Trail Blazers at Atlanta Hawks: Game thread
- Larry Drew is using the “big” lineup with Jason Collins at center. Marcus Camby plans to suit up for the Blazers but Nate McMillan said he’s an emergency option. Hawks nemesis Kurt Thomas will start at center. “It’s a good matchup with Kurt Thomas who plays a physical game, Twin who plays a physical game,” Drew said.
- Tracy McGrady (back) said he’s good to go.
- Jamal Crawford on how things ended with the Hawks: “I feel like they had over a year to make something happen. I was part of their core and I was the only one that wasn’t under contract past last year. Teammates, coaches, the city, the fans—it’s all good. No hard feelings. But kind of deep down inside last year I knew it was the end of the line for me. I had a feeling.”
- Crawford on his slow start with the Blazers: “I’m still figuring things out a little bit. It’s similar to when I first came here. Eventually I got it and the same thing will happen here. It’s hard when you go to a different team, a different system,. Everything is already in place. It will come.”
- Drew on Crawford: “I will remember always having that guy when we needed instant offense off the bench. He was a guy, once he got in the game, you knew there was a guy who could put numbers up in a hurry. When you go back and look at teams that have had success they have kind of had guys like that. Back in my day, I remember a guy like Vinnie Johnson. Once he got in the game, you knew it was going up, you knew he could get in a groove, get in a rhythm and turn bad starts into good starts.”
- Drew on not having that kind of guy on the bench now: “When Tracy gets in the game, yeah, we run plays for Tracy. But we try to do things now that involve every player and just let them get what they can out of it. With Willie [Green], who can score the ball, he’s not a guy we run plays to, he just gets his in the offense. Vladimir [Radmanovic] is the same way. The way our team is structured now these guys kind of gets theirs with what we do, where with Jamal everyone knew we were running plays for him.”
- Crawford said he might “rope-a-dope” the Hawks and not look to light them up as L.D. has suggested. Drew is on the lookout: “That’s normal for any player that comes back to face his former team to be motivated to come back and play well. We don’t treat it any different than normal. We have a game plan and we have to go out and execute it. Jamal is a scorer and he can go out and score in bunches. Just like against any other scorer, you have to make sure you are prepared to defend him and have a backup plan.”
- Drew on Josh Smith’s free-throw slump: “Just keep practicing. He’s going to get fouled a lot. He’s just got to get focused on the free-throw line. With him, a lot of his free throws are long. From time to time I shout out to him, ’soft,’ so he can take a little bit off of it. It’s just something he’s got to spend more and more time with because he’s going to get to the free-throw line a lot and he’s got to step up there and knock them down.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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738 comments Add your comment
The Spook who sat by the door
January 18th, 2012
10:45 pm
Hawks are getting it done w/o their All-Star and All NBA Center.
Crickets...crickets...crickets.
January 18th, 2012
10:45 pm
Classic sautee hawks Al’s attitude and lazy effort doesnt work well with the chemistry of this team. This team plays better without Al. We should trade Al for someone who will fight in the paint not escort.
Slimjr
January 18th, 2012
10:45 pm
That half azz dunk attempt by Williams was pathetic!
Slimjr
January 18th, 2012
10:46 pm
5-1 Friday night if VLad plays!
Grandmaster JeJe
January 18th, 2012
10:46 pm
Who the heck is Buha?
Slimjr
January 18th, 2012
10:47 pm
The offense is so much improved!
Jase
January 18th, 2012
10:47 pm
We need a center
Wabe
January 18th, 2012
10:48 pm
agreed Najeh.
Thought they were pretty dumb with their comments about the Hawks. They completely disregarded how the Hawks pushed the Bulls around for 7 outta the 8 quarters we played them this season, how we went to Miami and gave them their first L.
This team was a Top 3 team in the East minus Horford. They’ve done well minus Horford, although we’ve had a pretty manageable schedule and played a number of these games at home. With another quality big, this group can make some noise in the playoffs, and could push a team like CHI.
ClassicHawks
January 18th, 2012
10:48 pm
Gotta give Sund & LD credit… Ya’ll Like to Bash, but credit is due. They have a limited payroll and lose an All-Pro and we just keep plugging away. GIVE CREDIT, because we are all quick to BASH, including myself… I think they have bought in to LD’s system and his philosophy and this guy is not a bad coach….
SteveW
January 18th, 2012
10:49 pm
Celebrating this home win streak – Kudos to the Hawks – Good game!
Now I want to see what we do on the road. Win at a .500 clip on the road, good things will be happening.
Hey, we’re #1 in our division!
Crickets...crickets...crickets.
January 18th, 2012
10:50 pm
Oh yea… Zaza…11 big boards and a block off the bench with 5 pts.
Let's get it!
January 18th, 2012
10:51 pm
Marcus aldridge is maybe the most skilled low post player in the game. Josh contained him and dropped 17&10 on him. Impressive
Slimjr
January 18th, 2012
10:51 pm
The ball movement has improved big time in the past 5 games(Princeton Offense)….
Wabe
January 18th, 2012
10:51 pm
Not sure why so many are so quick to jump on the ‘this teams better without Horford’ bandwagon…
I’m happy with the wins, but aside from this one tonight, this team hasn’t played any quality opponents…
The Bobcats? T-Wolves (although improved, but still)? The Raptors?
This win tonight was a good win. But wouldn’t you wanna see them get it done against a quality opponent on the road before jumping on Horford’s case?
I know folks got it in for Horford…
But be real man.
Our bigs right now are Zaza and Jason Collins, and yall are making a case that we’re a better team?
ClassicHawks
January 18th, 2012
10:52 pm
“Classichawks Al’s attitude and lazy effort doesn’t work well with the chemistry of this team. This team plays better without Al. We should trade Al for someone who will fight in the paint not escort.”
I disagree with that crickets. Al Horford is undersized and is Powerforward. He and Joe are the most consistent ballplayers on the the team. The way were playing defense and Josh finally playing like an All Star, we would be a problem for Miami & Chicago if we had the BOSS…
bigdave
January 18th, 2012
10:52 pm
6′5 actually.. next time im court side ill turnaround shoot you a deuce..
The Spook who sat by the door
January 18th, 2012
10:52 pm
LD for COY [Coach of the Year].
Rufus1
January 18th, 2012
10:53 pm
Bogut Sucks!!
SteveW
January 18th, 2012
10:53 pm
Lookin’ like 6 straight All Star games for JJ. Now that Al’s gone, he’s picking up his scoring.
Teague’s turnovers are up – I think teams are scouting him differently now that he’s a starter, and playing pretty good.
The Spook who sat by the door
January 18th, 2012
10:53 pm
LD is COY.
terrell
January 18th, 2012
10:53 pm
If the Playoffs started today, we’d be the 3rd seed. That means we get the Heat in the 1st rd. Not good. Wow! Haha.
Slimjr
January 18th, 2012
10:53 pm
Boss no more..Its the Universe Twins!
ClassicHawks
January 18th, 2012
10:54 pm
“LD for COY [Coach of the Year].”
Spook,
He is right now in my book… No question….
Slimjr
January 18th, 2012
10:54 pm
Nothing mechanical bout this Princeton Offense?
Jase
January 18th, 2012
10:55 pm
Is v rad hurt mc?
Crickets...crickets...crickets.
January 18th, 2012
10:58 pm
Wabe We can get better and certainly a real center will help. We are better without Al’s bullchit and locker room drama. The unity and chemistry is why we are better. Thats not to say we dont need a center, we do. We just dont need Al’s bull chit telling everybody what position he wants to play, and refusing to be aggressive defensively on the post. His attitude and lack of heart is like poison. Yea, we are better without Al but still need a good center to go past the second round.
Rufus1
January 18th, 2012
10:59 pm
Every time Zaza/ Collins misses a layup, get his shot blocked or drops a pass…..ask your self WWAD in that situation. (What would Al do)
Boondox
January 18th, 2012
11:00 pm
yeah twin and zaza have concrete ankles no just stiff and slow with no verticle we need a big
Crickets...crickets...crickets.
January 18th, 2012
11:00 pm
ClassicHawks Al is consistent All Right. Consistently producing 12 pts 8 rebounds 1 blk and getting his shot blk 1 pergame.
Consistently average by the numbers. Then he brings the baggage of his attitude.
X factor
January 18th, 2012
11:02 pm
Ditto on the Average Al with the negative unwilling attitude that hurts the team. We are better without him.
NekiEcko
January 18th, 2012
11:03 pm
Crickets…….
I never heard that Al had locker room drama in Atlanta. Link or it never happened.
But i think that ASG needs to swallow its pride and get a bone fide center for this team period. If this team had a true center (No Bogut) then they will be even more dangerous right now. Good Win tonight, Hawks and keep doubt those doubters at ESPN
The Spook who sat by the door
January 18th, 2012
11:07 pm
The Hawks are currently 3rd in the Eastern Conference and 1.5 games out of 1st place. The Pacers, currently 2nd in the Eastern Conference, are now playing the Kings in Sacramento. Go Kings.
Crickets...crickets...crickets.
January 18th, 2012
11:10 pm
NekiEcko or Sautee what ever name you want to troll with. everybody know about it, and MC wrote a story on it. Many bloggers have wrote about it.
Its not my job to educate your lazy ass You just like Al. Go back and read MC stories and youll find out for yourself.
Rufus1
January 18th, 2012
11:11 pm
Bogut Sucks
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 18th, 2012
11:16 pm
The Horford Effect!
IDK, but I do see mental toughness finally coming from these Hawks! Joe is like “Mr. McGoo” he is oblivious to everything going on around him. I did see him seething though when Lamarcus pushed him two feet for a stolen rebound!
But, The Horford Effect to me is: the team is rallying together like never before. Playing like “Us” against the World!”. Thanks and Kudos to Charles Barkley for helping to light that fire under my Hawks.
We still need to add another defending, rebounding BIG though to really seal the deal. I’d even look at some D-Leaguers at this point. All we need is some more rebounds.
Nice tenacity from the Hawks 1 through 13.
NekiEcko
January 18th, 2012
11:16 pm
Actually, i am not Sautee and I am not a Al lover, it just I never hear about this before and i been checkin MC blog for a while now. But you need to stop this. You are one of the reason why this blog is getting out of hand.
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 18th, 2012
11:21 pm
Hard to believe Lamarcus only had 20 pts. Seems like he scored like 50.
Crickets...crickets...crickets.
January 18th, 2012
11:22 pm
NekiEcko go kiss a diuretic puppy in the butt.
SteveW
January 18th, 2012
11:23 pm
So if I’m looking at this correctly, if the playoffs were today, the Cavs would be the 7th seed, and the Knicks the 8th seed, with the Celts out of the playoffs and in the lottery.
And the Cavs have played like only 4 home games, and 9 road games. Can the Cavs really be that good with Irving, Jamison, Varejo, Sessions, Tristan, Gee, Gibson, Parker and the rest?
I guess time will tell.
Wiz beat OKC, and SA beat Orlando at Orlando.
The Wizards beat OKC – this is wild.
Ronoshir
January 18th, 2012
11:23 pm
If only they can continue this for the remainder of this hectic season… They definitely could have used Al tonight. I like the bench much better than last year.I never thought I would say this but Marvin is really having fun and showing why he should be on a winning team. What can you say about T-Mac,Green & Pargo, LLC! We are lucky to get these guys here. ZAZA and Ivan the terrible still holding it down for AL. We already knew what JJ & Josh could do and they haven’t let us down. And now last but certainly not least, Jeff Teague is the PG we’ve been missing. I had fun at the highlight factory. I really wish more people in Atlanta and the surrounding area would realize the priviledge of havin a team – and now a preety good team to cheer on. I hope to see my fellow Atlantans or ATL liens at the next game. Until then, I’m out like the lights hoops fans. Good night from Phillips Areana in Atlanta!
hittman jamillion
January 18th, 2012
11:24 pm
JUST FINISHED READING THE CONTENDERS AND PRETENDERS FROM ESPN. A WABE I BE WONDERING HOW ARE THE BLAZWRS CONTENDERS BUT OUR ROSTER IS BETTER THAN THEIRS WITHOUT AL AND KIRK? AND WE JUST BEAT THEM FOR THE SIXTH STRAIGHT TIME AND SHOULD HAVE BLOWN OUT THEIR DARLING CHICAGO TWICE WTF
Crickets...crickets...crickets.
January 18th, 2012
11:24 pm
NekiEcko you are a sorry unlearned non reading stupid ass bytch.
SteveW
January 18th, 2012
11:27 pm
LaMarcus got really physical with Josh down low some also – like some elbow dirty physical.
If TMac will just stay healthy, except for an occasional stupid shot, he and JJ are great to have on the court together.
I know we bash JJ alot, but he’s just a great basketball player, especially when he’s not in 18 second iso mode.
Crickets...crickets...crickets.
January 18th, 2012
11:27 pm
ZAZA and Ivan the terrible still holding it down for AL LOL
LOL
LOL
LOL
LOL
these Players aint thinking bout Al sorry azz, thats your wishfull azz thinking. These players thinking about winning. The only time Al name even comes up is when you mention it. Or the press asks “hey, do yalll miss All”
AL is fcking trade bait.
Rufus1
January 18th, 2012
11:29 pm
Bogut really sucks!
hittman jamillion
January 18th, 2012
11:32 pm
We beat miami in miami wabe what else u want damn
SteveW
January 18th, 2012
11:33 pm
We played 10 guys w/o Vlad Rad. Pretty deep team – and that’s w/o Hinrich.
We do need 1 more Big, I just don’t know if LD will let Stack go.
Talk about balance – when Hinrich gets back we got:
PG – Teague/Hinrich
SG – JJ/Green
SF – Marvin/TMac
PF – Josh/Ivan/VladRad
C – ZaZa/Twin
And who knows who we keep of Sloan, Pargo, and Stack. And I know that lineup, you can plug different guys in different spots, but you get the picture – deep and balanced, except we need 1 more good Big.
Damp, ‘Sheed, Pryzbilla, Chris Daniels, somebody that can just be there and not hurt you, and hopefully help you a little.
SteveW
January 18th, 2012
11:35 pm
ZaZa for 6-11 265 gets up and down the court ok, he’s just no paint presence on either end of the court usually. He’s ok, but I really don’t like him out there more than 20 mpg at this point.
But 11 Boards, hey, whose complaining.
doc
January 18th, 2012
11:40 pm
just got back form the game, it was a game of runs. we just couldnt put them away. lamarcus and jamal kept them in the game. felton was quiet by his standards. not pretty but a win against a competitive team.
yup najeh, been wanting thomas going back to his days in phoenix when they said he was over paid. man he would have been solid here if we had only spent a little money early on. i think the suns gave him to portland one year and it might have cost them in the finals if memory serves me. anyway still a pro, that ivan got into a bit. heh heh love that guy.
you know i never noticed how bad zaza’s hands were back when he was a flopper. did his hands get hard or did his flopping just blind me?
najeh, yes, very disturbing news about the internet, found it whn i did a wikipedia search. it really frightens men and only seems to serve up more of the big brother attitude of government that is growing. another freedom lost in the pretense of something else.
MattP
January 18th, 2012
11:41 pm
SteveW,
I really like that Chris Daniels guy, hope they go for him or someone good in the dleague because vets cost more and the ones out there now are injury prone. I do agree with you on Zaza, he is a good backup but he is not a player that should be playing starter minutes.