford and they had Taj Gibson, Hakim Warrick, Tyrus Thomas, Luol Deng, and Brad Miller.
Now they bulked up their frontcourt and we still think Josh Smith/Al Horford is Charles Barkley (funny because Charles Barkley shot many jumpers).
Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jason Collins with Pachulia. I think there is some conspiracy or nobody wants to hurt Marvin’s feelings or Damien’s feeling but goddamn, 2nd round again?
Do we really want to not pay Jamal? We can win and then let him walk. Do we want to blow up the team?
Lakers losing by 16 is a red flag. Hawks losing by 25 is run of the mill. Small ball wooo! Josh Smith will dunk us to the promised land, He can go coast to coast and make the assist but we can’t play him at the small forward spot because he looks to much like Lebron with a post game!
Marvin’s 3 for 10 shooting is much to valuable to substitute him for a defense and rebounding unit!
truely sad franchise. This series can be a step in the right direction but not playing a 3 as a 4 and a 4 as a 5.
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
9:47 am
“The doctors said on the scale of 1 to 3, with 3 being the worst; it was a 3,” Boozer said. As for suggestions he should sit for the rest of the Hawks series to prepare for the conference finals, Boozer laughed. “I’m going to play,” Boozer said. “I’m doing what I can to help my team win. And my teammates and my coaches want me out there.” Chicago Tribune
LOL they already have the Bulls advancing.
Boozer had 6 rebounds the other night WITH TURF TOE.
THE GUY IS CLEARLY HURT. WHY ARE WE LETTING HIM GET REBOUNDS?
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
9:50 am
Slim,
Marvin has invisible games on a nightly basis yet the coaches will NEVER confront him. Scoring 10 points [on a good night] and 4 or 5 on an AVERAGE night apparently is adequate for this team..
SMDH
If we do not go with a big starting lineup tonight, the series is over
We are getting destroyed on the boards by a guy with turf toe and another guy we hear Horford loves going against
Magic Johnson
May 8th, 2011
9:51 am
Because the 5 (center) and power forward are interchangeable.
Can Josh Smith play center? no Larry Drew he cannot beat Noah without going off the dribble.
How about we put some size in the post. Grab some boards,
And run the fast break. You know where Josh Smith, Horford, and Teague can DUNK??
Or lets settle for nonathletes lineup. Horford and Josh grab their 14 rebounds as a 4 and a 5 and then pass ahead for the missed jumper?
Which will it be? small ball or tall ball?
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
9:57 am
We are on track to lose in the 2nd round for THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW.
This is NOT an improvement over the last 2 years that we beat the dinosaur Magic in the first round.
if we lose in the 2nd round, I consider this season a COLOSSAL failure and request that management shakes up this entire “core.”
These idiots refused to trade Marvin for Devin Harris. LOL.
When is Marvin ever going to be hold accountable? he had 10 points in a game against Orlando (game 6) and people here act like he just won back-to-back MVPs
SMDH
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
10:24 am
If we get blown out tonight, these will be the players’ quotes:
Horford (on Twitter): Tough one tonight! Gotta regroup and go steal one in Chicago. Go Hawks!
Joe Johnson: We got our @$$es handed to us
Marvin: The first quarter left a bad taste in our mouths
Magic Johnson
May 8th, 2011
10:50 am
Marvin is not as good as Jason Collins, a big man will always be able to impact the game physically.
But come on from a skills and PROduction standpoint its not even conceivable why Marvin is starting or playing the stretch 4, or why Joe is the small forward (no free throws or double teams here) before Smith who posted up the 6”10 Turkoglu last week and gets to the line against Deng.
I MUS WRITE
May 8th, 2011
10:51 am
Wow Boozer has turf toe -i really couldnt tell the way he dunked on josh the other night. Has anyone noticed that marvin knocks down shots when the game is already out of reach. Cant believe Taj Gibson was a second round pick. Dude is a player unlike our 05 #2 pick. I wouldnt be mad at all if we traded 2 or 3 of our starters,its just time
I MUS WRITE
May 8th, 2011
10:57 am
By the way we havent been playing well because Al’s socks are too high,Josh makes ugly faces,JJ looks like he doesnt care,marvin has a “big ol booty” and Jamal is too thin- observations from my lady friend…………..I swear -women lmao
drmaryb (*_-)
May 8th, 2011
11:19 am
680 ESPN
Says Boozer say, “I have torn ligaments on both sides of my big toe, but I will play the Hawks tonight.”
Just, WOW!
Rod from College Park
May 8th, 2011
11:20 am
“If only Marvin wasn’t this black hole of suckocracy all these alternate lineup configurations wouldn’t even need to be discussed. Forget living up to his draft status; if he could provide half the contributions Tony Allen does it would be a major improvement.”
Preach!!!!!
drmaryb (*_-)
May 8th, 2011
11:21 am
Find out which toe it is and stomp on it!
terrell
May 8th, 2011
11:24 am
Teague/Joe/Josh/Al/Collins
If it aint broke, dont fix it. Why go back to that old lame azz lineup?
drmaryb (*_-)
May 8th, 2011
11:27 am
Duct Tape!
Duct tape the Duck to his locker seat and leave both his azzes in the locker room! I would rather see Damien backed up by Josh Powell.
Buck Beleau is on 790 saying, “Drew should punch Josh in his chest ala Phil for not giving the ball to the PG, even if he does go coast to coast and score! When will a coach in this town punch Josh for this nonsense year in and year out?”
____________
Preach Buck!!!!!!!!!!
terrell
May 8th, 2011
11:28 am
The Joe/Marvin/Josh/Al lineup has played out like 8-track tapes.
dj dascorpian
May 8th, 2011
11:28 am
H-E-A-R-T is what the Hawks don’t have. There is a certain humility to have heart. Everyone can see that this team, this organization has no heart. Mike Fratello’s Hawks as flawed as there were had heart. The curse came the day one Wilkens let go another Wilkens. You never give up a player like Nique. The Hawks need a superstar. There isn’t any on this team. We can start with Dwight Howard. A lot of people think he may me headed for LA. That may be true. But he is from Atlanta, and Atlanta will not have the $$ to offer him because of it’s committment to J.J. I think that offering that kind of money to J.J. was the most idiotic management moves that these Hawks have dealt that made the KONCAK trade look like a good deal. Now the Hawks are stuck, because other teams don’t want J.J. or won’t take on his hugh contract-esp. when they see little ROI for all he thinks he’s worth. Look at the Falcons, they once were sorry-too, but look how they cleaned house. Someone rich enough has to buy this franchise and fire everyone to start over from scratch. Start with a new owner, general manager, scouts, player-personnel, etc. Draft some college prospects-don’t get high school players-look at J.S. As a matter of fact. Get rid of J.S. while you can get something for him. Look at the salary structure. Also dump Horford-the honeymoon is over. Marvin “booty-azz” Williams also has to be traded.
Magic Johnson
May 8th, 2011
11:29 am
@MC
has Drew made any adjustments to the lineup. Because Joe Johnson forcing shots is not going to help the rebound disparity.
All it would do is play into the rebounding differential and take other players out of the game.
If we take Marvin out for Collins who doesn’t shoot there are more shots to go around (Bill Russell philosophy).
Not to mention the extra rebounds we got from having 3guys moving bodies in Horford, Smith and Pachulia.
Are the Hawks really trying to win because from Game 2 to Game 3 there were no adjustments. Only Josh reigning in his shot selection.
When Josh reigns it in everyone still sucks there are no double teams coming from Josh as the 2nd biggest guy in our lineup (PF) we need to go back to Orlando series lineup.
Horford and Williams/Josh are incredibly small frontline.
Magic Johnson
May 8th, 2011
11:37 am
Buck Beleau ought to shut up and mention how that is what small forwards who play out of position do to draw double coverage.
I used to play an undersized 4/5 position and u need
a) to have a jumper so u can drive and get to the foul line.
b) be super heavy to move bodies
c) push the ball in transition to take advantage of speed
By the way who is the PG because Teague, JJ, and JC are all on the floor at the same time. Teague is guarding Korver and has no Center to play pick and roll with. Only pick and pop guys and the inefficient Marvin Williams in the corner.
:::::
“One common thread between all kinds of small forwards is an ability to “get to the line”, that is have opposing players called for committing shooting fouls against them, as fouls are frequently called on the defense when offensive players “take the ball hard” to the basket, that is, aggressively attempt post-up plays, lay-ups, or slam dunks. ”
The Hawks kept the same lineup that the team used Tuesday night against Portland — guards Hinrich and Teague, forwards Joe Johnson and Josh Smith and center Al Horford. Johnson was asked the last time he played small forward. He replied: “Probably never.”
March 16, 2011
Jason Collins may not benefit entirely from (mostly) playing alongside Al Horford and Josh Smith,
HOWEVER Josh Smith, as a defensive small forward, sure benefits from playing alongside Al Horford and Jason Collins.”
http://network.yardbarker.com/nba/article_external/breaking_down_josh_smith_as_a_small_forward/4212776
Josh Smith w/ Horford & Collins
Poss OffEff DefEff Margin
512 109.2 97.9 +11.3
terrell
May 8th, 2011
11:46 am
If we woulda taken CP3 instead of huggabutt, we’d have some heart. Oh well. The Marvin Williams curse continues.
dj dascorpian
May 8th, 2011
11:55 am
If the Hawks seven figure players would play like their salaries dictate-then all would be good. Since they are not; it’s like stealing. Google the Atlanta Hawks salary structure. How can you expect to sell the “there is no i in team” when you look at the disperity in the top figure earners-which is half the team with the salaries of the rest-which is mid-six figures? The top earners should outwork the others-but that’s not the case. They know that they are locked in their contracts-financially-and therefore just happy to have an NBA career. That’s the attitude I see, and it sucks. Win-Win, they say in their minds. I got this $$, nice home, nice ride, sh#%, I’m da boss! See ya next year! I’ll always be a Hawk! Nice City, can get to my suburban crib in 45 minutes from downtown. Even when we lose-we win! Let’s just be slackers and do just enough to get the fans off our back. If this team whas in NY, WTF-it wouldn’t be tolerated.
Magic Johnson
May 8th, 2011
12:10 pm
@djdascorpion
New York got swept, I think they would have won if they had Collins and Pachulia starting instead of Shawne Williams and Amare Stoudemire at center.
Amare scores way more than Al. U see how deluded this franchise is? They love Marvin Williams as a 3 and hate Josh Smith because they value bricked 3s over the ability to post up for high percentage shots at the rim over and over and over and over again.
People want to use “size doesn’t matter, it’s heart and hustle” well I can guarantee you if Garnett was 6′8 his hustle wouldn’t matter
he’d have to shoot over centers and power forwards and rely on going coast to coast to score. Just like Josh.
As is Garnett is 7′1 and plays the power forward. Hawks are so blind to size and matchups and are deservingly losing.
Shame they couldn’t have sat our centers against Orlando, then we could have heard its “about energy” and “not enough shots to go around” earlier.
I love Marvin to death but he cannot be part of the starting frontcourt. It is silly that we are even arguing this. He’s 6′8 Jason Collins and Pachulia are 7′0.
3 games in and Luol Deng has yet to face Josh Smith. Joakim Noah has 16 offensive rebounds in 3 games and we are blind to the size.
Maybe Rose wouldn’t score 44 if we had u know a 7 footer in the paint alongside Horford and Josh on the wing coming to swat him?
Rusty
May 8th, 2011
12:14 pm
Drmaryb i am glad that you’ve finally came around to realizing the truth about ld & jt. Do you still think that JJ is a great player?
Najeh Davenpoop
May 8th, 2011
1:02 pm
“Horford (on Twitter): Tough one tonight! Gotta regroup and go steal one in Chicago. Go Hawks!
Joe Johnson: We got our @$$es handed to us
Marvin: The first quarter left a bad taste in our mouths”
LMAO you forgot Josh Powell who is the funniest out of all of them, he always has these positivity tweets after games even though he never plays and on the rare occasion that he does play he is usually a major factor in the team losing.
O'Brien
May 8th, 2011
1:12 pm
Najeh,
By the way, the Hawks picked Shelden Williams 16 picks ahead of Rondo..
If Hawks had picked Rondo, would he have been the same Rondo we see in Boston today? I doubt it, not with Mike “I want a vet PG running the show” Woodson running the show.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 8th, 2011
1:14 pm
“Wouldn’t it be crazy if Marvin was traded to another team and actually ended up blossoming into a pretty good player?”
If this actually happened I would pretty much throw out everything I think I know about basketball and start over. Usually players who underachieve due to the situation they are in at least show occasional flashes of being good. What the hell has Marvin ever shown? His handles are terrible, he can’t finish at the rim, his jump shot is inconsistent, his defense comes and goes, he has one average post move, he’s not a great passer, and he doesn’t consistently crash the boards. I can maybe see a good coach turning him into a Bruce Bowen/Shane Battier type of role player who can consistently knock down open shots and defend, but even that seems like a long shot at this point. Really that’s all he needs to be consistently for the Hawks in order to be an asset rather than a liability, and he can’t even do that.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 8th, 2011
1:17 pm
“If Hawks had picked Rondo, would he have been the same Rondo we see in Boston today? I doubt it, not with Mike “I want a vet PG running the show” Woodson running the show.”
Oh yeah I know. Especially with Rondo’s inability to hit a jumper, he would have been collecting ass splinters here, and would have probably had to go somewhere else to be successful — kinda like Teague if this Kirk injury hadn’t forced LD to play him.
O'Brien
May 8th, 2011
1:22 pm
Drew said the Hawks would adjust their defense against Rose.
“You can’t guard him the same way three games straight,” Teague said. “He’s the MVP. He’s going to start picking you apart.”.
This suggests to me that LD made no defensive adjustment against Rose all 3 games.
At halftime of Game 3 against the Bulls, Hawks coach Larry Drew pointed to one column of the box score in particular.
It wasn’t the one that showed Bulls guard Derrick Rose’s 21 points or Chicago’s 10 offensive rebounds. Instead, Drew noted that Hawks starters had only one personal foul among them — and that was by point guard Jeff Teague, the smallest player on the floor.
It was Drew’s way of saying the Hawks had allowed Rose to drive to the basket without penalty during Chicago’s 99-82 victory Friday..
And what does Rose do in the second half? Go out and drop another 23. And wasn’t this the same conversation LD had with the players when Rose went off in the second half of a regular season game in Chicago? Nobody fouled him hard.
As a player, doesn’t pride kick in and tell you to send a player to the FT line? Why does your coach have to tell you? The Hawks just dont have it in them to be physical, and I dont think any amount of coaching will change that. We need to bring in more physical (less finesse) players.
The Game Has Changed
May 8th, 2011
1:48 pm
This is do are die tonight. I think our problem is we are so worried about Rose instead of doing our own thing. Just like Dallas. They dont care what Kobe does, they are more concerned about what they are doing on offense. That was our problem last year against Orlando. Now we need to go with a big lineup. Joe, Marvin, Josh, Al and Collins. On every posession, I would put Joe or Marvin in the post. You have to make Rose work on the defensive end of the court . If we dont its over
Michael Cunningham
May 8th, 2011
1:54 pm
@truthspitter: “Lastly, I have heard this MC guy has problems with standing up like a man. I am back and you will have to stand up and tell the truth. MC, was Joe taking a shot at Teague when he said all we did was run pick and roll.”
we missed you.
Michael Cunningham
May 8th, 2011
1:56 pm
@niremetal: “MC, Have you ever asked Josh what he thinks about fans loudly groaning and shouting “nooooo” when he goes to take a jumper?”
yes. he claims he doesn’t hear them. of course he does but that’s what he says.
Jerry Albert
May 8th, 2011
1:57 pm
“Lack of commitment” means lazy.I don’t support lazy.
Michael Cunningham
May 8th, 2011
1:59 pm
@tjhook: “Mr. Cunningham, has LD considered bringing in Etan Thomas to help with the rebounding? He would help on the offensive boards and definitely deliver tough fouls to Rose and frustrate Noah and Taj Gibson. The lineup could use an attitude adjustment.”
sounds like it could be Twin or Zaza, not Etan.
Nate ArchiBALL
May 8th, 2011
2:00 pm
@ Buddy Grizzard “Seriously why is nobody talking about the fact that all star al has attempted two free throws in this SERIES?”
— This is a season long trend – there were 40+ regular season games where ASA attempted zero freethrows….
Michael Cunningham
May 8th, 2011
2:03 pm
@Magic Johnson: “@MC has Drew made any adjustments to the lineup. Because Joe Johnson forcing shots is not going to help the rebound disparity.”
well, won’t know this until game time, but he says he’s considering “big” lineup with Twin or Zaza.
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
2:05 pm
We are on track to lose in the 2nd round for THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW.
This is NOT an improvement over the last 2 years that we beat the dinosaur Magic in the first round.
if we lose in the 2nd round, I consider this season a COLOSSAL failure and request that management shakes up this entire “core.”
These idiots refused to trade Marvin for Devin Harris. LOL.
When is Marvin ever going to be hold accountable? he had 10 points in a game against Orlando (game 6) and people here act like he just won back-to-back MVPs
SMDH.
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
2:05 pm
LOL @ Josh claiming to not hear the crowd.
Wow – denying his major flaw
He was dominant in the post the other night (he has been dominant in the post in the entire Playoffs for anyone who hasn’t realized), YET STILL KEEPS TAKING JUMPSHOTS
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
2:07 pm
How the hell could Joe take a shot at Teague? Teague is the only guy who has shown up all 3 games of this series. This is the guy LD REFUSED To use (I think LD still hates Teague) in the regular season. I think Teague played like 5 minutes the game after that monster game @ home vs. Portland and then got a DNP-CD the game after that.
It’s amazing LD yanks Teague as soon as he messes up, but Marvin makes it 4-on-5 vs. Chicago and LD does nothing
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
2:11 pm
I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS TEAM COMMIT ONE HARD FOUL THE ENTIRE SERIES.
Jeff FOSTER alone was responsible for about 4 altercations in the previous series. Indiana played them hard as hell the first 4 games. We have done very little in games 2 and 3
WHERE ARE THE HARD FOULS
WHERE ARE THE FLAGRANTS
THIS IS A SOFT BASKETBALL TEAM
EVERYONE ON THIS ROSTER BESIDES MAYBE ZAZA IS SOFT AS TOILET TISSUE
Time
May 8th, 2011
2:25 pm
If the Hawks drafted Rondo or even CP3 years back instead of whoever, it wouldn’t have mattered. Rondo would have been just like Jeff Teague, unable to get off the bench even though he might just be the best player on the whole team. CP3 would have probably played, but would have been ruined by a system and culture that promotes softness from everyone. You wouldn’t have seen the electric guard running all over the court scoring and setting up his teammates that you see from CP3 now. You’d have seen him turn into a walk it up the court, pound the ball into the ground in a spectacular dribbling exhibition, then jack up a 3 with the clock running out type of player. You know, just like every other Hawk has become.
And I”m one that has defended these guys for years. I kept thinking they’d figure it out and all that talent wouldn’t just be wasted. It is wasted talent. Trade Al and Josh now for whatever you can get. Call up the rich Russian in NJ and beg him to take Joe. Get rid of the entire lot of them save Teague and start over.
I could deal with them if they did stupid stuff like iso and jacking up bad shots if they did so with HEART. But watching them embarrass this city any further is more than this lifelong Hawks fan can take.
Magic Johnson
May 8th, 2011
2:33 pm
@MC thanks for replying. But Drew cannot be blind to the fact that in Game 2 Joakim Noah had 19 and 14.
Have the staff recognized they are doing the same to Josh as they did to Dwight? Pulling Josh away from the basket on pick and rolls and 1 particular out of bounds play so Rose can drive to the rim unafraid?
This is just another reason, besides rebounding, that will help the Hawks.
Also how is it a gametime decision? Do they always practice with multiple lineups?
Collins gives us more size. Now we have Josh Smith, Horford and Collins in the paint at least 2 of them at all times.
We sit on the shooters and limit Noah and Boozer to no offensive rebounds and Josh and Horford become point forwards and get to run more (the center and power forward are usually the last ones back as they are the only rebounders on most teams).
The point guard is always ahead of the pack both on offense and defense (Teague and Rose)
Hopefully Josh runs hard and seals Rose/Deng on fast breaks and we establish the Bulls in early foul trouble. Stay solid and with more rebounding we get a lead and in the 2nd qtr Rose
either rests or plays tired.
And that is when we strike with a fresh Marvin to push the lead up and give some guys a rest.
Either way try to keep Joe out of the SF position. Josh is supposed to draw doubles in halfcourt and transition for Joe to knock down 3s.
Luol Deng has long arms and can contain Joe without fouling from that position. Luol Deng needs to get in foul trouble.
+Josh at the SF will disallow Deng from guarding Joe. So Bulls will have to choose will Josh or Joe go to work on Bogans/Korver/Brewer.
+Luol Deng plays 40+ minutes. That’s more than Rose and Noah who needs their rest. You could argue Deng is their glue guy.
Josh Smith, Collins and Horford get those boards and run!
smh at Teague saying the Bulls won 2-1 and the Hawks have nothing to lose.
northcyde
May 8th, 2011
2:36 pm
Rusty
May 8th, 2011
12:01 am
Nortcyde we’ve going with JJ handling the ball & playing selfish isi ball. JJ is not good enough,attacks too slowly always taking bad forced shots & passes the ball to someone on the perimeter with 5 seconds left accomplishing nothing,that why ld favored mb so JJ could play iso.he just isn’t good enough ,waits to long ,plays soft never picking up any free throws. I hate to see jt playing so passive & deferring the ball to JJ & jc. JJ & jc’ s style of basketball play turns into a horrible slow paced game with nothing but a crazy offense style of one on one basketball.
**************************
JJ is probably the most unselfish “star” player in the league, because he does just the opposite of what you’re talking about. A “selfish” ballplayer does not only take 12 shots in a game. If anything, he defers TOO MUCH, and doesn’t get more opportunities to score. Part of that is that he plays passive at times and doesn’t decide what he wants to do quick enough. But selfish? That’s booolshid.
JJ and JC’s style of basketball has won us 5 playoff games this year, because it was those two who have come up big in all 5 of our wins. These other guys that you want the ball passed to, have failed this entire playoffs. So instead of worrying about HOW we play . . worry about WHAT is going to get us a win.
Ball movement doesn’t mean a damn thing, if the guy who takes the open shot misses it. At that point, all you’ve done is move the ball, only to still come up with an empty possession.
Just like the others who hate or doubt JJ, you were silent when he and Jamal came up big in Game 1. And you didn’t have much to say in Game 2, because JJ didn’t play bad in that game either. But as soon as he had an off game in Game 3, here you and others come, criticizing the dude. If anything, he should be criticized for not being aggressive ENOUGH, not for being selfish or less of a team player.
If you and others don’t think that JJ needs to score 20+ points in this series for us to beat the Bulls, I want you to devise a plan that will get us points in other areas.
Do we let Jeff Teague have complete control of the offense, and shoot 20 times?
Do we move the ball so that Horford, Smith and Marvin can take wide open jumpers? ( that they’re not making )
Should JJ pass the ball as soon as the double team comes?
Should the team not try to get the ball back to JJ, when he passes it off?
What is your gameplan Rusty? Matter of fact . . what is anybody’s game plan? We don’t have a post player who can post these guys up on the inside and score. We don’t have any spot up shooters that can consistently make open shots. So what is the plan, if they’re going to take the ball out of our most potent offensive players ( JJ and Jamal )?
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
2:41 pm
If we were a tough team like Boston or the Lakers, we’d have someone like Perkins (before trade) or KG play Boozer VERY physically and commit hard fouls and destroy him.
Instead, we are just being f!@#ing butterflies out there
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
2:48 pm
LD is tanking away this entire series.
We were tied 1-1 and got outrebounded 58-39 in game 2
What did he do to adjust?
HE USED THE EXACT SAME STARTING LINEUP IN GAME 3 AND WE GOT OUTREBOUNDED BY 13.
Why THE HELL is Marvin still starting? He had ONE REBOUND as the starting SF. Luol Deng had TWELVE in the previous game.
WHERE THE HELL IS DAMIEN WILKINS?
LD is such an idiotic coach. I have 0 trust in him at all. The only thing he did for this team the entire year was tell Collins to lose weight and sign him.
Other than that, he has been a complete failure. I can type for 2 hours about every flaw in his forgettable tenure as Hawks coach
JeJe
May 8th, 2011
2:53 pm
LD had 2 days to adjust after being out-rebounded by 19, and WENT BACK WITH THE SAME PLAN and we got DESTROYED the exact same way 2 days later.
We are getting owned on the boards by a !@#$ing cripple
Worldwide Clyde
May 8th, 2011
3:01 pm
I remember that playoff series against Miami a couple of years back. Everytime DWade would drive to the hole someone would put him on his back. I can recall one play in Atlanta where Solomon Jones put him on his back. We got the bigs so we need to use their fouls.
Worldwide Clyde
May 8th, 2011
3:02 pm
JeJe for Blogger of The Year
Daddy Long Long
May 8th, 2011
3:05 pm
I hope you are right Rico! Need some hard fouls tonight…