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
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
226 comments Add your comment
Neki Ecko
December 20th, 2011
4:35 pm
It look like 790 the Zone went off on Gearon Jr. like it was nothing. I wish they had a podcast about that, so we can all listen to it.
KevinM
December 20th, 2011
4:36 pm
How did the Hornets not get ANY pg back in the CP3 deal? How can they keep all of them?
On the Billups pick-up, were we still down the list before we could claim him? And how doesmitmwork to pay a guy who is amnestied and why pay them anything more than the minimum if they already have their salary promised to them? I saw Rip getting 5M from the Bulls…..you would think none of these owners would take on add’l salary when the numbers acre already locked in?
Najeh Davenpoop
December 20th, 2011
4:38 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHA
My favorite part is 1:07
Melvin
December 20th, 2011
4:44 pm
OB,
I think the one thing people (except Rod from CP) forget about Marvin is his poor coordination. No matter what position he plays or how much playing time he gets, he’s still going to be the clumsy and awkward Marvin. I don’t think he has the skill or agility to be consistent scorer.I hoping that his back surgery this offseason helps with his clumsiness but I have to see it to believe it. Marvin does seem to be a good guy so I’m rooting for him…
Big Ray
December 20th, 2011
5:02 pm
MARVIN does not post up very well either. Consistently pushed off the block by smaller/shorter players all last season, and the one before. If he gets better at this, he really helps us.
Rod from College Park
December 20th, 2011
5:11 pm
Marvin has no chance playing the 4 or the 5. He is very weak for his size, has no post moves, can’t hold his position in the post. He would get destroyed by most PF’s in the league. Sometimes I wonder what games these guys are watching.
hawks_4_life
December 20th, 2011
5:18 pm
Only 3 more spots available in our own fantasy bball league.
Grandmaster JeJe
December 20th, 2011
5:23 pm
Sorry to see Grandad go
Not ONCE in the entire Q&A with Gearon does he EVER say “Our ONLY goal is to win a championship. Anything else is not acceptable.”
Instead he says we should be competitive and entertaining (yeah being entertaining sure was a goal of the Pistons and Spurs, both of whom are boring as hell to watch, HAVE RINGS, and coincidentally, are the teams Sund is “modeling” us after”). He also has the nerve to trash OKC, DAL, Orlando, saying they haven’t been to the 2nd round 3 years in a row. ALL THOSE TEAMS HAVE RINGS OR HAVE BEEN TO THE CONFERENCE FINALS.
Then he says the team isn’t for sale but that if an offer comes along it could be.
What a joke.
As unemotional and objective as MC is, I am sure he was thinking that Gearon is a joke too and that he sufficiently wasted over an hour talking to someone without a firm grasp on reality
AMNESTY GEARON AND THE REST OF ASG (WHAT IS THEIR NEW OWNERSHIP NAME?)
Najeh Davenpoop
December 20th, 2011
5:26 pm
Grandad, out of all the dumb moves the Hawks have ever made, failing to acquire a center who has shot 36% from the field for his career doesn’t even rank in the top 50. If Sam Presti — one of the league’s best GMs — had a low enough opinion about Mullens that he was willing to give him away for next to nothing, I am pretty confident in saying Mullens sucks. I remember watching him at Ohio State back when NBADraft.net had him projected as the #2 overall pick, and I didn’t think he was anything special. Evidently the NBA agreed with me since he slipped to the end of the first round despite his size.
Grandmaster JeJe
December 20th, 2011
5:27 pm
You guys can see it for yourselves:
Our goal EVERY year is not to win a ring. It is to be competitive and entertaining. Kobe has a better chance of being besties with Shaq than he does of coming to this NON-COMPETITIVE/NON-CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDING environment
northcyde
December 20th, 2011
5:36 pm
Ra’mon
December 20th, 2011
1:38 pm
O’Brien, if I’m the Hawks, I’m on the phone with Hayes’ agent seeing if he would sign for a 2 year $2 million deal with a player option for the 2nd year
************
I was thinking the same thing when I heard that the Kings terminated his deal. Maybe make the deal un-guaranteed, and see if Chuck can be cleared to play by early February. If not, oh well.
Sign him, and cut Magnum Rolle as soon as Chuck is cleared to play.
The Hawks could do worse than to try to secure a tough PF w
Peter
December 20th, 2011
5:40 pm
Three years ago on a blog I stated we need bigs to compete with the Celtics..here we go again, too small to compete really !
Peter
December 20th, 2011
5:42 pm
MARVIN does not post up very well either. Consistently pushed off the block by smaller/shorter players all last season……..
I saw Rip Hamilton push him to the floor, and laughed out loud.. more in disbelief !
Sautee
December 20th, 2011
5:47 pm
Ramon, and northcyde,
Count me in on Chuck Hayes.
Ken Strickland
December 20th, 2011
5:52 pm
I’m looking forward to tomorrows gm, since we’ll likely see our starters get after it while they’re in the gm. I also think both Sloan and Wanamaker will get playing time, but the one LDrew feels best about will likely get the bulk of it. With Pargo not knowing the OFF, he’ll likely be put on the inactive list until he’s ready, unless he can grasp enough within the next 8days.
Because we’ll be a much better team defensively, I don’t see us suffering through last yrs unsettling number of blowout losses. Actually, with the schedule being what it is, I see the number of blowout wins or loses for most teams being reduced anyway.
Grandmaster JeJe
December 20th, 2011
6:11 pm
How do we plan on signing Chuck Hayes? He isn’t coming here for the minimum.
Only scrubs or washed up players come here for the minimum
Grandmaster JeJe
December 20th, 2011
6:11 pm
Ken, the game is Thursday
Najeh Davenpoop
December 20th, 2011
6:11 pm
I am a BIG Chuck Hayes fan, and he would be an ideal addition to this team, but these heart conditions are no joke. Ronny Turiaf missed an entire season after something similar was detected, if I am not mistaken.
Grandmaster JeJe
December 20th, 2011
6:13 pm
MARVIN does not post up very well either. Consistently pushed off the block by smaller/shorter players all last season……..
************
You can say that again. The guy got stuffed by LUTHER HEAD twice in one game in March 2008
Truth B. Known
December 20th, 2011
6:15 pm
All this talk about Al getting a rebound after someone else applies the defense. I dont need my center waiting around for Josh or someone else to play defense to pick up a freebie rebound. Here’s an Ideal that is a novel concept….
HOW ABOUT AL PLAYS DEFENSE AND SOME ONE ELSE GETS THE REBOUND.
Al this misleading talk about Al’s rebounding, well He only average .8(that’s point
more of a rebound than Josh, last year. Even more ,about 40 guys average 7 or more rebounds and for a center Horford is number 6 and trailing these LOL superstars:(theres only 1 in the group )
2 Dwight Howard, C
7 David Lee, C
8 Al Jefferson, C
9 Emeka Okafor, C
10 Tyson Chandler, C
Now to be trailing Howard is acceptable but the other four… well ok, then check this out. Lets get a more complete picture of how aggressive he is compare to the 5 center in front of him. Heres the block list for centers. Over all Al far down the list at 28. Josh? 15th overall and #4 among power forwards. Al is # 17 among centers for blocks. Heres a list of the superstars that are more aggressive centers blocking shots…
1 Andrew Bogut, C MIL 65 35.3 168 217 2.58 3.51 0.77
2 JaVale McGee, C
3 Dwight Howard, C
4 Darko Milicic, C
5 Andrew Bynum, C
6 Tim Duncan, C SA
7 Al Jefferson, C UTAH
8 DeAndre Jordan, C LAC
9 Emeka Okafor, C NO
10 Roy Hibbert, C IND 81
11 Marc Gasol, C MEM 81
12 Brook Lopez, C NJ
13 Samuel Dalembert, C
14 Joel Anthony, C
15 Marcin Gortat, C
16 Tyson Chandler, C
17 Al Horford, C
Bottom line for me is Al is a decent re-bounder but nothing special, that is as long as Josh or someone else is providing the defense, Al will be happy and content to pick up the freebie.
Actually Josh gets about as many rebounds as Al, but they are night and day when it comes to defending the rim. Im not saying Al cannot, Im saying he chooses not to. His attitude for defending the rim is not good. Not what Id want from my center.
So why should we listen to all that whine about Al wants to play power forward, when hes not in Josh’s league at the 4. Maybe he should be beginning to play the 3.
Truth B. Known
December 20th, 2011
6:26 pm
G-Dad….
Rest In Peace bro.
Truth B. Known
December 20th, 2011
6:28 pm
**begging to play the 3.
Joe.Jeff.Smith.Leuer.Bogut
December 20th, 2011
6:48 pm
Truth B. Known, Horford and Al are nothing special rebounding at the PF. Totals are not as important as %’s.
Smith and Al are special rebounders at the SF. Oh wait Al can’t defend SFs. So I guess it’s only Smith who’s special rebounding 80
PRESTONI
December 20th, 2011
6:54 pm
I hate being an Alarmist and it was only an Exhibition Game, but the lack of a Quality Backup Guard (who can Shoot and Handle the Ball) was so readily apparent that I almost Dialed 911. MC said that the prospective Backup Point Guards all had different skills–the one thing that they All have in common is that neither of them belongs in the NBA. And what can you say about Pape Sy (certainly not a Point Guard) and since he can’t Shoot he becomes a liability as a Shooting Guard–his one redeeming feature is he has a Non-Guaranteed Contract. I see alot of Kids on the Playground who can Run and Jump and once in awhile they make a Lucky Shot–that is who Pape Sy is and he should be released to give us more Salary Room to add a Player who can really help us. We really need a Haymaker and not a Wanamaker (or Sloan). Outside of taking a gamble on someone like Gilbert Arenas (completely unpredictable), but it sounds good GA (Gilbert Arenas) in the GA (Atlanta, GA)–we really need a Guard who can Shoot and Pass and Trading for one might be our best option right now. I was thinking of Zaza Pachulia for Randy Foye before it was mentioned in this Blog and this is a Realistic Trade that the Clippers would make and it would help Both Teams (while saving us a little more Cap Room Money). Although sometimes Zaza really helps us, he more often frustrates us and we can get someone else to take his minutes (perhaps Keith Benson, who does show Defensive Skills)–hopefully we would be able to Sign Another Player who can Rebound (a Hawks weakness). The Reality is that we need Another Guard that we can really depend on more than we need Zaza. We are way too thin at the Guard Position and just a Minor Injury away from not making the Playoffs at all. To watch a Team that can’t make a Shot is not very Entertaining and we really have to make this Trade (or a similar one)–I think it is just a Phone Call away, it is what the Clippers are really looking for. On a Positive Note–there might be some Light at the End of the Tunnel for Marvin Williams.
Buddy Grizzard
December 20th, 2011
6:57 pm
COME ON HAWKS FANS… let’s make some noise for KEITH BOGANS… don’t let him end up on the Heat… make him feel wanted HERE. He wants to give CHI some payback for cutting him and he’s better than anything on our bench (except Zaza, who should be starting).
Michael Cunningham
December 20th, 2011
6:59 pm
new blog is posted. shutting down this thread.