Atlanta Hawks: Bobcats 79, Hawks 77 (exhibition)
- The regulars were kind of besides the point in this one, so let’s go straight to the other guys.
- Donald Sloan had some shaky moments. D.J. Augustin blew by him on Sloan’s first and second defensive possession (though Josh Smith slid in to take a charge on the second play).
- “To be honest, I was nervous at the beginning when I first got in,” Sloan said. “But [Larry Drew] surrounded me with the guys that have been doing it for a while and made me calm down a little bit. Second half, I was as comfortable as I’ve been all year.”
- In the closing moments, Sloan let Kemba Walker rub him off a screen too easily before Walker made that floater and Sloan also didn’t immediately foul Walker after the long rebound. Sloan does have quick hands and he had some nice pick-and-roll action with Al Horford.
- “Sloan looked pretty good at the point guard position,” Josh Smith said. “Wanamaker looked pretty decent defensively and offensively making sure everyone was set and getting us into our plays.”
- Pape Sy alternated moments of impressive athleticism and aggressiveness with displays of shaky ball-handling and decision-making (though that was a nice baseline drive with a bounce pass to Ivan Johnson for a layup). Sy’s jump shot was pretty brutal.
- Sy still looks like a two to me, and that’s where LD played him all night. “I didn’t play him at the one but he was in situations where he was handling the ball,” Drew said. “He seems to be a little bit more comfortable playing the off-guard position. But I rotated the guys with who was handling the ball and initiating plays.”
- Brad Wanamaker isn’t very quick but he was able to contain the speedy Augustin for the most part. He again showed his knack for using his body to get in the lane and create space to get off shots. He had a couple bad turnovers in the fourth quarter. “Wanamaker, I was very impressed with him and his poise and his ‘chippiness,’” Horford said.
- I thought Keith Benson looked pretty good defensively. He seems to have pretty good help-side instincts and even defended well away from the basket. Benson had trouble holding his ground physically but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
- Vladimir Radmanovic got in early foul trouble and never really resurfaced. He made his first shot, a 3-pointer, after Joe Johnson drew attention and swung it to him.
- Tracy McGrady was just kind of out there.
- Jerry Stackhouse still hasn’t shown anything. It looks like this could be it for Stack.
- Marvin Williams showed some real grit around the basket and made his man work for shots. There were no negatives in his stat line. “I feel really good,” he said. “To be out there and be able to run and jump–I took a few falls and was able to get up–so, yeah, I feel really good. I’ve done a lot of things, training and rehabbing in the summertime, so I know in teh back of my head I can take a beating.”
- Jeff Teague is going to get into the lane all the time. It’s going to be a matter of how well he finishes and finds teammates once he’s in there. He didn’t have a turnover.
- Magnum Rolle fights for rebounds and has a nice face-up J. He looked pretty good to be playing on a sore foot and still out of shape.
- Horford didn’t really go inside but the Bobcats were giving him jump shots and he’s among the best at making them so that’s what he did. No rebounds, though, on a night where Charlotte’s bigs were fighting for them. “For me, I was just happy to be back out there playing against somebody else,” Horford said. “I think once the regular season starts we will be ready to go.”
- Josh locked up Tyrus Thomas, ran the floor well and cleaned up the defensive glass.
- The starters look pretty sharp on offense already. “We knew we weren’t going to get that many minutes so we wanted to make sire we played them as hard as possible,” Josh said. “The starting five played well together as far as sharing the basketball and getting each other open looks. We’ve been together for so long we just know and trust each other on the court.”
- “Zaza came in and did a good job, too,” Drew said. “Our starters, we are pretty set on the top eight guys. Those guys understand what I am expecting from them. In that regard, we are feeling pretty good about ourselves. But we are looking to solidify that backup point guard spot.”
- Joe Johnson treated the Bobcats like he treats Atlanta’s second unit in scrimmages.
- The starters weren’t so great on defense. Charlotte got lots of open looks on 3-pointers and I didn’t see the Hawks closing out very hard.
- The scoring stopped once the Hawks went to their second/third unit. Atlanta’s reserves were pretty good on D but hard to know what to make of it considering the competition.
- Jannero Pargo’s contract will not be guaranteed. The league guarantee date is Feb. 10.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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226 comments Add your comment
Rufus1
December 20th, 2011
2:10 pm
I would take Ivan Johnson….
He can score, rebound and is very physical. The PG position will be filled with a vet and Johnsons offensive skills are solid….you can’t do any better with the 13th roster spot.
We have been begging for a SHOT BLOCKER and Benson is on our bench. The only concern is will LD give him time, because he can PROTECT THE RIM
Marvin as the 6th Man…
I think the Hawks need to start one of the other players(Vlad, T-mac, Twin or Zaza). Marvin needs to be the primary offensive weapon on the 2nd unit….I would prefer those 12-14pts and 6rebs off the bench.
PS. We would have beat the Bobcats by 25pts if our starters played statrters minutes.
hawks_4_life
December 20th, 2011
2:19 pm
GUYS WISH THIS SOLDIER A SAFE TRIP BACK TO THE STATES……
Astro Joe
December 20th, 2011
2:22 pm
hawks_4_life, safe travels on your journey back and thanks for your service to ur nation. I can’t wish you any luck on fantasy hoops, however.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
2:27 pm
I say sign Ivan Johnson and Chucky Hayes, and waive VladRad. We need low post toughness alot more than we need another soft big, regardless of the floor spacing Vlad affords.
Go into Luxury Tax for Hayes if he’s healthy, not like Green for the Celts. Hayes is that difference maker Gearon talked about.
Could you imagine a rotation of Horford, Smoove, ZaZa, and Chucky? That’s a stout 4 deep rotation down low. Well, supposed to be down low for a couple of those guys, lol.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
2:27 pm
Hawks_4_Life – Thanks!! Your in our prayers…
Astro Joe
December 20th, 2011
2:33 pm
Oops, service to Our nation (mine, too).
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
2:34 pm
Realistically, I guess our bench will look like: Collins, ZaZa, Rolle, Benson, VladRad, Sy, TMac, Pargo, Wanamaker or Sloan(?), with Hinrich as our 14th or 15th guy. I think we may be in the tax with that lineup – but we probably cut Pargo by Feb. 10th if Hinrich is close, to keep from the tax.
No room for Johnson probably. He’d be our 15th guy if we waive Wanamaker/Sloan.
As much as I like Ivan, and he’ll probably go help another team if waived, we need Wanamaker or Sloan as a 3rd PG. Could you imagine if Teague went down?
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
2:36 pm
MC’s tweet;
Larry Drew says Jannero Pargo’s experience adds “credibility”: “I’m sure guys were wondering what was happening at backup PG.”.
hawks_4_life
December 20th, 2011
2:37 pm
Feeling the love fellow hawksfanatics.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
2:39 pm
I like Wanamaker just a little better than Sloan BTW.
KenS – About that depth thing – Chicago has CJ Watson behind DRose. They have Brewer and Korver behind Rip, if Rip starts. Brewer can play behind Deng also, as can Rip. They have Asik and Gibson behind Boozer and Noah. They don’t have to play their starters nearly as much with depth like that.
And the Pacers are loaded also. Philly remains to be seen. I think Philly goes past the Celtics this season and maybe the Hawks. Pacers also possibly for that matter. Agree with Najeh about this being the Celts down year, especially with Green out. But they have done a decent job getting some FC depth.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
2:39 pm
hawks_4_life
Safe travels. All the service men will be in our prayers, especially this time of year.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
2:40 pm
Steve W,
Green caught a bad break (health wise), and the C’s caught a bad break. I dont think they are going to get a waiver to use Green’s $9 mil salary slot.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
2:44 pm
Big Ray,
I really think the Hawks should have brought in someone capable of starting at SF, and moved Marvin to the bench.
That way, LD could go to Marvin and say…”Jamal is gone, and we want you to be a SMOY candidate”. That way, he could be more assertive (hopefully), and put up 15 – 18 pts off the bench.
And then his trade value could increase, and we could finally trade him
As a starter, I think he will continue to defer to our medium 3.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
2:45 pm
I’m not sure I don’t do this lineup:
ZaZa
Al
Smoove
JJ
Teague
I know ZaZa’s limitations, but with the lack of depth at C in the NBA right now, he immediately becomes an average starting C in the League. Then your bench is:
Pargo at PG until Hinrich is ready
TMac behind JJ
Marvin behind Smoove and even Al
Vlad Rad/ Rolle/Marvin behind Al
Collins/Rolle/Benson behind ZaZa
I like that look – gives us some legit size down low. Balances our team better.
And tell you what – I say give Marvin a personal trainer next off season, let him gain 15-20 lbs, and make him a C/PF. As athletic as he is, he could give C’s in this League fits, and he’d be 6-10 260. That’s big enough to play C in this League. He could become a great shot Blocker also.
Just thinking out of the box a little bit.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
2:47 pm
OB – Yea, i was thinking of Len Bias also. The Celts catch some bad breaks on occasion. And Lewis? dying, that good wing from Northeastern.
They do catch some bad breaks, but some good ones as well.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 20th, 2011
2:50 pm
Flying Hawk!
@Hawks_4_Life wassup fella? Have a fun and safe journey home. Thank You so much for your awesome service.
Geemack
December 20th, 2011
2:51 pm
SteveW
I agree rotation depth is important. The Hawks could be a 10 player rotation and not add another player if they move Marvin to the bench, and put Zaza in the starting line up.
1st unit: Josh, JJ, Al, Zaza and Teague 2nd unit: Hinrich, T-mac, Marvin, Twin, and Radmanovic.
In a short season the bench could be our saving grace.
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
2:56 pm
Big Ray, you give great analysis breaking down All NBA’s game. I agree with all said above.
I’ll just add that since he has poor handles around the basket and outside on the perimeter, it limits him even more against the Noah’s and Chuck Hayes of the world who will actually come out to challenge his mid-range set shot(vintage 1950’s)…
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
2:58 pm
Marvin at the C/PF idea:
Marvin’s only like what 25? With the proper motivation and training, I could see him re-inventing himself to a 6-10 265-70 lb athletic C/PF in this League, and becoming valuable to a team in that role until he was 33 or something. Effort, hustle, off season training and learning, and you’d have a new Marvin Williams.
Again, probably never happen, but just thinking maybe waaaay outside the box.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
2:58 pm
Last post – Marvin at 28
Astro Joe
December 20th, 2011
2:59 pm
OB, “Medium 3″, nice.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
3:01 pm
Noah – Hustle, D, Rebounding, no offensive game to speak of. But he is what he is. And that makes him a top 5 C in the East right now.
I still say Noah and Bogut, if healthy, take Al’s spot in this years All Star game. And I’m not an Al hater. Just a realist.
SteveW
December 20th, 2011
3:02 pm
They were headed towards it last year before injury
KevinM
December 20th, 2011
3:04 pm
Marvin=our Kwame….even though he could be tough for us inside.
KevinM
December 20th, 2011
3:05 pm
Marvin or Zaza for Mo Williams or Randy Foye….u get backcourt help and better bench scoring than what we have now.
Astro Joe
December 20th, 2011
3:15 pm
Kevin, I think Zaza for Foye would save some money for the owners. But come on, unless we are taking back less salary than we are sending, don’t frustrate yourself with trade ideas. Gearon has already explained to all of us how things are being managed.
Rufus1
December 20th, 2011
3:20 pm
Is Marvin actually taller?
I wonder if Marvin has actually grown an inch or two….He looks TALLER ,BIGGER and LONGER than I remember. He has always looked smaller than Josh, but last night he didn’t….He looked about as big as AL.
If he plays with the same kind of aggression on the boards and attacking the rim during the season, he alone will change our season.
I still think he is our most polished low post scorer…(jump hook, finish with his left or right and 80% free throw shooter)
I don’t know if he(Marvin) and Josh(shot blocking, rebounding and being active) are back to 2008 form, but if they are….
Grandad
December 20th, 2011
3:22 pm
This is my resignation letter:
I am resigned to the fact that as long as the;
” miserly malfeasant misfits ” -&- or Sund remain
in control of our Hawks then it is fruitless to waste
my energy thinking that one day perhaps;
they may ” get it right “.
Therefore, for the time being, I’m taking an;
” otium cum dignitate ” [leave with dignity].
I will check in from time to time;
and I’m sure my love for basketball, along with,
my need for an outlet [thereof] will lure me back.
But this is my reasoning / (not necessarily in order)
* draft foibles
forget Chris Paul –
Sheldon Williams;
was the worst draft choice in the history of the NBA
* Joe’s contract – ” bless his heart ” – ain’t his fault
* failure to acquire acceptable size
* not promoting a ” [Winning / Championship] Culture ”
* lack of vision -&- forethought -or- imagination
* Then -Gearon- shows up on this blog, with his crap !
____________________________________________
Last eve @ approx 2:27 am, I quit.
When Charlotte acquired B.mullens for next to nothin’
while we signed J.Pargo – I washed my hands of this;
[the Hawks front office] = a pile of horse manure.
Later, G-dad
Rufus1
December 20th, 2011
3:26 pm
Foye makes 4.25mil- Zaza 4.75
Mo 8.5(2yrs) – Marvin 8mil
I wouldn’t do either trade, we need the size.
Melvin
December 20th, 2011
3:31 pm
Well, I will go against the grain and say this will NOT be the year of the Celtics downfall unless they have significant injuries although loss Jeff Green will be an impact. I like their bench better this year with Bass, Dooling, Daniels and Wilcox than last year with Big Babe, Shaq and the Midget. Last year bench was too much of silly group and often injuried.
I dont think the Pacers or Philly have past the Hawks yet. They at least have to beat us on the court before I consider that. However, being in the division with the Bucks, Cavs and the Pistions should help the Pacers. But if Dwight goes to the Nets, that should help the Hawks and hurt Philly.
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
3:32 pm
TAKE CARE G-DAD!!!!!!!!! You will be sorely missed Sir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well there you have it Mr Gearon, you lost another Fan….You cant fool us…
We read between the lines and observed your actions over the years. You are interested in entertaining the fans not actually winning Championships..Same ole BS coming from this organization..Just sell the darn team already????????????????
With the free streaming, I’m more excited about the Clippers than your Hawks..Trust me I will be watching a lot of Clippers games this year!
GO Clippers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big Ray
December 20th, 2011
3:38 pm
Hate to see Grandad go, but understand his reasoning.
Peter
December 20th, 2011
3:41 pm
Gee imagine if we had a 2 guard like Jordan Crawford, cause he was really balling at the end of the season last year, and wouldn’t havea need for lazy JJ.
I believe he will be scoring about the same as JJ, and wow, what a real team we could have with that money……. a talented center, and small forward !
Please don’t tell me Al is the center, and Smooth is the power forward, cause that is really not the case !
This team is a mix and match of parts that don’t fit the roles they play, of course that is just an opinion.
Trojan
December 20th, 2011
3:44 pm
Granddad: I understand.
You left out one blunder made by the ASG, that was the trading of a early 2nd round pick for a trade exception that was never used or never intended to be used. There were a couple of big men available that we would LOVE to have today.
I also loved the use of a 2nd round pick to get Sy. Sy is ok but he would not have been picked by anyone else so why not wait and simply sign him.
I also love trying to build a team by getting a bunch of forwards. Everyone knows that you really don’t need big men or point guards.
ASG is the root all all problems for the Hawks.
Big Ray
December 20th, 2011
3:47 pm
ASG is the root all all problems for the Hawks.
The Truth.
Melvin
December 20th, 2011
3:50 pm
I would love for Gearon to do a live chat on one of MC blogs. I bet he would publicly announce he’s seeking to sell the team after that chat is over…
EmirS.
December 20th, 2011
3:59 pm
“ASG is the root all all problems for the Hawks.”
You know in the restaurant business, they call it a “bottleneck”. When that happens the bottleneck is usually removed “to continue the flow”.
How do you remove THIS bottleneck?
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 20th, 2011
4:06 pm
Most centers only play around 30 minutes per game before getting winded.
Bogut is not putting up 19 and 10. Those are HoFer type numbers.
The last championship centers all average around 10ppg and under 10ppg in the playoffs.
You just want someone who can MATCH UP and rebound against other championship centers.
Then you fill up the offense elsewhere.
The guys in our way are looking like CHI, MIA- you need a 7 footer who can grab all JJ’s misses vs Joel Anthony and Joakim.
For the 32 or so minutes those guys each play.
JJ, Teague, Leuer shoot the rock.
Josh vs Lebron underneath the basket. Rebounding Advantage historically, is Smith.
Joel Anthony/Haslem vs Bogut underneath the basket. Rebounding Advantage clearly, Bogut.
Joakim vs Bogut underneath the basket. Stalemate? Deng vs Josh rebounding. ATL.
Offensive Usage Rate%
Teague. 20%
Josh. 20%
Joe. 25%
Leuer. 20%
Bogut. 15%
Smith should only get attempts off of garbage buckets PnR and running the wing in transition. I’m sorry that is the only consistent part in his game.
Marvin and Horford are 2 starters who are wildly inconsistent putting back misses, and doing the dirty work. Josh is inconsistent with his jumper and small. He wont get us any returns for a center or a SF to bench Marvin .
Trade Horford in a 2 for 1. Bench Marvin.
Leuer, Teague. Joe. Go to work outside. Bogut Smith inside. Leuer will also help on boards.
=======
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
PG. – McGrady 12mpg
SG.- “”"”"Al Thornton”"”" 15mpg
SF. Marvin/Radmanovic 9mpg
PF. Benson./Radmonovic 12mpg
C. Pachulia, 18mpg
Let the bench go ruckshaw with energy on other benches. Avoid them against starters at ALL Costs. Play Bogut 30mpg and save for playoffs. Joe is the de facto point guard. Teague Smith Leuer Joe 36mpg each to minimize the bench.
Good. Good. Now back to sadistic reality of being a Hawks fan…
=======
How about them Clippers? Missed yesterday but man I might catch some of those guys’ playing basketball.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
4:06 pm
Melvin,
They were killing Gearon on 790 the zone on Monday Morning. They did say he (Gearon) is open to appearing in studio with them, so we will see if it ever materializes.
One point they made about Gearon is that he tends to ramble on sometimes, and can be all over the place with his comments.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
4:08 pm
Bogut is a career 13 and 11.
Slimjr
December 20th, 2011
4:08 pm
Dayum Billy Knight, you should of drafted 3 Time ALL American Candice Parker over her Big Stiff Husband, better known in these circles as the ” Slumlord”! LMAO
Larry,Curly,and Mo= Pete,Billy, and the 31 plus year expert Sund….
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
4:09 pm
Check that. Last year, Bogut averaged 13 and 11, along with 3 blocks. But for his career, he is at 13 and 9, and 2 bpg.
FreshFromATL
December 20th, 2011
4:09 pm
Man why does CP3 looks so “pudgy?” Dudes conditioning is going to be a problem soon….
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2011/1218/la_u_paul_blake_cr_576.jpg
Rufus1
December 20th, 2011
4:12 pm
No respect..
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-nba_playoff_predictions_2011_041511
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
4:13 pm
From ESPN 5 on 5; Which team deserves the worst grade this offseason?
Rob Peterson, Hardwood Paroxysm: Atlanta. Did the Hawks move to Winnipeg with the Thrashers? Five years ago, I never thought I’d write this, but Tracy McGrady is a downgrade from Jamal Crawford.
And Vlad Rad? Because you absolutely, positively need 15 minutes from a guy who shoots only 3s. With a chance to build upon their first-round upset of the Magic and with much of the league in flux, the Hawks did nothing to improve..
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 20th, 2011
4:20 pm
@O’Brien
I don’t see Bogut averaging 19ppg on a championship caliber team. More like Kendrick Perkins or Tyson Chandler or Andrew Bynum.
Let the guards shoot and you use your size to bully guys and do the dirty work.
Josh at SF and Bogut at C – do the dirty work.
Joe and Jeff run the perimeter plays. Leuer spaces and fills in the gaps.
Hawks new signature Plays: + Offensive Putback + Pick and Pop for 3!
KevinM
December 20th, 2011
4:20 pm
Rufus, we need backcourt help and big time! Our need will be obvious sooner than later.
Losing Marvin or Zaza hurts us very little…and I agree, Astro, I’m wasting my thought process here.
After looking over the training camp roster, why do we have so many rookies vying for spots? We still have 5 in play and with LD as your coach, aren’t you making a mockery of the roster here?
We may be forced to see a lot of Sy and Stack may make this roster no matter how he looks….would that surprise anyone? They have him speaking for the players and it is playing out that way.
O'Brien
December 20th, 2011
4:23 pm
If Boris Diaw can play Center, I think Marvin can play backup PF.
superiorblogman
December 20th, 2011
4:25 pm
joBjo
December 20th, 2011
7:38 am
rookie lit up Teague.
we need a guard.
You are a F’ing joke and did not even watch the game if you think that. Teague was not in the game when Kemba was doing any of that. Kemba did all of that against D-League and non-drafted rookies. You idiots should not even be allowed to post.
superiorblogman
December 20th, 2011
4:31 pm
Grandad: Get your undies out of a bunch and come back here. Nothings going to change around here either you are with us your not. Better yet, I suggest you change your name to Grandpapi and come on back down.