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Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks: About last night

12:36 pm January 8, 2012, by Michael Cunningham

  • A look at the plus-minus shows the Hawks dominated even more than the score suggested. Only a couple turnover-plagued, scoring-challenged stints by Atlanta’s subs prevented this from being a total beat down instead of a blowout (understandable since Chicago’s second unit is better defensively than the starters).
  • The Hawks showed they meant business on the very first play of the game. Joakim Noah won the tip, but Al Horford stepped in front of a sleepy Derrick Rose to corral the ball. Horford powered over Rose before help could arrive to start Atlanta’s 12-1 run.
  • “It seemed like that was a momentum booster,” Joe Johnson said. “I thought that was a game-changing moment in itself.”
  • Chicago really only had one competitive stretch after that. Atlanta’s subs tried to pressure the Bulls early in the second quarter and it backfired. The Bulls scored six points off three turnovers as Taj Gibson, Omer Asik and Kyle Korver got them back in the game.
  • The Hawks buried the Bulls in the last four minutes of the first half with an electric display of defensive energy and shot-making. Vladimir Radmanovic, playing in place of injured Marvin Williams, made two of his five 3-pointers (on five attempts) during that 18-2 burst.
  • Atlanta didn’t let up after halftime. Joe scored on Js and drives, Jeff Teague set up Horford for an open jumper, Josh Smith scored at the rim on a sharp pass from Joe, Vlad Rad made another 3 and Smith scored on an oop from Teague. The Bulls, meanwhile, couldn’t score at the rim (Al had key blocks against Noah and Luol Deng) and couldn’t hold onto the ball against Atlanta’s swarming D.
  • Zaza Pachulia finally got an extended stint and delivered with five rebounds, 3 for 5 shooting (including a couple nice finishes at the rim!) and a steal. Zaza works well together with Tracy McGrady, who is always calling for Zaza for pick-and-rolls. You can see that McGrady has learned that he can’t put as much mustard on his passes to Zaza.
  • The Hawks never let Rose (3 for 10 shooting, five turnovers) find his rhythm. Teague rediscovered his defensive mojo. Atlanta blitzed Rose to make him give up the ball and surrounded him with their long bodies to cut off his space.
  • “Get up on the pick and roll,” Teague said of the plan vs. Rose. “We sat back the first game and he picked us apart and made threes. So we brung it up and tried to get up on him more and let him see bodies.”
  • “It’s not an individual effort with that guy,” Smith said. “You have to build walls in transition. We did a good team job on him defensively: crowding him, trapping him and giving him different looks.”
  • When the Hawks move the ball like they did in this game, even an elite defensive team like Chicago looks a step slow. Those 32 assists on 47 field goals don’t even fully capture how crisp the Hawks looked.
  • Once the Hawks started making shots, they started hawking the ball, getting steals, running the floor and everything came together.
  • “That’s what it’s all about, playing together as a team,” Josh said. “Whenever we are that unselfish on the offensive end, guys are more willing to make that extra push on the defensive end.”
  • “We were on a string,” Teague said. “We really got out in transition. That’s something we haven’t been doing lately. We’ve been halfcourt team the last couple games.”
  • “On defense, we were right there,” Al said. “I think that’s what triggers our team, when we help each other.”
  • Vlad Rad is officially out of his slump and eventually should approach his career norms. “Guys like him that get on a roll, they can just make shots in bunches,” Larry Drew said. “Every shot he takes, it looks like it was going in. He hit a couple early and you could see he was kind of feeling it.”
  • Zaza took the credit: “He had Georgian food for first time today.” Vlad Rad: “Now I will eat at Zaza’s place for every pregame meal.”
  • Even with the hot shooting night, Vlad passed up a couple open 3s. He’s such a clever player that sometimes it looks as if he over-thinks things instead of just letting it fly. And there are times when that cleverness leads to his teammates not being ready for his passes.
  • This was the first game in which both Joe and Vlad Rad were making shots. It made a big difference.
  • A night after attacking the rim with abandon, Josh was back to taking (and making) jump shots. But I’m wondering if fatigue didn’t play a factor in that. He used plenty of his juice for defense and finished with six blocked shots and four steals.
  • In addition to his good work on D, Teague (6 of 8 shooting, 8 assists, no turnovers) finished strong at the basket while finding the perfect balance between attacking to score and looking to set guys up. “When Teague is aggressive like that, we are a different club,” Drew said. “When he is in attack mode, he gives us another weapon. He can turn the corner and finish on big guys. More importantly, it breaks their defense down.”
  • About the only negatives for the Hawks were the six free-throw attempts (which hardly mattered with the way they were shooting 3s) and the 43-31 rebounding deficit (which mostly was due to their troubles dealing with Asik’s size ).
  • By the way, the Hawks made all six of those free-throw attempts. Go figure.
  • Marvin suffered that the team said is a Grade 1 ankle sprain in the first half and didn’t return. “It will probably be a situation where we are playing Vladi more at the three until we see Marvin’s status,” Drew said.
  • The Hawks had the toughest schedule in the league to start the season. They came out of it with a 6-3 record and splits with Chicago and Miami.
  • “Decent,” Joe said. “It wasn’t what we wanted it to be. Realistically we could have been 8-1. We let a couple get away. We have just got to try to validate this by stringing some more wins together.”
  • “I think we did good,” Josh said. “It was still a little disappointing because we let a couple games get away from us. All in all I think we did a good job. We showed resilience and we played together.”
  • “I think we did pretty good,” Al said. “There’s definitely a ceiling to do better. But 6-3, I will take it. It’s nine games in a short stretch of time, I will definitely take that.”
  • “I think we did pretty good,” Teague said. “We let two slide. We wish we could get back. But it’s a long season. That many games in that short span, your body gets tired. I think we did a great job playing three in a row.”
  • Atlanta’s schedule eases over the next week in terms of quality of opponent but the Hawks have to avoid slip-ups. “It’s not over with,” Josh said. “We have got to keep playing together. We’ve got to keep doing whatever it takes to win. We’ve got to stay focused and stay together.”

Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat

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273 comments Add your comment

Grandad

January 9th, 2012
2:35 am

JaeEvolution

I still like Amir Johnson;
like him alot as a matter of fact.
He got that contract last year and good for him.
He’s now *overpaid.
*[after the lockout & with the new NBA ecomomy]
He’s making way too many $$$ to bring him in.
Our Hawks must be frugal due to one huge share going to Joe.
**Besides – a player like Ivan Johnson can bring many of the same qualities.
Though not built the same they [Johnson & Johnson] are both fearless competitors.

Now; I think the Hawks need a player who can provide at least two
of the following three assets; which I mentioned earlier today.
*defensive rebounding / *low post scoring / *interior defense

As a spoof – sort of – to get our bloggers talkin’ hoops;
I mentioned a Josh for Bargnani trade.

In all seriousness, Bargnani has gotten off to an exceptional start this season.
He would provide “scoring” both inside and out plus he has the length
to protect the rim to a degree. [his blocks are up this year] back near his
career numbers.
The intriguing thing about AB is his B-ball IQ . (considered very very high) !
Although his rebounding is deplorable.

If we could obtain Bargnani w/o giving up Joe, Josh, Al, or Jeff …
Toronto is looking for a pg … Kirk + Marv + Zaza … ?
I doubt Toronto would go for that ?

Grandad

January 9th, 2012
2:36 am

I have no idea why it posted twice ? ? ?

Rev in Tampa

January 9th, 2012
5:59 am

The Hawks have a very favorable schedule ahead of them. After playing the Nets on Monday they play the 6-2 Pacers on Wednesday.

The Pacers six wins were against Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland (OT), New Jersey, Boston, & Charlotte. They lost toDetroit and Miami (by 35 points). They are no pushover, but are certainly no top tier team. If the Hawks take care of business they should be fine.

Then the Hawks play Charlotte (again!), Minnesota, and Toronto before Jamal Crawford comes back to Phillips with Portland.

The Hawks play on ESPN against Portland after (hopefully) stringing together several wins. Overconfidence will be the Hawks’ mindset, so we need to prepare ourselves for the Hawks to be blown-out and for Jamal to to score 30+.

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 9th, 2012
6:44 am

TEBOW!!!!

PTL …

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 9th, 2012
7:15 am

John 3:16

That’s what Tebow has painted under his eyes to deflect the bright lights. Here’s my point: Tebow threw for 316 yards. Why can’t Matt Ryan be like Tim Tebow?

“Just win!” -Art Modell”

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 9th, 2012
7:20 am

Also … Tebow threw 10 passes for 31.6 yards each. Can you say divine intervention? Just WOW! A 5th round pick has out performed Matty and so many others.

Talent trumps Talk.

Rev in Tampa

January 9th, 2012
8:13 am

drmaryb.[*_*].,

I preached a sermon titled “The Apostel Paul and Tim Tebow” back in December.

I know of nothing so boring as listening to me drone on for a half hour, but if anyone is interested I provided the link: http://www.buzzsprout.com/101/38019-acts-22-22-23-35-the-apostle-paul-and-tim-tebow

Rev in Tampa

January 9th, 2012
8:14 am

^^Apostle

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 9th, 2012
8:34 am

Boy Scouts!

“The Knicks are attempting to fix a problem that arose among opposing team scouts regarding their dissatisfaction with the new nosebleed seating at the transformed Garden, according to NBA sources.” -New York Post-
______________

Where does the Hawks “Boy Scouts” work from? Do they even have a talent scout on staff? Who is he?

More importantly, can he find us a usable back up center? You’re gonna pay Twin 1.25M to sit and wait to defend D12 three times a year? Really? D12 is a moving target because, he is likely to be moved by March. Just dumb management. Just go get Horford and Josh some help _ for the love of basketball!

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 9th, 2012
8:43 am

The Sermon on the Mount!

Hell Rev in Tampa! Sup? How’s the girls doing? I’ll check out that link and get back to you – Thanks!!!

The Hawks defense is the biggest surprise so far. Oh! And the bench is very nice on defense too. There is no drop off in defensive plays when they come in. The starters seem very excited about their subs coming in and playing well.

The team chemistry looks like it’s on another level this year. Ivan is brutal out there, my only concern is foul prone. That may keep him on the bench – he is just a bull in the china closet. Hey Ivan, slow down a little and get your defense under control. He makes great, smart passes on the inside too.

Get rid of Twin, Sloan and (Stack?) next. That’s three spots hurting this roster. Call Kito?

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 9th, 2012
9:46 am

* Hello

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
10:18 am

Um Bargnani For Zaza? No Way. Probably the response on both sides. They got the C of the future.

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
10:20 am

Twin plays center when Horford….. can’t do it. #ANALBASHER

KCG

January 9th, 2012
10:41 am

I don’t understand all the hate on Al. I think is mostly one person posting as a lot of different people. It seems like whenever Josh plays good people want to bash Al. Al is the most consistent player on the team and plays hard every game. I actually like both Josh and Al and want them both to succeed together. And lets be real, Josh is a head case. If Al is challenging Josh at practice then thats good, somebody needs to be doing it. Even if they do butt heads sometimes, no one on this team has supported Josh more than Al. I remember one time being at the game when Josh was in his pout mode and not wanting to huddle with the team during a timeoout. Al was the only one that went and encouraged Josh to man up and huddle up with the team and Josh joined in. Everybody else including coach Woody at the time was like oh well, just let him pout. Al is the glue for this team. Check the team record when Al is hurt and when anybody else is hurt. Its night and day.

Rufus1

January 9th, 2012
10:44 am

Power Ranking

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/1/9/2693513/nba-power-rankings-2011-2012-miami-heat-oklahoma-city-thunder

Rufus1

January 9th, 2012
10:50 am

I know this is not a 66 game team….

I want to see how the perform against the ELITE in the EAST. This will tell what I can expect from them in the playoffs. Just like the Magic last year…..The Bulls fans sound just like the Magic fans did…..I think the Bulls are in TROUBLE if they meet the Hawks.

I think the Hawks have found the formula for the Bulls, just like the Magic and the Celtics

Rufus1

January 9th, 2012
10:51 am

how they perform^^

KevinM

January 9th, 2012
11:17 am

We better enjoy that ranking while we can. I don’t ever see us ranked any higher than that and ranked above all of LA and Boston?
We aren’t any better than Houston IMO. While we may have beaten MIA and CHI, we also lost to them, so while I give the Hawks a good grade for surviving at 6-3, they could have made a huge statement, and guys still wondering which team this is.
I will take us as a 5 seed right now and its early, but there is still loads of room for improvement. If you never played Zaza and Marvin again, I might be inclined to think we will have moved on from medicore players with up and down performances.
That would be 2 improvements to the rotation, and I am looking for guys who leave it on the court and help us win the entire time they are out there….getting involved with a high level of energy. These guys just seem to do it every once in a while instead of all the time. I guess the knowing that there is another game tomorrow is part of the cause of this.
I just would like us to develop an urgent mentality and not gear down when we just want to coast.
I will say this; this team has learned for the most part to beat teams they are supposed to beat, but those hairballs that come out of the team every once in a while………..
And like DMB said, there’s at least 3 roster slots that could be better immediately. Even if you brought in Arenas, a big man like Leon Powe, and a Brian Zoubek, that would be 3 better options IMO.

Blowout Win Boosts Morale, Energy | From the Highlight Factory

January 9th, 2012
11:19 am

[...] At the end of a physically and mentally draining stretch of games, the Hawks chemistry was surely going to be tested against the Bulls on Saturday night. The blowout win helped Atlanta pass with flying colors. (Note: the final margin of 15 points did not do justice to explain how much the Hawks dominated this game. Check out a full explanation from the AJC’s Michael Cunningham.) [...]

kwooden

January 9th, 2012
11:24 am

I watched most of the Bulls game again, and Twin didn’t play as poorly as it appeared when I watched the game live. He’s moving his feet well enough and seemed to be in good position to rebound, but the Bulls second unit was making shots. I think we can certainly get by with the guys we have, especially if Ivan is playing against guys that are 6′10″ and smaller. I think the guys need to settle into this aggressive schedule and expect to play tough games every night. Nobody’s a pushover and everyone is desperate for wins. The HAWKS have the capability to be success in the Playoffs, but right now isn’t Playoff time. Hopefully Marvin has recovered from the sprain and is ready to go tonight.

GO HAWKS!!

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
11:26 am

“Wins over Miami and Chicago in the same week? Don’t act like you’re not impressed.”

if you build it – they will come

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
11:30 am

Sorry Pachulia (backup center) performs his job and has more impact than Marvin Williams (starter).

Different expectations, and Marvin has failed. Zaza has to provide spark against backups or hold a lead.

Marvin is supposed to overcome our size with his scoring. Knock down open 3s. Play big. He doesnt do it and we ranked 28th in rebounding last year.

Bench him for Twin and we play 1 on 1 defensively and beat Orlando. First Jamal without any semblance of defense can outperform him then its Space Cadet Radmanovic who comes and outperforms him? Starting Marvin has been killing this team for years.

Enough is enough.

Ra'mon

January 9th, 2012
11:32 am

Al, Marvin, and three first round picks with the last pick protected top 3.

With this, you still can start Teague,Kirk, Joe, Josh, and D12. That’s a defensive Juggernaut that will be a nightmare for teams to score against in the half court.

KevinM

January 9th, 2012
11:33 am

Current list of active FAs that need a team…for those who think we could use one of these guys….http://hoopshype.com/free_agency.htm

I am sure there are a couple of D-Leaguers that are stepping up and looking to rise through the ranks, a la Sloan and Ivan.

Rufus1

January 9th, 2012
11:35 am

KevinM

Did you think we would be Orlando in the playoffs last year?

stop looking at the name on the front of the jersey and look at their entire team.

Boston- Old without any dept or size. Boston is fight for a 6th or 7th seed.
LA- A bad match-up for the Hawks with their size, but no supporting cast.
Houston- Always plays the Hawks tough no matter what the record.

Why do you discount the WINS against the Bulls and the Heat, but give Houston so much credit for beating the Hawks?

kwooden

January 9th, 2012
11:35 am

KevinM, Arenas is finished being a great player, now he’s just serviceable. (not to mention the off-court stuff that will never go away) I live in DC and have watched Arenas the entire time here, I thought the Magic were Stupid to make the trade. (it was liked they only watched old tape of him) I like Arenas as the basket player he was and a guy in the community, but not for this team. Hinich will be a great addition defensively when he comes back. (pre-knee surgery Arenas never played great defensive) I think the more we see of Ivan, the more we’ll worry less about extra big men. Ivan is the right kind of big guy for this team. He doesn’t hesitate, just makes smart basketball plays. Even when he turns the ball over, they’re aggressive basketball plays. Personally I would like to have Taj Gibson coming off our bench, but that’s not how this League works.

GO HAWKS!!

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
11:45 am

Josh Smith complete highlights 25 pts 6 blocks 4 steals vs Chicago Bulls 01/07/2012 HD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-UbIJQtAp8

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
11:49 am

^note who’s defending him.. We start out Small and go big with Vlad. Wings like Brewer and Butler can’t block him under the rim like they can when guarding him 1 on 1 like Asik/Noah/Gibson/Noah can.

And at that CHI’s bigs cant help their wings out in time either

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
12:00 pm

Al, Marvin, and three first round picks with the last pick protected top 3.
———–
oi vey now We got to start and rely on Vlad now? Anderson better come for that over too for that King’s ransom.

http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com/2012/01/ryan-anderson-not-just-some-random-guy-anymore/

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
12:07 pm

Are we playing these guys soon?

Boston- Old without any depth or size. We can go big and demolish them.

Smith at 245+ locked up Pierce last year and we nearly won with Joe out, Marvin playing the 2 guard. And Smith can now rim run on Pierce all day.

Heck we swept them playing small. They have aged out.

LA- Doubt they make it to Finals, healthy.
Houston- Always play bigger tougher lineups than the Hawks no matter what the record.

Ken Strickland

January 9th, 2012
12:08 pm

I knew at least one of the ANAL MINDED HATERS and BASHERS would respond to my last post, and as you might expect, it had to be that particular ANAL MINDED B!TCH who posts under my name. Have fun sweety.

GRANDAD-If you act like you are part of the ANAL MINDED group, I’ll have to call you aside and have a serious talk with you my friend. I don’t have any problems with anyone who might have issues with certain players. But I do have issues with anyone who focuses exclusively on what they think that player doesn’t do, or doesn’t do well, while making up crap and totally disregarding what they do well. Comeone, what else but an ANAL MINDED MORON would complain about a player being:
1-too short,
2-too mechanical,
3-too soft,
4-taking too many jumpshots, even though he’s the NBAs most efficient at it,
5-out of position,
6-less than a dominant rebounder and scorer,
7-less than a dominant postup scorer,
And then they trivialize and make fun of him being able to overcome all of these alledged shortcomings to become a consecutive 2 time Allstar and All NBA selection in his 1st 4 yrs. STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES, AND CONTINUES TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! or should I say, ANAL MINDED IS AS ANAL MINDED DOES, AND CONTINUES TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
12:19 pm

my gripe is with people saying he should get more touches.
Ken Strickland, what’s your assessment of Marvin Williams?

KevinM

January 9th, 2012
12:29 pm

“Rufus1: Why do you discount the WINS against the Bulls and the Heat, but give Houston so much credit for beating the Hawks?”

Because the Hawks should have beaten the Bulls AND Heat twice to prove they are the better team…they let each team beat them because we get hit in the mouth and don’t respond. It’s an average thing. When the Heat beat us, we were convinced it was okay to let up. When the Bulls beat us, they let up. I just call that averaging out.
IMO, we play Houston in a 7 game, we don’t figure it out in time.
Rufus, we have seen this all too often. We mentally do not do the things we need to do. When we went into this week, I said we would learn alot about this team. What did we learn?

1) This team is still inconsistent despite whether a team is on a b2b2b or just sitting around waiting for us to come into their arena. We may be able to beat someone, but we aren’t sure if we’re going to show up. No one says that about the Lakers or Celtics even though the C’s have shown weaknesses lately.
2) Our leaders are still as inconsistent as they come; there is no hiding the fact our guys do not go out and show consistency.
3) Our bench might be the best we will ever have here because of our limitations. We have to contend with guys who may have never played another NBA minute if we didn’t pick them up, save for T-Mac.

Look, I want this team to either step up each night, show that they’ve learned from the past, and show they are worthy of everyone’s respect. I have never heard of a team that gets so dissed like this team. There isn’t an ‘expert’ out there thinking the Hawks have turned the corner.
I’m still not buying what Sund and Gearon are selling; if they wanted a championship team, they wouldn’t follow anyone’s model. They would go at this at all costs and get us higher than the 2-16 mark we’ve posted the last few years in the 2nd round.

I also said before, as much as I like the D12 talk and trying to getting us our first superstar since Dominique, I am willing to watch the same guys sprinkled with retreads and see if they can perform at least as well as last year. I don’t expect much else. Right now, we are seeing the best of what our 3 captains can give us. There is no further maturity coming. Our captains prefer to defer than attempt to take over a game.

As Sund has always said, we go as far as Joe takes us. That is your 124M answer to a question we could all answer and no way I give one guy that is not the best at his position to get that kind of money. Let the Knicks have him.
So what if Gearon has spent 124M on him; just don’t come out and say there are limitations when you do something as stupid as that. It is going to kill this franchise if something isn’t done in the near term. We won’t even be talking 2nd round in the near future.

Now you answer Rufus:
1) Does this team look like a contender?
2) Are we as good as all of LA or Boston in any situation?
3) Can Joe become a Dirk and take a team to the top? Dirk failed once before he succeeded, and you never heard Cuban cry about the cap.

You’re either all in or you aren’t……the ASG isn’t. And I am convinced we could win 40 games for the next few years, but why won’t we take that next step to be a top team? As I said earlier this year, I can see a diff team that we haven’t faced in the playoffs and they close out our season for one reason or another. Its the Braves syndrome.
This organization is not committed to anything other than the core. The GM and coach are in limbo here…..when do they get their security?
Enough from me, as I feel the same way after a win or a loss.

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
12:31 pm

1-too short, to play PF
2-too mechanical, clumsy
3-too soft, to play PF
4-incapable of trailing the break or spacing the floor (redundant with Josh,Horford)
5-has no position
6-less than a competent rebounder and scorer,
7-less than a competent postup scorer
8-less than a competent shooter
9-less than a competent slasher

Marvin Williams loses his Perimeter Spot and minutes year in year out to Crawford, Flip Murray, Mo Evans. This year Ivan, & Rad.

The only reason we paid him is because Childress left.
The only reason we keep him is because he has negative trade value. That is we’ll get someone worse or unnecessary (ie Drew Gooden) if we trade him.

KevinM

January 9th, 2012
12:34 pm

Kwooden, I can see the same things you see as positives. I just can also see a time where an Arenas might be a good guy to put a few minutes in and feel confident with the ball in his hands. Does he make teams better? Not sure, because he was inconsistent in ORL and the Wizards was a very unique situation. If I was ORL, I wouldn’t have traded for him either; Rashard was filling a good role in ORL. Arenas didn’t improve that team’s standing.
Drew wants vets because he doesn’t like young guys, and I agree that KH might fill our void we have now.
I will say Willie Green is deserving of more chances as well as VRad. They have played good in spots, and you can’t always say that about vets on the end of their careers. Get healthy T-Mac; we will need you in Indy.

Smith.Leuer.Bogut

January 9th, 2012
12:42 pm

Because the Hawks should have beaten the Bulls AND Heat twice to prove they are the better team…they let each team beat them because we get hit in the mouth and don’t respond.
——
That came down to coaching and matchups

Miami
Instead of going big and forcing 6′10 aging Battier vs athletic 6′8 Smith. You keep Marvin in and now Battier can let his teammate guard Marvin and he’ll lock up aging Joe Johnson.

And not only was the Battier+Bosh Heat shooting 3s, and us doubling them but Then we are undersized on boards. Bosh was pushing Smith off the block and altering his shots 1 on 1.

Its stupid. Smith + Vlad/Ivan + Horford/Pachulia would have forced better matchups.

Rockets was worse. Budinger beat up Marvin. Instead of going bigger with Ivan or Vlad… Ivan had not played yet.

Budinger vs Josh Smith would have been a royal @SS whipping. But no, keep Marvin in. Keep saying Josh is not an advantage at SF.

Latest I hear we’re going small against the Nets and McGrady is set to replace Marvin.

Keep playing small and old and unathletic. Keep double teaming and getting outrebounded. Yeah lets Keep Smith out of the fastbreak and make him the PF trailer.

Smith at S, tall white guy shooting 3s (Leuer,Vlad) at PF = easy shots.

Where do the easy shots come from with old @zz McGrady starting. Does starting McGrady and Smith at the forwards make us better on defense? No.

Here is our choices:

Smith_Ivan (big, crash boards, rebound and pass ahead to PG and the wings on the break)
Smith_Vlad (big, easy shots)
Smith_McGrady (small

Would you want Josh on the wings pushing and dunking on guys on a break. or rebounding and passing to Marvin and then trailing the perimeter?

Guess we’ll see if we go small.
What would Ken say? Stupid is as Stupid Does.

KevinM

January 9th, 2012
12:44 pm

“”It’s no need to focus on anything else besides going out every night and playing hard. … “All that other stuff is up to the Magic and up to my agent. I’m going to be Dwight every night, have fun on the court, entertain the fans, block shots, run the floor, rebound, do whatever I’ve got to do to win. … There’s no need for me to get involved with anything else. I’ve said all I can say about it.”

Is D12 starting to sound just like Carmelo? Kinda similar, keeping his stance on where he wants to go…..

Is the last game vs. Sac an example of the ups and downs D12 will encounter until he is solid in his commitment to a team?

KevinM

January 9th, 2012
12:49 pm

Smith.Leuer.Bogut, you make it sound like its all coaching at this juncture is the reason for the inconsistency? I just say this group of guys need a true closer in the 4th and the simple need to mentally close out a good team. I can’t say whether CHI is as good as last year.
But MIA is better than last year…so is Indy, Philly should be, and ORL and BOS may be good enough as presently constructed.

When you see us ALWAYS going to Joe (surprise!), we end up with a hail mary type of effort.
Have we ever won a game on a out of bounds play to the post? Why not? We have an all-star there too!

Rufus1

January 9th, 2012
1:08 pm

KevinM-answers

Now you answer Rufus:
1) Does this team look like a contender? -Yes, because I don’t just look at the team. I look at the league. In this league the Hawks are contenders…Maybe not in the 80’s or early 90’s, but now.

2) Are we as good as all of LA or Boston in any situation?- Lakers, no. Boston and Clippers, yes we are better.

3) Can Joe become a Dirk and take a team to the top?- No, but Josh, Al and Joe can. Just like Dirk and Terry took Dallas to the top.

4)Dirk failed once before he succeeded, and you never heard Cuban cry about the cap.- Cuban probably lost 200mil over 10 years trying to win a TITLE and I find that STUPID. Winning a TITLE doesn’t make Cuban a SMART owner…..It is the “LAW OF AVERAGES”, it you spend that much on something, you will eventually get LUCKY.

Tyson- contract year
+
Barea-contract year
+
New Rule-Zone
+
Lakers- AGE
+
Pau- Girl friend problems
= TITLE

I am not making excuses for the win. Cuban, keep his team competative for so long, that he eventually ran into the “PERFECT STORM”.

“Past performances are not indicative of future success”

Nothing stays the same. You are either growing or shrinking and I think the Hawks have grown. This may be the year for our “PERFECT STORM”

northcyde

January 9th, 2012
1:36 pm

Great sermon Rev. And I like how you put your fandom out there about the falcons and dawgs, but still saying that you could root for Tebow . . . provided that he’s not playing either team.

To me, Tebow doesn’t even push his faith down people’s throats. People simply don’t like hearing the name Jesus in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

I always am amazed at how people who don’t believe in Jesus, still get mad at the mere sight and sound of the name. It’s. all good though.

No way could I root for Florida when Tebow was there. And I have never cared for the broncos. But I myself root for Tebow and the broncos these days.

We now return to Hawks Blog. . . already in progress.

Dept. Of Unintended Irony

January 9th, 2012
1:37 pm

“Instead of going big and forcing 6′10 aging Battier vs athletic 6′8 Smith.”

LOL @ Battier, growing two inches at the ripe “old” age of 34.

Dept. Of Unintended Irony

January 9th, 2012
1:41 pm

“if you build it – they will come”

Gold Club reference?

hawks_4_life

January 9th, 2012
1:41 pm

Some props from ESPN, 6th in the power rankings:

As soon as you figure out the Hawks, let us know. In a roller-coaster week, they looked like defensive juggernauts in monster wins over Miami (in Miami) and Chicago … and at other times like a dude fresh out of the D-League (Ivan Johnson) was their best player.

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 9th, 2012
1:57 pm

Invisible Man!

Did anyone notice how quiet and irrelevant Noah played in that last game against us? I’m wondering if Noah has issues with TT? It seems their personality should clash or, is TT’s (hyper-intensity), ala: Doug Collins, SVG, Carleisimo, and Larry Brown, is wearing on his new team? I’ve seen coaches like these have very short shelf lives.

Avery Johnson all comes to mind. These fiery personality coaches are great for rebuilding scrub teams from 13 wins to the play offs – but, soon afterwards a change has got to come. Today’s players are just not having it – they call it being “dissed” (disrespected).

Here’s my latter point: we had our intensive coach, Mr. Woodson, now we have the antithesis in Coach Drew. Who is the right coach for this team? Who is that guy to maximize the talent on this roster?

Go KevinM Go!!!

Sol

January 9th, 2012
2:01 pm

The Bootom line is Hawks can not go further with Al at center and Josh at Power forward, trade Josh and Kirk and upgrade the Center position. Also if the Hawks can trade Mervin they should.

drmaryb.[*_*].

January 9th, 2012
2:03 pm

Hind Parts!

The Falcons got kicked in their hind parts like a home invader in tough times.

Rufus1

January 9th, 2012
2:07 pm

Sol

What upgrade at center could we get for Josh and Kirk?

Grandad

January 9th, 2012
2:12 pm

for Ken Strickland

” My *{ass}everation concerning the [5] Center position.
*[anal minded] I couldn’t help myself ”

-a weak play on words-

I would think that I am and have been Big Al’s greatest advocate.

No, I have not gone over to the dark side, unless you count Mary Ellen.
I like bein’ on her side !

As for the Hawks – they bring out my schizophrenia / MPD:
(1) Coach G-dad
(2) Jack-ass G-dad (anal minded moron)
(3) ………………….

I thought there was more but I couldn’t think of any ?

Dept. Of Unintended Irony

January 9th, 2012
2:16 pm

“Also if the Hawks can trade Mervin they should.”

the magician? Oh, sorry, that’s Merlin. Who is Mervin?

Astro Joe

January 9th, 2012
2:22 pm

Someone’s bored.

If the Hawks went 65-1, someone would still suggest trading half the team to punish those who contributed toward the lost.

A 65% winning percentage is equivalent to a 50+ win season during a standard 82 game schedule. It is hard for me personally to get too upset about a 65% winning team that isn’t over the luxury tax and has one of the 3-5 lowest paid head coaches. Actually, it sounds like pretty good fiscal management if you look at it on a cost per win basis.

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