Wizards at Atlanta Hawks: Game thread
- Zaza Pachulia said he woke up today with soreness in his left shoulder. He tested it before the game and said he’s good to go. Pachulia doesn’t remember suffering an injury. He went to the doctor this afternoon and was told it’s tendinitis.
- Jeff Teague (ankle) is in the lineup. “He didn’t complain about any problems,” Larry Drew said. Kirk Hinrich (shoulder) and Donald Sloan are inactive. Mo Evans (knee) is out and Jan Vesley (hip) is not on the trip for Washington.
- Jordan Crawford is back at Philips Arena for the first time since the Hawks traded him to the Wizards. He said there’s no extra motivation against his old team: “I’m always extra.” He did allow that there could be some spirited conversations with good friend Teague. “If it calls for it, I will definitely trash talk.”
- Drew said his main concern vs. the Wizards is controlling John Wall in transition. “He’s one of the fastest guys in the league,” Drew said. “We have to get him corralled. We’ve had problems with him in the past. He’s kind of the head of the snake for them.”
- Drew on the thing he liked the most about last night’s W at New Jersey: “Their energy and defensive activity. We’ve been preaching for the longest about being a better defensive team.”
- The Hawks said last night’s telecast on SportSouth earned a 2.82 rating. The highest-rated game last season earned a 2.68 rating.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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734 comments Add your comment
phil
December 28th, 2011
10:24 pm
I don’t mind, rethink. It’s a silly blog. But i do defend myself.
Fair enough.
JSS
December 28th, 2011
10:24 pm
The Spurs have the front line and wings to handle the Clippers in a one night or back to back… I wonder what happens in a real series (asterisk* Vinny DelNegro paradigm)
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:24 pm
Ryder,
My point…since you asked me 4 billion times in a single post – is that having a championship ring does not mean you are guaranteed to contribute something to another team because of that ring.
I’ll give you an example.
Sam Cassell contributes the knowledge, the know-how, the “been there, done that” of his former playing days as a key member of the championship winning Houston Rockets. He brings something to the Wizards as a member of their coaching staff – he can show John Wall the ropes.
Tell me what Adam Morrison brings to another team? The ability to practice his a$$ off? Any D-Leaguer looking for an NBA job can do that.
So here’s another one for ya – Josh Powell. Former Los Angeles Laker. Has a ring, from when the Laker last one a championship, couple of years ago.
Tell me what did he bring to the Hawks? Championship level practice? Great locker room chemistry? What? Last I saw, he started off the year ok, then faded badly and eventually could hardly get playing time, and sucked when he did.
He contributed very little. Championship ring didn’t define who or what he was. He did.
Ryder
December 28th, 2011
10:25 pm
So I still have to ask you Mr Ray, smiling and humbled, doesnt every play on the championship team “earn” his championship, regardless of his role?
By the way, nice to see you back in the “Fans Nest.”
MistaGamer
December 28th, 2011
10:26 pm
If Josh’s 15 pts10 boards 3 assists 2 blocks while shooting 45% is declining, then I’ll take that declining production nite in and nite out.
Runner-
December 28th, 2011
10:26 pm
Solid game tonight Hawks, not as much bench production as last night but you can’t expect that from your bench, I mean they’re in the bench for a reason. T-Mac is a good shooter, and is more aggressive than I thought he would be. Al needs to work on that jump shot a bit and he’ll be back, and Smoove needs to cut down on it and he’ll be good. Anyway, good game by the Hawks, they can rest at home until Friday, until another lopsided win comes our way!!
Hawks4Eva
December 28th, 2011
10:27 pm
Dwayne Wade hits a bank shot with 2 seconds to go and beat the Bobcats. Then he goes over towards Cam Newton and does what Cam Newton does: Pretends he’s pulling his shirt apart like he’s superman…. and looks at him with disgust….
Can’t stand D-Wade. Such a big cry baby.
Hawks4Eva
December 28th, 2011
10:29 pm
Check out the replay. Heat -vs- Bobcats
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=311228030
surprised it took the “Dream Team” a last second shot for them to beat the Bobcats
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:30 pm
But here’s the thing.
Smith isn’t ever going to listen.
Horford isn’t going to get tougher.
8 yrs and 5 yrs in…it isn’t going to change.
Ideally, I’d like to disagree. But I’m a realist, so I tend to agree. Horford doesn’t have to get tougher, he just has to get back to who he was his first two years in the League. Tonight, he looked kinda like he did. Not quite like how he was against Boston in the 2008 playoffs, but at least back to double-double land.
As for Smith, this continually points to a higher problem.
If Josh ain’t gonna listen, why’s he still a member of the core?
Ownership/management has to be smarter about this – either bring in a guy who can get Josh to listen better, or find a way to move Josh without hurting the team in the mid/long-term. Neither option is guaranteed, and neither is easy.
As for Josh’s efforts – yes they are there. But again, there is a difference between effective effort and misplaced effort. Josh plays great on the defensive end most of the time – nearly all of the time.
On the offensive end, he is less than efficient, and sorry – but if most of the team played that inefficiently on the offensive end, we would be a 30 win team in an 82 game season.
Hawks4Eva
December 28th, 2011
10:31 pm
Runner-
December 28th, 2011
10:26 pm
===============================
bench could have scored more if some of those bricks Pargo shot had been shots taken by
Radmanivich and T-Mac
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:34 pm
Ryder,
Don’t be humbled, you are certainly not in the presence of a genius, my friend. Yes, I agree that every player on a championship team has in some way earned his way.
My only point was that some guys contributed enough in certain ways that allows them to pass on the knowledge and experience of that championship to other teams, whether as a player or a coach, or whatever.
And some…don’t. It’s kind of like a resume. Maybe a guy like Adam Morrison will turn out to be a good coach. What he won’t do, is take his basketball talents, such that they are, and make another team’s starting lineup or bench that much better….unless their bench really, really sucks. Let’s not forget – Morrison was a lottery draft pick…
Ryder
December 28th, 2011
10:36 pm
“Josh Powell. Former Los Angeles Laker. Has a ring, from when the Laker last one a championship, couple of years ago.”
Tell me what did he bring to the Hawks?
Have you not read ‘cast not your pearls before swine’?
Let me tell you what a champion is, Big Ray.
A man who has no legs but gets implants and prosthetic s a and teaches his self to walk, finds a job and feeds a family. Hes a champion Ray and Can teach about the highest levels of life as well as Sam Cassel can, because being a champion is more than dribbling and shooting a basketball. Its about life and being the best you can be Ray. So at that time in Josh Powel’s life who is to say he wasn’t the best he could be and brought a championship effort to the team? I dont think you or I know him like that and we don’t know what went on in the locker rooms and in the homes of the athletes.
One thing we can say. Its not always the most talented player or teams who are crown champions.
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:37 pm
On Josh Smith – not a bad night at all, really.
But imagine if instead of taking the 3 or 4 jumpers he took, he went to the basket instead. You can’t tell me the chances of him scoring or drawing the foul (or both) don’t go up dramatically.
Anybody ever wonder why Josh is always so wide open on jumpers?
bigdave
December 28th, 2011
10:39 pm
Durant is plain stupid.
Ryder
December 28th, 2011
10:40 pm
I had to say this twice so you can ignore it twice:
I think Josh has listens as much as he needs to. We (the bloggers and fans) arent always right. We dont play the games. Night in Night out Josh brings it. tonight? 15 pts10 boards 3 assists 2 blocks.
Really,
If every player on our team played to Josh’s level wed win a championship.
just keeping it real.
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:42 pm
Have you not read ‘cast not your pearls before swine’?
I’ll have to admit to being a tad bit befuddled by this one. Are you calling ME swine (nothing new, I’m a cop – we’ve been called pigs for a millenia) or are you saying that the Hawks are swine because Powell and what he represented was a pearl that the Hawks could not appreciate?
I do know this – Powell left the Lakers…a championship contender damn near every year. Why? One of the reasons he gave was playing time. Ummmm…doesn’t sound like a championship attitude to me. You give up being a Laker where you play with one of the greatest (Kobe) to sign a one year contract with the….Hawks? Either he made that decision, or the Lakers made it for him.
Either way, you’re going to have a hell of a time proving to me where this heart of a champion, pearl of a basketball player exists.
I don’t disrespect your opinion, and I certainly agree that we don’t know the guy personally (or at least I don’t). All I can judge off of is what I saw on the court – and I wasn’t impressed.
We can agree to disagree, my friend.
JSS
December 28th, 2011
10:42 pm
“Anybody ever wonder why Josh is always so wide open on jumpers?”
nope… You always challenge bad jump shooters, low basketball skill set players, and pick your poison players to beat you from the outside!
some body had to say it.
December 28th, 2011
10:43 pm
Seems like every time Al has another Bad to mediocre night we beat up and pull down Josh to make Al look better.
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:46 pm
Ryder,
I didn’t ignore it. I tried to take it easy on you with that one. But here goes….
I think Josh has listens as much as he needs to. We (the bloggers and fans) arent always right.
So is the coach wrong as well? How many articles did we see, most written by the AJC staff themselves, where Coach Drew, Josh Smith, and his jumpshooting were the subject?
I agree fans aren’t always right. In fact, we’re often wrong. But are you telling me that commentators (such as Dominique, who while no wizard with words, did play the game for a long time, and at a rather high level), and Josh’s own damn coach are wrong? Because they’ve been saying the same damn things we have – stop taking so many long jumpers and attack the basket.
Hey, if you don’t agree with that philosophy, fine. But some NBA experts and some NBA coaches might just be the kind of guys whose opinion means something….even if it is similar to that of us dumba$$ bloggers…
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:47 pm
JSS – exactly.
Ryder
December 28th, 2011
10:47 pm
My bad I did not mean to confuse you with the parable, cast not your pearls before swine. Its in the bible. Its a reference to things that are precious and of value, not necessarily monetary or tangible.
Matthew 7:6
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:49 pm
Seems like every time Al has another Bad to mediocre night we beat up and pull down Josh to make Al look better.
There’s always somebody who lacks the cognitive capability to tell the difference between a bashing comment and constructive critcism accompanied by acknowledgement of talent level and performance…..but I’m probably casting pearls before swine….
Ryder
December 28th, 2011
10:52 pm
. Ok Ray, I’ll agree there are ” dumba$$ bloggers…”
If Nique was so smart why isnt he coaching? – Heat check…
somebody had to say it,- I track you. Tearing Josh down doesn’t Lift Al up. Good show from Josh… Again.
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:52 pm
Ryder,
Heh…I am well aware of the parable and who spoke it. Do not assume that I’m faithless or theologically bereft.
I was curious as to who you felt represented the pearls, and who the swine might be. And you did not answer my question.
By the way, I find more applications to every day life in Proverbs….pick your chapter…
Big Ray
December 28th, 2011
10:54 pm
If Nique was so smart why isnt he coaching? – Heat check
Who said he was smart? I said he played the game at a high level. As such, it would seem that he might know a thing or two about the game. But what do I know?
Ok…it’s nearly 2300 hours and I need to take my swine-ly self to bed. Maybe I’ll dream of pearls….
doc
December 28th, 2011
10:54 pm
maybe, i didnt see the same game having been there but it seemed to me al was the one throwing bricks not josh and for the most part stayed very much in the flow of the game. it was late the game before he took a shot and his first scores were in close i thought. he also made some excellent passes and took some really good charges. i think one might have been on walls or some quick as he is so much quicker this year. he really played hard team defense as well.
in fact all the firsts players played in the flow of things and were on target except al to start the game. the second unit lost its lightening from lastnight as pargo, vlad, and green turned sour to the point ld had to bring in the starters abruptly in the first half then again to protect a 23 point lead that was being frittered away.
big ray were you demeaning josh at some point during the game?
Ryder
December 28th, 2011
10:55 pm
Im heading over to read fans nest. Have a great night Ray!
Ryder
December 28th, 2011
10:58 pm
Big Ray makes a hobby out of demeaning Josh. Particularly on nights where Al Struggles.
doc
December 28th, 2011
11:04 pm
well some really lopsided scores around the league and a few surprises. i expect a refs meeting soon to go over the stern rules of making it a competitive league again.
northcyde, i wonder how long you keep jordan on your fantasy team or do you like to lose?
let us know when he is free again and you trade him.
awful night; nick young will take his spot soon, if flip wants his job.
doc
December 28th, 2011
11:08 pm
pargo gets the same spread as josh, maybe more so, on his threes.
Ryder
December 28th, 2011
11:12 pm
I keep forgetting. Theres no more Fan’s Nest. What a bummer. I guess this is the only AJC blog on the hawks.
It would be nice if they brought it back.
Phuch Le` Duch
December 28th, 2011
11:15 pm
josh an al play well together. pargo an green should be gone before the season ends.
i would like to see slone play as he cant be worse thn pargo. Pargo can gard players but
is offset by his turnovers and bad shots. I never saw green before so after two games he
has not impressed me atall. When himelick get back both should be gone. I like what i am seeing from the hawks at the start of the season though.
doc
December 28th, 2011
11:15 pm
yup ryder plenty of bloggers to go around to redo the nest.
Michael Cunningham
December 28th, 2011
11:23 pm
new blog posted. shutting down this thread.