Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 106, Nets 101
Newark, N.J.–Larry Drew has been pretty conservative with his starters’ minutes this season. Until tonight, when he suddenly decided to ride them and go all out to beat the Nets. The absence of Marvin Williams explains some of that but I thought the bench guys had OK stints in the first half, only to never be seen again (except for Zaza Pachulia).
- “Going into halftime, I was going to come out and see what happened and go off feel,” Drew said. “Once New Jersey made that run, I made a decision to ride the starters. I didn’t want to lose momentum. I went with feel. I kind of went with my gut.”
- “I understand in this short season, every game is important for us,” Joe Johnson said. “I’m willing to do whatever L.D. wants. We talked, and he understands my mindset. He knows what I’m willing to do what I have to as a player to help this team get better.”
- “He took me out in the fourth for about 20 seconds at the start of the fourth quarter and then put me right back in, and I was like, ‘OK,’” Al Horford said. “It was an important win. It’s the fist 10 games, and [at] 7-3 we are in a good position.”
- Neither Jeff Teague nor Johnson came off the floor in the second half and Josh Smith sat for just 52 seconds. “I didn’t even notice it,” Teague said. “I was just playing.”
- The Nets are not going to be mistaken for a good defensive team, but this game showed how many offensive threats the Hawks present when they share the ball.
- The Nets had to worry about Joe’s runners, Al’s pick-and-pop (even if he didn’t square up on a couple of them), Josh’s athletic drives, and Teague’s dribble penetration. And then there was Vladmir Radmanovic waiting in the corner ready to make a 3 when the Nets reacted to all of that.
- “I was wide open,” Vlad Rad said. “Not like [just] open. I was by myself and looking to see if somebody was coming. It was amazing. I think me knocking down shots is going to help [teammates] be more open and not have the double teams coming. That’s the kind of relationship we are trying to build. We depend on each other. I’m glad they found me today. Some nights I am going to have a lot of shots, some nights probably not. As long as we are winning, I’m OK. ”
- Smith (26 points on 14 shots, six rebounds, three steals) filled up the box score again. He also took (and made) jump shots. But he also attacked the rim and earned 11 free-throw attempts. “I’m starting off aggressive, setting the tempo early and getting into the flow of the offense,” Josh said.
- “He’s taking open shots and not worrying about what people say,”Teague said. “He’s driving to the basket and being aggressive. When he’s like that, we are at our best.”
- “He’s doing a better job mixing up his shots and not just settling,” Drew said of Josh. “He’s driving, he’s taking the mid-range shots. He’s making really good decisions off the dribble.”
- Another strong game from Teague, who got to the basket and finished, was 3 for 3 on 3-pointers, and distributed the ball well. Teague also was able to use the threat of doing all of those things to shake free and score in the 5-10 foot range. If his 3-point shooting holds up over the long term, it would provide yet another scoring threat for the Hawks.
- Joe turned back the Nets with some of those familiar fadeaway Js against tight D. Each one deflated the Nets, who saw their best efforts negated by Joe’s size advantage and scoring talent. “It was nice to see Joe get in that groove late in the fourth quarter and knock down some big jump shots to stop the bleeding,” Josh said.
- Apparently the Nets didn’t pay attention to their scouting report. There were a few times when they seemed to be very concerned about Jannero Pargo shooting but not so worried about Vlad Rad.
- “I don’t understand how he’s the best shooter on the floor and he always seems to get wide open,” Joe said. “I don’t know what the defense is thinking. Leave me wide open sometimes. I don’t undestand how he gets wide open looks, especially with last game the way he shot it.”
- Again, I think part of the reason for that is because the Hawks have so many scoring options when they have good player and ball movement (and, in those cases like tonight when Joe is feeling it, even when they don’t). Better defensive teams will be able to do a better job solving that puzzle in the playoffs but, as you saw with the Bulls the other night, even elite defensive teams can have their hands full with the Hawks (especially if the Hawks also get transition scores).
- The Hawks got lax on their closeouts when the Nets came back (tired legs?), but New Jersey does have an elite point guard to set up a bunch of shooters.
- “To be perfectly honest, I expected it to be a close ball game,” Drew said. “This New Jersey team is a very scrappy team. Avery has done a magnificent job, particularly because they are depleted with injuries. They are still playing hard, still competing. They have always played us well. They have guys who can hit shots. They are physical on the glass.”
- After playing their sixth game in eight days, and with the starters putting in work tonight, the Hawks play a tough game at Indy Wednesday before playing host to Charlotte the next night.
- “We’ll take advantage of tomorrow, get a little time off, rest our legs,” Joe said.
- “We should be all right if everybody takes care of their body,” Josh said. “The bench guys are definitely going to come and help.”
- Told that he should be fine because he’s a young guy, Teague smiled: “I guess. I’m still human.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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281 comments Add your comment
terrell
January 10th, 2012
8:27 am
Mary B. One word. STEVE SPAGNUOLA.
terrell
January 10th, 2012
8:28 am
And one more word
Todd Haley on offense.
MULARKEY is just a bunch of MULARKEY!
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 10th, 2012
8:34 am
Lord of The Rings!
Plantar Fascitis!
Briggs! If that is true? This is great news. Cry-Ami gloated what last pre-season? 6 Rings?
DWade and Joe are about the same age and Mr. Johnson is very cool and healthy. The style Wade plays, he won’t last forever with all his dunking and clowning. Plantar Fascitis is some nasty stuff! I hope his foot falls off. LOL!
This could be the year for a dark horse, why not us?
vava74
January 10th, 2012
8:37 am
“MC! Wassup with the new blog system that was supposed to begin in January 2012? ONE user I’d per ONE verified email address is old technology these days. That simple feature shouldn’t put the AJC over the luxury tax threshold.”
Classic suff drmaryb! Simply down right classic stuff!!!
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 10th, 2012
8:41 am
Help Wanted!
“Joe cant beat teams by himself. ” -terrell-
______________
Neither could LeBron.
joe white
January 10th, 2012
8:43 am
Go hawks at 7-3 so far i will take it looks like a different team i hope they reach east finals this year.
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 10th, 2012
8:53 am
Pushing the Pile!
I’m still seething over the Falcons beat down, sorry for being off topic but:
4th and 1? Turner on the bench? All the Giants defense have to do is stack the box. I have no problem with going for it, but call a different play.
The QB hitting the pile side ways had not worked against the Saints and it wasn’t gonna work three times against the Giants either. You always take the 3 points in a road play off game inside the 30 yard line, or just punt the damned ball. I seriously question Mike Smith play calling. Why not throw the damned ball to Gonzalez for 10 yards and, kill that QB sneak in broad daylight. You ain’t sneaking up on anybody with that play.
___________
If the Heat have injuries to the any of the big three, Hawks should take that #1 or #2 spot. Beating the WCF winner is a bridge to cross when you get there. But, get there!
The equivalent to the busted 4 and 1 play is Larry Drew not fouling Bosh when they needed a three to tie it in regulation – YOU HAVE TO GIVE THAT FOUL! You big dummie! You had a FOUL to GIVE. I hope that doesn’t come back to haunt us later.
Ken S. How’s that for an off topic recovery?
hawks D
January 10th, 2012
9:03 am
Keep it up Hawks!
The hawks have definately shown us they can play strong on both ends of the floor!
But I will say it again and again and again—-Consistancy is EVERYTHING, its that rather simple ingredient that splits championship teams from mediocre teams..
KEEP IT GOING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dom from Germany
O'Brien
January 10th, 2012
9:10 am
Najeh,
Hard to believe this is the same Teague who Woody and LD could not find consistent PT for. Dude is averaging 12, 6 and 2, while playing good defense and not turning the ball over.
O'Brien
January 10th, 2012
9:11 am
I didn’t agree with LD’s decision to ride the starters, because I thought the bench was doing ok, and in the end, the starters ended up making the game closer than it should have been.
I’m very happy for the road win, but the Nets were only averaging 86 ppg, and we let them come back.
That being said, thanks to JJ for sealing the win. We will need a big game out of him and Josh (who has had 3 solid games in a row, not counting the rebounding) on Wednesday.
Astro Joe
January 10th, 2012
9:13 am
I wonder if they found new meds for Josh? He is playing with exceptional discipline in the past few games. We can only hope the disciplined focus remains (even if the output fluctuates). LD will likely go with the big line-up against the Pacers, if for no other reason than to have Josh (instead of Vlad Rad) start out on Granger. Hibbert isn’t going to score 40, so I don’t think there is any concern with Horford defending the former Hoya. But Granger can score 40.
I still think LD was boneheaded to play the starters that many minutes. Joe has a bad thumb and Willie Green has looked like a solid SG of late. Meanwhile the “team leader” has apparently fallen and can’t get up. LOL at those quick to annoint TMac (and some wanted to offer him a contract extension after the first Heat game).
Oh and while the Nets have little talent and Lopez is injured to make matters even worse, I’m beginning to think that Avery Johnson may not quite be as good as advertised. I can’t imagine listening to his voice after each and every loss. Like nails on a blackboard.
wordsmithtom
January 10th, 2012
9:20 am
DrMary, spot on about that Qback sneak vs tossing to Tony G. He’s bigger. He’s taller. He’s a future Hall of Famer, yet we QB sneak instead of tossing it high to him for a 2 yard gain. Hell, he can fall forward for 2 yards… SMGDH
Hawks playing GOOD. Not Great, but GOOD. I’ll take GOOD at this point in a shortened season. We’ll see how this plays out. If Josh can keep up his recent play, we might just have something special like the Detroit model.
Ken Strickland
January 10th, 2012
9:30 am
DRMARYB-You do it soooo good!!!!!!!!!!!LOL.
GRANDAD-Thanks for the recognition. The thing that puzzled and angered me was the fact that both Woodson and Drew knew Bibby and Jamal were total DEF liabilities. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have done something as drastic and employ the switching DEF to cover for them. And to start Bibby and play him so many mins, considering his OFF and DEF limitations and lack of production, and the fact they had an alternative sitting on the bench begging for a chance to contribute and grow, was downright stupid.
Even if every excuse they gave for not giving Teague a chance to play was true, it certainly wouldn’t have interferred with his ability to play DEF, which we definitely needed more often than not. Starting Teague, and not having to contend with Bibby’s and Jamal’s nonexistent DEF, has caused our interior DEF and rebounding to improve. Having Radmanovic as our primary OFF threat off the bench, instead of Jamal, has contributed to the improvement of our interior DEF and rebounding.
Josh and Horford’s shotblocking has increased, because there’s no more SWITCHING DEF to take them away from the man they’re covering and put them out on the perimeter. Being able to remain with their man keeps them near the basket, which allows them to defend the lane much easier, as well as get better rebounding position. The combination of Teague and Pargo allows us to apply constant DEF pressure on the quicker faster PGs that always destroyed us when Bibby and Jamal were our PG combo.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 10th, 2012
9:51 am
“I would hire a new DC who could pressure Mike Smith to step up his play or be replaced by mid season next year. What do you think Najeh”
I’m probably in the minority on this, but I think the Falcons’ problems on both sides of the ball are more personnel-related than coaching-related. BVG was unspectacular but the Falcons’ D was 12th in the league, which isn’t terrible. What they really need on D is a playmaker in the secondary a la Polamalu, Ed Reed, Darrelle Revis, etc. who can scare opposing QBs. Spagnuolo would be a good hire but really any 4-3 defensive coordinator who isn’t an idiot (or an anal-minded moron) would be fine.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 10th, 2012
9:54 am
Having said that, not getting Tony G involved in the offense in that game was inexcusable on the part of the coaches.
KevinM
January 10th, 2012
9:59 am
Ken S. correct me on this statement if I am wrong, but didn’t LD tell us after the 1st CHI game that they were doing the switch on the defensive end during the Bull’s comeback? That last quarter should be kept on video as to what not to do for LD and his coaches to see over and over.
I agree that switching never puts you in the best position, but have we ever gone to start using a zone like so many teams have incorporated? It might prove beneficial to us down the road, IF we can ever get any practice time on it.
For DBoard, going inside on us is a problem and last night’s stats continue to show that:
ATL NJN
Total Rebounds 33 40
Offensive Rebounds 9 10
Turnovers 10 16
Fast Break Pts: 10 5
Biggest Lead: 16 2
Points in the Paint: 30 32
PITP has been the biggest of weaknesses for us for so long. We need more of it and attack the rim. That has to come from Al and Josh because the rest of our post men don’t have such skills.
We are going to have to deal with what we have though. Sund is a ZERO / ZILCH / NADA rash decision maker.
Let me throw my regular D12 vent out there; why would you pass him onto a team he wants to join? Wouldn’t your focus just be on the best offer made, despite where it is? Why should D12’s agent have that kind of power that he can tell you where he wants to go? Not that they can’t be the frontrunners, but I’m opening up my player to the entire league and buyer beware.
terrell, on the radio yesterday, listening to 680 about the Falcons talking about what changes would be made, I said why can’t we bring in a Steve Spagnola to replace BVG and makeover our defense? Not one minute later came the news for BVG to Auburn. To me, that was an excellent first step. Don’t let the defense take this loss though; the offensive game plan was pathetic and we need changes on the ball side as well. No way Malarkey gets a pass on this one.
Someone mentioned Brian Billick; would his ego allow him to come here and open up the lanes for our guys? He won a Super Bowl without a QB at one point.
My 2 minute Falcon rant is over, back to the ‘BIG’ league.
KevinM
January 10th, 2012
10:02 am
Anyone like the scheme Raheem Morris used to run in Tampa? He might be viable as well. They always seemed to swarm the ball and make big plays. Our def backfield is nothing to brag about.
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 10th, 2012
10:03 am
The Cure!
“I wonder if they found new meds for Josh?” – AJ –
___________
Yeah AJ, they did: Charles Barkley’s truth statement was a hard pill to swallow, but it did the trick. Send Charles some flowers? Josh making his haters his motivater.
__________
Ken S. I’m killing everybody today, I’ll play doctor tomorrow (my office is closed today). LOL! 680 The Fan, Buck Belue just asked, “Why is when an Atlanta team loses, the national media always blame the fans?” LOL
Najeh put up that hysterical link of Matty Ice with a jersey that said – “2 POINTS”. Sad truth is, when the Falcons stumbled into 2 points, Matt was on the side lines. A more accurate photo would be Matt Ryan wearing a Jeff Teague jersey.
___________
And, like a 2 Live Stews Caller? I’m Gone. My work here is done.
ag
January 10th, 2012
10:04 am
Is Marvin’s injury a blessing in disguise like KH was last season? I think VladRad starting may be a better option. Also, remember last season Josh was stroking the outside shop before he struggled with it at the end of the season. I also think I heard Josh praise JT0, but he said he is doing a great job while KH is out..??? Does LD plan on starting KH when he comes back? Also, will Marvin be effective off the bench?
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 10th, 2012
10:09 am
The Decade!
Mr. Ken Strickland is a plodding WARRIOR, (ask his prostate?). This guy will kill anything standing in his way. Without Ken’s positive blog contributions, this blog would be nothing!
For that? I will “crown his azz” as the blog MVP!!!
________
Later my cohorts.
ag
January 10th, 2012
10:09 am
KevinM, I agree. I would not D12 tell me were I could trade him. I wonder is DWill regrets going to NJ now. I still don’t see the appeal for some guys wanting to go to NJ. Smith should trade D12 to the Timberwolves for Love.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 10th, 2012
10:14 am
“A more accurate photo would be Matt Ryan wearing a Jeff Teague jersey.”
LMAO
Fundamentals
January 10th, 2012
10:16 am
LD needs to keep Teague and Marvin starting. Let Vlad play his role. Some nights its big, some its not. Just be glad we now have good role players who can all plug in at anytime when called upon. Kirk will play his role. He’s a team guy. I don’t see him gunning for Teague. I see him coming in looking to back up Teague and Joe with his minutes. Thus being an upgrade to a solid bench.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 10th, 2012
10:17 am
I like what Vlad provides the other starters by stretching the floor, but I don’t know that he’s good enough on D to start him. It may be a better idea to keep him on the bench but let him finish games, taking the role T-Mac had during the first few games. Indiana has more firepower at the SF position than New Jersey, so that will be a better test for how well Vlad can play on both ends in the starting lineup.
Smith.Leuer.Bogut
January 10th, 2012
10:33 am
How hard is it to put Smith on Granger to clog lanes & get steals and block shots from the wing and funnel him to our other shotblockers protecting the rim and erasing mistakes…oh wait. Josh Smith is the only one.
—-
“”You can say what you want, but every since Josh called Al out and got in his face in the locker room Al has shut up with All that talk about playing power forward. Al should just shut up and play. He should be doing what he can to help the team not trying to disrupt it.
Im glad Josh got in his Azz”‘
———-
Um,, when did that ever happen?
Fundamentals
January 10th, 2012
10:48 am
Al should play his role, not politic for a position. Teams win, individuals play for stats and all star bids.
Rev in Tampa
January 10th, 2012
10:49 am
I am real interested in the Orlando/Portland game on Wednesday. With the exception of thier win over Houston, Orlando has only beaten scrub teams for their six wins (NJ, Charlotte, Toronto, Wash, & Sac). Their three losses are to Chi, Det, and OKC.
If Portland beats Orlando it will be a clear indication to me that Orlando will be nothing more than a better than average team. Hopefully it will broaden the range of teams under Dwight’s consideration and hasten his departure.
Dept. Of Unintended Irony
January 10th, 2012
10:51 am
“Mary B. One word. STEVE SPAGNUOLA.”
enough said – which is two words
Fundamentals
January 10th, 2012
10:55 am
Agreed, nice to see Portland playing well.
Ra'mon
January 10th, 2012
11:00 am
I don’t mind LD playing the starters so many minutes last game. Because if you remember,the starters are actually younger than the second unit. And Green,Pargo, and McGrady have been logging a lot of minutes for there legs this early in the season. So the bench players need rest just like starters so no one gets injured!
PEDRO EL GITANO
January 10th, 2012
11:01 am
vava 74:Josh Smith no es un cabeza de chorlito,de acuerdo que el no estuvo en una universidad,pero eso no es garantia de ser inteligente.Recuerden que G.w.Bush fue estudiante de una de las mas prestigiosas del mundo y actua como un retardado mental.Yo he visto a Smoove decidir y ser mas determinante que JJ.Otra cosa es que a veces los tiros no le entran,pero nos puede ayudar de muchas otras maneras.
Astro Joe
January 10th, 2012
11:02 am
KevinM, how many points did the flawed Falcons offense put up on Tampa’s swarming defense? In the first half? My sense is that Morris may be an emotional coach, we need a strong tactician. I’m not sure that rah-rah guys have a long-term impact in big boy football. And the secondary coach needs to be gone, one of the lasting terms of the Falcons 2011 season is “blown coverage”.
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 10th, 2012
11:08 am
Term Limits!
One more thing! And, put a character limit on that user ID while you’re at it. Some azzholes like to type a fkg novel in that little box. Thanks.
Too Much Good Stuff from Mr. Davenpoop, nothing new there. Thanks vava74, we All Stars got this blog under con-troll, for now! LMBAO
Hey AJC! Upgrade. (I’m really gone this time)
Smith.Leuer.Bogut
January 10th, 2012
11:10 am
PEDRO EL GITANO: Estoy totalmente de acuerdo
vava74
January 10th, 2012
11:11 am
Pedro,
Josh no tiene un tiro suficientemente consistente que justifique todos sus intentos desde lejos, en particular “en frio” al empezar de los partidos.
Primero Josh debería trabajar bajo la canasta y hacer su marca ahí.
Después, ya “caliente”, si, no veo porque no el no pueda tirar una que otra vez desde afuera para mantener la defensa en duda.
El año pasado Josh empezó tirando muí bien desde afuera temprano empeoró muchísimo y a la medida que transcurrió la temporada sus porcentajes bajaran dramáticamente hasta un nivel que no le permite reclamar mas tiros desde ahí.
Astro Joe
January 10th, 2012
11:13 am
Now, we just need some Falcons messages in Spanish on the Hawks blog to make everything just perfect.
vava74
January 10th, 2012
11:14 am
All that Falcons’ chatter is almost as annoying as the effects of the multiple personality disorder our TS friend suffers from…
The Truth
January 10th, 2012
11:41 am
“It’s been a smooth transition for McGrady and the Hawks, the only team that has figured out how to beat Miami this season. There is no question McGrady is motivated by his well-chronicled playoff failures, having never gotten out of the first round”
We Shall See
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/tracy-mcgrady-baron-davis-mystery-determine-success-failure-team-ny-knicks-article-1.1003696#ixzz1j4f2fGZe
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 10th, 2012
11:41 am
Annoyed?
And, so is saying the same damned thing every single day over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Which is what 90% of you “orators of the obvious” do
24/7! That is also mind numbing. Can yawl say something fresh and new to contribute and keep everyone on topic? I guess not.
Also, typing is spanish/Portuguese is equally ignor-anus. Even though I’m fluent in spanish and four other languages.
So, taking some Falcons TO’s from the troll ish, shouldn’t be to much of a problem, especially if you can draw parallels to our sister team.
Gearon, JR did it! It’s our turn now. (Go Falcons!)
__________
Bye.
BigTimeTECHFan
January 10th, 2012
11:46 am
I like they way the Hawks are playing.
Starters sharing the the ball, 5 people in double figures every night.
Bench has nice players, add Hinrich and they added a NBA starting PG to their bench.
Vlad was a great pick-up, not going to be their every night but sure takes Hawks to different level when he’s on.
Keep getting Ivan Minutes and he will be impact player in the playoffs. let him learn to control fouls. A lineup of Zha Zha and Ivan could be a little nasty, and upset a few plays to take them out of their game.
Joe Johnson is turning more into the player he was in Phx, teams have to fear him when he gets hot, but he also knows teams are focusing on him so he making the correct dishes.
Very nice team, they need to play hard and they can get 1 or 2 seed in east. Miami’s loaded and will be hard to beat so you want to meet them as late as possible.
Mike
January 10th, 2012
11:47 am
First of all, good job to the Hawks last night, 7-3 is a good record even you that you could be 9-1 but sometimes things happened, I guess.
Yall should look at that Angry ATL Fans video on Youtube is very funny but also tells you that we Hawks/Braves/Falcons fans is tired being look at by other people around the country as some of the worst fairweather fans(yes, there is some) in the US. I think that Hawks Ownership needs to call Otis Smith everyday and tell him that Hawks is willing to take D-12 off of his hands. Then the Hawks can be talk of the town as long they dont pull a “Miami” again.
Ken Strickland
January 10th, 2012
11:50 am
I wouldn’t get too upset over how many mins Drew played Teague. Don’t forget, if not for Hinrich’s injury during last yrs playoffs, and his preseason injury this yr, Drew would hardly be playing him at all.
It's great to see.....
January 10th, 2012
12:00 pm
Jeff Teague free!!!
vava74
January 10th, 2012
12:07 pm
drmaryB,
touchy, touchy…
I typed in spanish because Pedro addressed me direct. I have no idea why he does not type or attempt to type in english since the vast majority of the blog people does not understand him.
Tu estás a portar-te como uma gata assanhada sem razão!!! Uma coisa é fazer paralelismos entre os insucessos dos Falcons e dos Hawks e outra completamente diferente é discutir se os coordenadores dos Falcons têm que ser despedidos ou não e quem deverá substitui-los!!!!
Embrulha!
vava74
January 10th, 2012
12:08 pm
And now this was in portuguese, specially for you my friend!!
O'Brien
January 10th, 2012
12:11 pm
KevinM,
It’s hard to get a good read on Raheem Morris in Tampa, because it appears the team quit on him.
I don’t know if all these guys are 4-3, but some of the names being mentioned are Del Rio, Spagnola, and Mike Nolan.
Najeh,
I think the problem is both personnel and scheme.
Hawks Str8Talk
January 10th, 2012
12:16 pm
Happy that Drew learned from the first Bulls game that sometimes you have to ride your starters to get a W. Not sure you needed to do that vs. the Nets, but against the elite teams – starters may have to play the whole half. Let’s hope he figures out how to do that vs. the right teams.
Dukester
January 10th, 2012
12:26 pm
Dr Mary B has done it again. Im so sick of the Joe contract issue. He is who he is. Love him or leave him. Knowing what I know Im glad the hawks resigned Joe. Its the business of basketball at that time thats why they had the labor issues. I rather have him than he be playing with Chicago!! Great job Mary. Even though we disagree on needing Dalembert to replace Zaza I still have a cyber crush on you:)
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 10th, 2012
8:09 am
Paid Up!
“So when is Joe going to score 40+ and earn that money??
Scoring 16-17 a game is not worth 20 million..” -truth-
_______________
Tell that the the Celtics whose big three scored 15 points each on their way to the trophy case. Mr. Johnson does not have to earn his money – that contract is guaranteed.
Thank goodness Joe didn’t get paid and ride the bench for the next six years with real or perceived injuries like countless others: Jermaine Oneal, Eddie Curry, Alan Houston, Rashard Lewis, Gilbert Arenas … we could do this all day.
Joe has a fractured orbital bone, puts on a face mask and plays for the Suns in the play offs. Last year, Mr. Johnson has elbow surgery and returned in what, 10 days? The surgeon recommended he sit for 10 – 12 weeks. His reoccurring thumb ligament is torn now and for the past two seasons, what does he do? He put duct tape on it and neary one word of complaint. Question his quietness but, NEVER his toughness.
People really need to get over Joe’s contract, I wish someone offered me a contract, I would sign that too
O'Brien
January 10th, 2012
12:32 pm
KevinM,
If I’m Brian Billick, I am taking the Falcons OC job if it is available. Why? With all these openings, have you ever heard one team say they are going to interview Billick? Jacksonville and Miami is going to interview Mularkey, but no mention of Billick.
I think getting an OC job would get him closer to getting back into coaching. Plus Billick and Mike Smith are in-laws (one is married to the other’s sister if I’m not mistaken).
O'Brien
January 10th, 2012
12:36 pm
Marc Stein’s power rankings; Hawks are up from 14th…to 6th.
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 out of the D-League (Ivan Johnson) was their best player.