Atlanta Hawks: Season’s over
- The Hawks ran up against the Bulls’ defense at its best and they had no response. “That’s the best defense I’ve seen,” Jamal said.
- The Bulls are a relentless, disciplined, and physical defensive team. “They don’t care about their man being open,” Josh said. “They help each other. They understand the ball needs to be stopped first.”
- It’s not easy to score on the Bulls consistently over a seven-game series but the Hawks were relentless and disciplined on offense only occasionally during the series. Which, of course, also is the way it went for most of the season.
- “I think we just got away from the things that are successful for us,” Al said. “We got some looks and they just didn’t fall and after that it was kind of a snowball effect on offense.”
- “We made things tough on them with our defense,” D-Rose said. “We had to because they have a lot of great one-one-one players.”
- Josh was the only aggressive and active guy early on. Al finished off a poor postseason with a miserable performance. J.J. and Jamal couldn’t do anything against Chicago’s pressure.
- Teague was limited to 22 minutes because of a wrist injury. The Hawks missed his offensive punch. “He’s a tough kid,” Al said. “He wasn’t the same when he came back.”
- Joe and Jamal weren’t the same since Game 1. Especially Jamal, who wasn’t as accustomed to being double teamed and never really seemed to figure out how to handle it.
- “We burned them in Game 1 and they pretty much said, ‘We are taking you two out the rest of the series and make someone else beat us,’” Jamal said.
- That’s a pretty good bet against the Hawks, especially since the Bulls could bring in waves of reserves and not see their defense drop off much, if at all.
- Because Jamal and Marvin offered little, the benches ended up being Asik, Brewer, Korver, Watson and Gibson vs. Zaza.
- “They contest everything but what goes under the radar is the depth of their team,” Al said. “They just kept coming. Their depth just wore us down eventually.”
- In the first five games the Bulls had been able to count on D-Rose and one other guy, usually Deng, on offense. Deng got his tonight and Boozer also got in on the act by eating up Twin early rolling to 23 easy points.
- The Hawks took Chicago to six games after getting swept in the second round of the last two seasons. “The last game could have been 3-2 us easily,” Jamal said. “It could have gone either way. We battled with the best team in the East. No one really gave us a chance.”
- But it was another sour ending with a beatdown in an elimination game. “I think we were fighting,” Al said. “I would have been disappointed if we gave up and quit but you’ve for to give them credit.”
- The key questions for the Hawks in the offseason include ASG’s search for buyers or investors, Rick Sund’s status and Jamal’s pending free agency.
- The Hawks have to decide if this “core” group has gone as far as it can. “You have to bring Rick Sund down here for that,” Josh said. “I’m just a player. All I can do is play.”
- As things stand now they don’t have a lot of financial flexibility but there’s a lot of uncertainty with the expiring CBA and the ownership situation.
- “We have a good core but I think we need more, as you can tell,” Al said. “It was their depth that got us.”
- “We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Joe said. “Hopefully we keep adding pieces and keep making moves and keep getting better. We keep taking steps. It’s not been easy. Looking back at my first two years it was miserable.”
- At least the Hawks know Teague can play. “I told him to come back from this summer with the same attitude and the same intensity he had this series,” J.J. said.
- Sorry you couldn’t have a better ending, blog people. I’ll check in tomorrow after the exit interviews.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
241 comments Add your comment
northcyde
May 13th, 2011
5:18 am
Najeh . . the NBA is still about who has the most talent. And most important, it’s about who can create their own shot. As I pointed out on Hawksquawk, if Teague got control of the offense, I don’t doubt he could get his points. But the defensive focus would be all over him, with Teague now seeing the multiple double and sometimes triple teams that JJ sees right now.
What does Teague average if he had control of the offense? 11 points – 5 assists? 13 points – 7 assists? 18 points – 9 assists?
He had a great series, no doubt about it. But he also shot in the mid 50% as a PG. No way he shoots that during the regular season.
So unless Teague becomes a great playmaking PG, you’re going to have to add another scorer to the Hawks, if you get rid of JJ or reduce his role.
To me, the main problem for the Hawks ( the main problem for years actually ), is the lack of a low post game that can get us points in the paint, or more trips to the FT line. The fact that Horford doesn’t have a legit post game absolutely kills him and this team as a whole. That prevents us from properly playing inside – outside basketball.
Even if Teague has control, JJ still has to be at least #2 option in the offense. Smith and Horford can’t create their own shot, nor do they have good post games. Teague needs space to shoot his jumper. Moving JJ to the 3, and playing him from 20 feet and in, while occasionally posting him up, is probably the way to go, if Teague has control. Also put him in the corner to shoot the 3.
But you’re kidding yourself if you think that Smith and Horford has enough offensive skills to warrant being a scoring option above JJ at this time. Until those two develop a low post game, they’ll always be dependent on someone setting them up for a jumper or layup.
superiorblogman
May 13th, 2011
5:25 am
Najeh: For as good as Curry is its not like he goes to the rack all night. Give me Teague and Monta running pick and roll all night and that is a bigger nightmare than Derrick Rose running pick and roll all night. Plus, I agree about David Lee, i think he is just a stat stuffer, he has been in the league for 6 years or so and never seen the playoffs, but I will also say he rebounds so well for his career that there is not a big difference between he and Boozer, neither do anything on D but rebound, but you see Boozer looks okay when you put him on the court with Noah, Gibson, or Asik. Put Lee on the court with Josh and he want look so bad on D.
superiorblogman
May 13th, 2011
5:31 am
Northcyde: You really never make valid points. Go away, you are one of the few idiots that maintain that Hinrich move was a good trade. You also maintained for the longest that Teague was not any good. You have no idea about talent so it does not matter that it wins out in the NBA because you like the Hawks organization have a problem recognizing it
RA
May 13th, 2011
5:49 am
Now, honestly, I’ve been one of the biggest defenders of Marvin Williams since he got here. He’s 6′9, can defend on the perimeter, and his upside was always off the charts. THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, he coudln’t even start this postseason over an aging Jason Collins. Now, I’m sorry, but it’s time to move him and bring hin a starting small forward or move him and move Joe Johnson down to the three. Either way, it’s time for Marvin to go. You can only live on potential and flashes for so long.
STRETCH
May 13th, 2011
6:40 am
We all know that one of 3 people need to be moved. JJ, Marvin or Jamal.
We all know that 3 things need to happen: Teague is the PG, JS needs to STOP shooting and play more post and get bench help.
3 things well all know: JJ = Robin, ASG = Looney Tunes and 40 years and still no ECF.
3 things that should happen: get a real center, get a real SF and fix the management issues and move forward.
Lp
May 13th, 2011
6:46 am
The problem to me is having to many guys who think they’re scorers. Our team and starters had no balance. For instance look at the bulls in their starting line-up they had 3 guys they want to get shots the rest play their role. With the normal line-up we had 5 guys expected to score which has never worked to my knowledge. We have no role players in our line-up. And the Joe talk is crazy, he won’t make 20 mil until down the line right now he makes around the same amount he made last year. And if y’all actually think no one would take him y’all are crazy. Right now as I see it you have to get complimentary prices to Joe Jeff and Josh. We need a good big man period. We need knockdown shooters we need role players. Here everybody want to be the star.
Atlanta Fan
May 13th, 2011
6:49 am
I really don’t see a good future for the hawks there ownership has no clue Rick Sund has been fired at Seattle,Dallas,and the bucks for being a lousy general manager Atlanta should make it four. Larry drew should never never been hired with no head coach experience plus he work for Mike Woodson another lousy coach The hawks should offer Doc Rivers the coach and gm job.
WIlly
May 13th, 2011
6:55 am
After that big first game win over Chicago the Hawks lost 4 of 5 by double digits (13, 17, 12, 20) – sound familiar? (nice Orlando series though).
Youalreadyknow
May 13th, 2011
7:37 am
Same result but at least you did play harder and better than last year’s playoffs…Not mad at ya, thanks for that 120% return on my playoff tickets investment.
terrell
May 13th, 2011
7:37 am
When your late 1st rd picks(Josh/Teague) have more heart and desire than your top 10 lottery picks(Joe,Jamal/Marvin, and yes Big Al Horford, you’re asking for trouble. No heart = FAIL.
Buddy Grizzard
May 13th, 2011
7:42 am
“Time to stop featuring him like he is Kobe and start giving him a role more suited to his abilities.”
Excellent post and theory Najeh, but realistically I don’t think Joe will ever accept being third banana on this Hawks team. He’s always going to feel like he’s got to shoot a sufficient volume to get his numbers or he’s not justifying his contract. The best scenario for the Hawks is to find a desperate team like NJ or Dallas with a rich owner and trade him for whatever we can get.
Because those of you who want to blow it up and rebuild… we can’t rebuild as long as we have the boat anchor of JJ’s contract around this franchise’s neck. Maybe if Joe gets traded to Dallas in the offseason he can happily be second banana to a true superstar like Dirk. But he’ll never defer to Teague and Josh, and those two are the focal points for the Hawks going forward.
Double Zero Eight
May 13th, 2011
7:43 am
The only coaches that can have an impact on this
core are Larry Brown and Doc Rivers. I doubt that
either will want to deal with ASG.
We will be playing “Fantasy Basketball” by coming up
with possible trade scenarios that we would like to
see for the next several months.
Al needs to hit the weight room. Jamal and Marvin need
their walking papers. We need a center. We are stuck
with Joe.
Joey
May 13th, 2011
7:49 am
Maybe Chicago will take JJ home with them!?!?
vava74
May 13th, 2011
7:51 am
It’s been a great blogging season which fortunately gave us a little better tasting meat in the playoffs to chew on.
Personally, my view on the Al-Josh situation is:
Soft guys don’t change. Stubborn guys sometimes do (see Z-Bo’s improvement).
IMO, you can’t coach to extract toughness out of softness, but you can coach a stubborn guy to stop doing stupid stuff (Woody made Josh stop launching 3’s and for me that is enough evidence).
Al failed miserably in these playoffs and his Puff Forward game without Nowitski’s moves and range is worthless in the playoffs.
I was blind, but now I can see. Diaper Al will never take us anywhere. He may still be useful, but I would not rely on him anymore. He looked scared, shot more airballs in the playoffs than in all 4 regular seasons together, was abused by (and failed to out play) another softie (Boozer), subs (Azik, Gibson, …) and smaller nobodies/middling players (Bass, Anderson, …).
Josh just needs true quality coaching: authority, accountability and quality x’s and o’s. He showed up in game 4, made a good effort in game 5, brought us back yesterday a couple of times with his hustle on D.
Did he damaged us as well? Yes, but as I said above, his miss guided efforts were corrected last year, so my guess is that I think he can still improve.
LD brings a bit of x’s and o’s (in comparison with Woody) but the harsh reality is that both Woody and LD are only suited to be assistant coaches.
Our most significant off-season move should be getting a new coach here.
ADELMAN? Pretty please with sugar on top?
I know it won’t happen and the consequence will be that next season, these cats will do the same number: coast during the season thinking that they can turn it on in the playoffs.
Well, it worked this year, but it was also kind of a fluke and they don’t realize it.
Our roster is actually fine IMO, with obvious problems, but fine. However, I would trade Marvin for a couple of 2nd round picks, even if they end up being worthless at least we would ditch his salary.
As for Jamal, I would not mind keeping him for the money he deserves ±3 million and provided that he got the daylight his game deserves (ie. in a series like this one against CHI, him playing like he did after game 1 and still averaging 30mpg was pathetic).
And you know why our roster is not that bad, IMO?
Look at how effective was CHI’s second team? Where those guys so much better than ours? Better than our starters? No, it was coaching, pure and simple.
During game 5 Thibs surprised me a great deal. I thought that he was a type of coach that gets too intense and loses his men after a while.
But when CHI was starting to play a bit shaky and lost the lead his instructions to his men were:
BREATHE, JUST BREATHE. Sometimes not giving instructions is the best possible route. He seems to understand that.
That is something that for instance SVG would never say to his men and that is why he loses his men so often.
A final word on Teague. I have been extra supportive of Teague. These series were very good for his confidence and revealed the kind of player he can be.
He is not there yet because I am not blind: he benefited from the attention that JJ and Jamal were getting and from having Korver checking him.
So, I don’t think it’s realistic to think he will average 17ppg next year (I am discounting yesterday since his injury took his game away), but he will certainly be able to put up 12/13 whilst filling up the rest of the stat sheet with good stuff just like Josh does.
By the way, both Josh and JJ will benefit greatly with Teague starting.
I think JJ will have no problem in giving Teague the ball handling duties and will improve from his over reliance on his ISO plays (he accumulated bad habits but proper coaching as mentioned above would do the trick).
Josh will benefit from the faster tempo game which Teague brings and could regain his J-Smash game. I can see Josh dunking alley hoops on people again just like Howard does with Nelson playing the pick ‘n roll.
Again, it’s all about coaching. We have the personnel to extract much more.
If we are forced to keep Diaper Al, I would consider this line up for next year:
Teague, JJ, Josh, Al and Hilton
Hinrich, Wilkins, Zaza as the main subs
All of the above are above average defenders/hustlers (with Diaper Al being softie but disciplined) with Hilton being the main question mark (I think he showed some skill defending Howard and could be a younger more mobile Collins for us – a spot starter).
Sy, Jamal and Marvin (if we retain him/not trade him) and Collins as spot subs.
All these have particular skills which may be useful (with Marvin being the probable exception, unless he all of the sudden morphs into a bigger version of Rickey Pierce).
People will say: Josh at the SF slot? I will say yes, a different kind of SF. Again, it’s all about X’s and O’s – Josh would post up smaller guys and would still play minutes at the PF slot.
The key would be the dynamic rotations on our front court positions, since I would continue to play JJ heavy minutes at the SF slot where he can be effective against SFs who are typically slower and have less handles to cause him problems on D.
Diaper Al would continue to play his soft game at the Puff Forward and Center slots, playing at the high post/elbow and baseline BUT I would not mentally rely on him so much.
Hopefully, with Teague putting pressure on the perimeter, we would have a lot more transition baskets and Al and Josh can fill the lanes with quickness and authority, so it’s not that Al would be worthless at all.
Floze
May 13th, 2011
7:58 am
Thanks hawks for a great playoff run. Let’s get that isolation out of our system and learn a big lesson from the bulls. Defense and efforts trumps talent in the playoffs. In other words, don’t take a play off.
Just a thought. How many transition baskets did these guys prevent? What a well coached and focused team.
lewis
May 13th, 2011
8:09 am
Al is just really ineffective at the 4
Dunno why Drew kept him there the entire series when Josh was eating Booz’s lunch
tremaine
May 13th, 2011
8:10 am
Exit interviews
Horford- Please work on your lower body strength so you can be able to box out better. Boozer made you look like a 12 year old.
Josh- Work on anything that doesn’t include a jumpshot.
Marvin- GO KILL YOURSELF1
Joe- work on passing out of a double team.
Teague- Good job kid. Continue to work hard and get better.
no justice
May 13th, 2011
8:18 am
The sad part is;
they are all out partying.
[I suspect they haven't felt one moment of vexation]
While we are on the blog tryin’ to figure out this mess
Maybe all need to get a life!
no justice
May 13th, 2011
8:21 am
Teague will not start next year. That is my prediction.
Mike is back
May 13th, 2011
8:22 am
MC, I think LD and Hawks garnered a LEVEL of respect with their performance in the playoff…now it time to get down to business.
The decision on Jamal shouldn’t be that difficult…hopefully Sund want vacillate on that one too long.
MC, Thanks for the great commentary on the season…this should be a very interesting off season for the Hawks!!
THANK YOU HAWKS FOR DISPLAYING SOME CLASS AND PRIDE…UNDER THE IRE OF DEFEAT…they continued to fight throughout the series…I RESPECT.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
no justice
May 13th, 2011
8:23 am
Next prediction, Josh will not be traded.
Trojan
May 13th, 2011
8:24 am
Teague is a player.
LD is a poor judgement of potential.
Sund is a average GM that will create average teams.
Al Hortford is simply scared or bad. He was horrible. He disappeared.
JJ needs to use his talents as a team mate. He is not someone who should dominate the ball.
JC is simply a streaky scorer who will be ok in certain offensive situations. He plays no defense.
Come on Sund suprise us.
phil
May 13th, 2011
8:27 am
No one with any sense expected a different outcome…the picture of pouting, whiny, lazy Josh on the first page tells the exact story of this “team” and why it hasn’t and can never win…
I don’t know why I’m wasting my breath yet again, but until JJ and Smith get the boot, the results are only going to get worse….Marvin is a non-player and should simply be dumped for nothing…in fact, just getting rid of him for nothing would vastly improve the team….
in fact, who cares anymore….this team has never won anything that mattered….EVER….i’m embarassed by them….any chance the Thrashers can take them with them when they leave town shortly? Why should we care when the overpaid brats on the team don’t care?
phil
May 13th, 2011
8:28 am
Tremaine – don’t joke about suicide….that’s just dead wrong.
phil
May 13th, 2011
8:32 am
A final thought, for now!
I thought Al was a serviceable player….I found out in these playoffs that the man plays scared when it matters. It really surprised me to see him just get the crap kicked out of him play after play….what the heck happened to him? Oh wait…it IS Atlanta where collapse is synonymous with the word Hawk…
Gator man
May 13th, 2011
8:39 am
Please trade for D. Howard, they can have J. Smith and 4 other players, show us that you are serious about getting past the 2 round.
priest
May 13th, 2011
8:42 am
Can’t win a championship being cheap.The Lakers,Celtics,Heat,Spurs..they spent the money to get the peices they needed to win..the hawks are just too cheap.120mil is just too much money for a guy who shows no intrest in the team,in winning,or for the game.Joe is the star of the team,but Josh is the heart of the team.
forwardmo
May 13th, 2011
8:44 am
PERSPECTIVE – there are 30 teams in the nba. the last three years the HAWKS make it to the second round (top 8). there are only 4 teams that make it to the next round.
this year the hawks beat orlando (a team that destroyed them last year) in the 1st round. they give the #1 SEEDED BULLS all they can handle for the 1st 5 games. game 6 hawks miss everything, chicago makes everything. nights like that happen.
if the talent can be harnessed (BIG IF, BUT IF) teague, smith, horford, and johnson are capable starters. hinrick, wilkins, and zaza are solid off the bench. know we cant afford him BUT DWIGHT HOWARD and a couple more bench players get hawks to FINAL FOUR where anything can happen. until next year.
Jamal Crawford
May 13th, 2011
8:44 am
Obviously, game 2 wasn’t their best shot!
JeJe
May 13th, 2011
8:48 am
No thanks to Brandon Roy.
2 months ago a doctor said he had 2 years left, and that’s with playing 20 mpg every other night
priest
May 13th, 2011
8:50 am
WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO TRADE THE ONLY PLAYER WHO GIVES 100+% EVERY TIME HE STEPS ON THE COURT..ALL THIS TRADE JOSH TALK..’COM ON SON.HE GIVES HIS ALL..DID’NT SEE JOE DOING THAT OR JAMAL.
JeJe
May 13th, 2011
8:52 am
priest,
I don’t think SAS has ever gone into luxury tax to be where they’ve been at.
Sund still thinks we’re modeling our team after the Spurs/Pistons.
NO. They were PHYSICAL teams. We are not
WE DID NOT COMMIT ONE HARD FOUL THIS ENTIRE GOT-DAMN SERIES
forwardmo
May 13th, 2011
8:56 am
jamal would be good off bench too as long as he hits his jump shots.
Dell B.
May 13th, 2011
8:59 am
The same old song, I’m not suprised, I was born and raised here in ATL so what is new, we lose again, Falcons and Hawks are loosers, thank god after sooooo many years of loosing the braves finaly figured it out, but we here in Atlanta should be use to it by now, how many Titles have we won in our history? I may be wrong but i think that it is 1# WE ARE NOT A PRO SPORT CITY, and it is ashame because I love Georgia and would never leave my city or have anything bad to say about it but the Pro teams SUCK! No need to respond because I don’t give a damn what you think anyway because you know that I’m right. Peace
Frontman
May 13th, 2011
9:02 am
RA,
Joe Johnson can’t play the 3. The last thing he wants is more contact. Soft, man… way soft…
forwardmo,
This is the ceiling for this team. Joe Johnson’s contract will hang around their necks like an albatross for years. This team is not going to get better.
After the way ASG has handled the Thrashers, I couldn’t be happier. I was hoping for a 40-point blowout loss; instead, I got a 20-point blowout loss.
To the entire ASG: you’re completely out of your league. Sell the teams to real owners. B@st@rds…
El Bravo
May 13th, 2011
9:02 am
After these playoffs three things became painfully obvious to me:
1) Jamal and JJ can not coexist. We can not have two shoot-first SGs that have an aversion to passing the ball. That stagnates the offense too much. Jamal has to and will go.
2) Smoove and Al can not coexist. We can not beat the elite players with two power forwards on the court because we give up too big an advantage on the boards. One of them has to be leveraged for a true center.
3) LD is not the coach for this team. It is obvious that this team does not listen to LD. He waits for players to “address their on issues”. In fact, I would say that all of our starters regressed this season; JJ had a problem adjusting to the new offense and his production decreased by 3 PPG, Smoove increased his attempts from the perimeter and his effectiveness decreased from 0.50 to 0.47 FG%, Jamal went from being instant offense from the bench to a crapshoot that scored 4 less PPG, Marvin went from being a serviceable player to being a complete non-factor and Al’s disappearance act during the post-season was mind-blowing.
I believe that our best course of action is two package Al, Jamal (sing and trade) and Kirk for a true center and a dump contract, otherwise we will be the same team next year than the 2011 version. This group is very close to their ceiling.
Hoops
May 13th, 2011
9:15 am
Hawks Fans,
There is no reason to live in the past. The moves that have been made or the ones that could have been made are behind us. Let’s go forward.
This is what I see. The Hawks have been a top 4 team in the east for 3 years now. Not bad, but not what we want. I do not know the best moves to make. I am like most of you, I have an opinion.
Teague has shown that he can be really good when given an opportunity. I think we have our point guard with Hinrick as back up. Do we resign Crawford? Fo how much?
Do we keep the core together for another year and end up in the top 4 in the east for another year? Or do we check into a trade that will break up the core but give us a better chance to move forward? What about Josh Smith for Nene in a trade? The salaries work.
Have you noticed that when Horford plays the PF position that he score. But when he plays the center position, he does not score. Most will agree that Horford is a keeper. We need to trade someone for a 5 that can play!
Just my thoughts!
DinasaurFenton
May 13th, 2011
9:16 am
I know who blew the game for the Hawks. It was their enforcer, Zsa Zsa Pachulia. The Hawks had grabbed the momentum in the third quarter and were making a ferocious comeback, they had cut the lead to 9 points, and now the Hawks had the ball. Zsa Zsa grabbed the rebound and started SWINGING HIS ELBOWS LIKE DWIGHT HOWARD and connected with a Bulls player, giving the ball back to the Bulls to temporarily stop the momentum. THE HAWKS NEVER GOT THE MOMENTUM BACK AFTER THAT AND THEN JUST QUIT AND GAVE UP. I would really be reluctant to re-signing Zsa Zsa because it is evident to me that the guy doesnt want to play basketball, but instead would rather just pick fights with other players. Zsa Zsa if you want to fight so much, JUST QUIT BASKETBALL AND BECOME AND PROFESSIONAL BOXER. This way you wont have to cost your team a crucial, critical game and instead you could just get your head beat in every bout. Thanks Zsa Zsa. Thanks alot.
LT
May 13th, 2011
9:23 am
A lot of talk of moving players, and this may be needed, but until the Hawks find players that show heart, effort, on a consistent basis like th Bulls, all the moves in the world won’t matter, just the same result. Seems like this is what Atlanta professional sports is all about on a collective basis, being pretty good, getting close, then folding when the chips are down, then the next day making a bunch of excuses. Bulls came in saying things like, “this is the most important game of our lives.” Never hear this from Atlanta teams, not just the Hawks. Think about it, over 150 seasons as a whole in professional Atlanta sports history in the Big 4, and ONE championship! Pretty pathetic; been here for over 30 years, and just tired of hearing it, and watching one collapse after another in every sport, then the excuses come.
Getting beat when playing your best, and laying it on the line in all facets is one thing, and very acceptable, but the lack of effort, poor coaching, watching one team after another quit for many years in all sports is incredible. It is like a disease in this town, don’t think anyone (all 4 teams) really thinks they can win a championship. It lis like they all think that is for other cities, and teams, hard to figure. I am sure there is a lot of rebuttal about this, but the records, history, facts speak for themselves. No, not a profesional athlete, but don’t give me that crap about how, “never played the game.” I have eyes, and a brain and see how other teams in all sports, in many cities don’t fold, make good decisions, and although lose sometimes can say it was ALL left on the court or field at the end. Atlanta teams for years can’t honestly say that, if they are being truly honest. Just tired of watching this over and over; Falcons, Hawks, Braves, Thrashers. O.K. fire away and tell me how wrong I am, and that I don’t have the right to be that critical, but before you do, check the “amazing” records/championships of all Atlanta teams and how they finished their seasons over the years. Division, Conference, or any level of championship is not what I am talking about, those are great, and important, and necessary to go all the way, but not the true champions. Yankees aren’t known for League or Division titles, know for winning the most World Series titles. For example, Braves recently won 14 Division Titles, but ONE World Series winner, people don’t remember Division Winners, quick, name the National League Western Division winner in 1997, or the AFC North winner in 2003, without looking it up, yep, who cares, Titles are where it’s at, and we have ONE. Yehaw, OK, just tired of all this, I’ll shut up now, and go back in my hole.
doc
May 13th, 2011
9:23 am
northcyde they changed it up on us and we couldnt adjust. they went inside to boozer and away from rose. it was obvious the strategy changed and we had no adjustment. we lost bad and rose had the night off in many respects figuratively speaking.
as far as what to do this summer? do what should have been done last year. get a real coach with experience(wont happen because overall LD (though he cant take us close to the promised land and has a contract that the owners wont want to swallow and didnt fair too poorly based on what he had to work with), get a big to compliment zaza, al, josh and to get someone at the three hole a a very good back up who can defend and one more shooter.
as far as josh need to figure out which position he is going to play and have him build his body for it. he played some pretty good three’s this year and held his own defensively and folks didnt think he could do it lord knows he is better than marvin at it. if he is to be the four then he needs bulk.
al needs bulk no matter where he plays either three or four and an interior game not the increase range he said he needs to do. if he had shot well from his range he thinks he has we would have been golden.
it is probably reasonable to let jamal walk if he wants a similar contract. we know what he can and cant do and he is not worth now what we are paying him as al steps into his contract.
someone needs to either have a come to jesus meeting and find out if marvin wants to pay nba ball or go back to school and send him packing. his whole game needs work and that cant be done hanging at chapel hill.
the bench is thin and was thin and has to get deeper or maybe the coaches have to get better. it is odd that our bench, sadly only zaza and jamal really, looked so good early in the series only to have everyone begin to talk about the bull’s bench. i guess when it won the game five for them it became obvious who had the better bench. get some players or develop them which is what other teams do, like denver, okc, memphis, etc.
i come to perplexing jj. he still cant stand up and deliver. nor does it seem he is comfortable saying he is the man and is going to make it happen then do it. he disappears ar the oddest of times and his shot which we need goes with him. folks without prejudice are able to see he is streaky as all hell and when it isnt there he goes and hides. as much as josh is maligned he was govong max effort when it was back against the wall. it seems jj just doesnt have that gear and neither did al. as frustraing as jsh is it is even more frustrating to watch jj and his own disappearing act. when josh finally started loading up i am sayog why not? he has challenged inside and then watch as everyone else throws air ball after air ball then why not me? i might get as hot as how cold they are.
northcyde ultimately dont delude yourself as you became a believer last year. dont go back. it is not about fans who dont care. it is about the money and this team as many will go only as far as the owners are willing to make up for mistakes or willing to spend to get quality management below them in coaches and gm’s.
najeh, say no to brandon roy, no cartilage in either knee. as tough as gayle sayers was he couldnt run and cut with one bad knee without cartilage. neither will brandon and both have games that were al about quick cuts and change of direction and i still deplore we didnt get him as he would have at the least been good trade potential. i love who he was. they were thinking cartilage transplants and the operation doesnt really even exist, real experimental. he is the reincarnation of hill who had op after op though the knee is worse to work on than the ankle problem that hill had.
SuzieWilson
May 13th, 2011
9:24 am
Dont re-sign Jamal Crawford. Let him go. He wasnt trying very had and was full of excuses after the game. He said the Buils defense was the best he had ever seen. If that is true, with that being said, why were Hawks able to beat that same defense in game one? JAMAL WHATS YOUR ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. If Jamal’s memory is that short-term that he FORGOT the Hawks had just beaten that great Bulls defense a few games prior in the first game of the series, then maybe Jamal needs to find him another team where his excuses could make sense. Jamal is a loser and he needs to find a home where he can take his antics somewhere else. It was evident to me that Jamal doesnt want to play hard for the Hawks until he becomes the HIGHEST PAID PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE.
James on Pharr Rd
May 13th, 2011
9:24 am
It is weird not being mad at the blow out last night.
@ On Brandon Roy/Wallace for JJ-Looking at where Portland is going, I dont see how Portland would agree to such a deal that made JJ their PG for 5 years. And, I think it is fair to say that is likely in several other scenarios involving teams absorbing JJ onto their rosters.
GM/Coach: Rick Sund needs to go, if not for the fact that change is necessary. I think LD won the battle he was asked to take on (compete against ORL and give CHI a run), but he lost the war (Transforming this team) It is time for a 3.5+ million a year coach. LD did great, but his abilities are no different from Joe’s talents on the court as a franchise player. My personal take is a GM style coach is what we need-you could even keep LD for cheap for an extra year, with the option of the challenge from upstairs motivating him to coach well.
For next year we would transform this teams identity based on the direction the 3.5+ Coach sees best as we make roster changes and institute structure we have been craving in the A. There might be better options out there, but I dont see how a Larry Brown type coach (even with his penchant for quitting) does not give us a better shot.
As for players, personnel can be worked on once management and coaching is determined. But it is safe to say that Marvin Williams shouldn’t return. I say the same for JC because of we would need to sign a contract extension.
Hozay
May 13th, 2011
9:26 am
Just wanted to come back by here and see what you ATLiens had to say the day after we smashed the Bawks last night. Sounds a lot different from what I read the day before. Overall, I think your team did a ghood job in preparing the Bulls for Miami, forced someone else to score other than Rose and stretched our defense at times. Hope your off season is good!!
James on Pharr Rd
May 13th, 2011
9:28 am
^Sorry for the typos..
EarlGibson
May 13th, 2011
9:32 am
It looks to me like we traded away the WRONG Crawford. When we traded away Jordan Crawford, instead we should have let Jamal Crawford take a hike. At least Jordan Crawford will play basketball, score the basketball and make an honest efffort. JAMAL CRAWFORD IS PLAYING MIND GAMES WITH THE HAWKS AND LITERALLY QUIT PLAYING BASKETBALL AND DIDNT WANT TO PLAY HARD UNTIL HIS CONTRACT WAS RENEGOTIATED. THATS PAINFULLY OBVIOUS TO ME.
steve brown
May 13th, 2011
9:33 am
Good riddance to this season, to watching this “team,” to the highlight factory and hopefully to Josh watch me lose smooth Smith.
Gdot
May 13th, 2011
9:35 am
Ok EVERYONE needs to calm down. Take a breather and think logically what this team needs. A TRUE CENTER (7′1 who can grab rebounds and plays defense) and another scorer at the 2/3 position. So here is my remake of our roster.
KEEPERS
PG – TEAGUE, SY, HINRICH
SG – JOE
SF – DAMIEN
PF – AL, JOSH
C – ZAZA
First you make a call to GREG ODEN and get his big body in here. It’s a risk worth taking to get a TRUE CENTER in here. Next you send Marvin to NJ to get Anthony Morrow ( We save 4 mil). They need a young wing to help D Will and Brook Lopez. Next you make a call to CARL LANDRY to see if we can get some bench scoring from a big.
Starters
PG – Teague
SG – Joe
SF – Smoove
PF – Al
C – Oden
Bench
PG – Hinrich / SY
SG – Morrow
SF – Damien
PF – Landry
C – Zaza
hawksfancents95
May 13th, 2011
9:35 am
*First off- great season hawks, even tho we didnt win as many reg season games we made a big step toward a promising future, we beat orl in the playoffs, we got rid of bibby, it is plain as day to see we need to rid marvin, teague seems to be our point of the future, josh showed he is a top nba player vs the bulls and hopefully will understand he needs to bring that energy every night, as for my offseason wish list! i’d like to see jamal sign somewhere else and i think a horford for monta ellis trade would be great for us and gs, horford is a great player but his limited offense in the playoffs hurt the hawks, if we can get joe another top scorer(not off the bench) we can get to the finals, i think every true hawks fan blogger wants us to get a legite center, horford is good on d but we could insert a bigger center and get about the same production, my hawks team 11-12
teague
monta ellis
joe
josh
new center?
bench
kirk
damien
zaza
ne ideas?
ld did a pretty good job in his rookie year i give him a B
again good season and cant wait for next year
JeJe
May 13th, 2011
9:36 am
hORFORD WANTS TO GET FURTHER AWAY FROM THE BASKET LOL
DUDE SHIES AWAY FROM PHYSICALITY. NOW HE’S GETTING FURTHER FROM HOOP
SMDH
EarlGibson
May 13th, 2011
9:45 am
AL HORFORDS CONFIDENCE HAS BEEN SHOT TO HELL. Everytime Horford was getting a good look at the basket, for some strange reason he kept passing the ball to other players who were LESS QUALIFIED TO MAKE SHOTS than he was and that was ruining our chances of success. HORFORD IS A 64% FIELD GOAL SHOOTER. HAD HORFORD SHOT THE BASKETBALL EVERY TIME HE RECEIVED IT, THE HAWKS WOULD HAVE SWEPT CHICAGO IN FOUR GAMES IN THIS SERIES AND WON EACH GAME BY AT LEAST 30 POINTS. AL HORFORD WHERE WERE YOU THIS SERIES. WE NEEDED YOU AND YOU JUST DISAAPPEARED LIKE AN OLD CHARLETON MAGIC TRICK.