Drew wants better start to second half of games
C-Viv filling in for Michael Cunningham as he makes his way to Philadelphia for Friday night’s battle of division leaders – the Hawks (11-4) vs. the 76ers (10-4).
I will have a preview of the matchup later. I wanted to share one of the interesting things coach Larry Drew said after Thursday’s practice. Asked about areas the Hawks need to improve upon, even during this stretch of four straight wins and seven of eight games, Drew pointed to the start of the second half in games. He said it has been an issue this season, as it was last season.
Here is what he said:
“The one thing I really want to improve on is how we start the third quarter. We’ve had a problem with that, this goes back to last year, coming out and not starting the third quarter with a lot of energy. One of the last things I say to the players after they come back on the floor after halftime is we want to force our opponent to call the first time out. If we come out with energy and we are doing the things we are supposed to do, we get on a little bit of a run. They are going to have to call a timeout. If there is an area where we really need to improve on, it is that. We’ve done a good job of rebounding. We’ve done a good job of moving the basketball. Defensively we’ve done a good job of executing our coverages. It’s just those spots where we have a little bit of a let down, we just have to get better at.”
Also, I asked Drew and Joe Johnson about the notion that the team has been able to ease into life without Al Horford considering their schedule – with four home wins against Charlotte (two wins), Minnesota (four), Toronto (four) and Portland (eight).
“Minnesota came into this building and everybody looks at the name on the front and the first thing they are not a very good ball club,” Drew said. “And yet, they had us down by 18 with three and half minutes left in the third quarter. We respect all opponents. Yeah, if you look at the win-loss record of some of the teams that have come in here some people might say the games have been easy for us. But by no stretch of the imagination have the games been easy.”
“The fact that we played those teams doesn’t matter,” Johnson said. “We all still have a job to do. It’s been tough without him even though we’ve won a few games convincingly. We’ve all managed to step up in a different way than normal.”
Here is an All-Star voting update: Joe Johnson is 10th among Eastern Conference guards with 40,718 votes. Horford, despite the injury, is sixth among Eastern Conference centers with 35,860 votes.
I hope this gives you something to talk about while I set to work on the preview story.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
146 comments Add your comment
Astro Joe
January 20th, 2012
9:46 am
Marvin’s ceiling was adjusted when he received his contract a few years ago. That became his measuring stick, not his draft selection. Does anyone measure Joe against a #10 draft selection? Bueller?
vava74
January 20th, 2012
9:53 am
Still on Ivan:
I particularly like how Ivan, on the video interview in the side box of that piece, looks deep into the camera when he said that he does not know anyone else in the league besides the top stars.
He is looking at everyone and saying into their eyes: I DON’T FEAR YOU, NOR ANYONE
Classic stuff IMO.
Astro Joe
January 20th, 2012
10:40 am
Spencer Hawes (Achilles) is unlikely to play on Friday.
“I don’t think it looks like he’s ready to play,” Doug Collins said. Hawes acknowledged that his previous back strain feels “great,” but the Achilles strain is still bothering him. Hawes and the team are using extreme caution in treating his injury this early in the season. Hawes is averaging 10.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks on 58.8 percent shooting in just 27 minutes per game. Source: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News Jan 20 – 7:15 AM
KevinM
January 20th, 2012
10:45 am
Astro, Paul Pierce is one #10 draft pick in ‘98….#9 was Nowitski.
Boston had their SG for many years, they just didn’t know it….considered one of the worse trades Boston has ever made.
Pierce/JJ in the same lineup would look nice for them even though Allen has done that job.
Others….
‘99 – Jason Terry
‘00 – Keyon Dooling
‘01 – JJ
‘02 – Caron Butler
‘03 – Jarvis Hayes (the LeBron Draft)
‘04 – Luke Jackson
‘05 – Andrew Bynum
‘06 – Saer Sene (good ole Sund)
‘07 – Spencer Hawes
‘08 – Brook Lopez
‘09 – Brandon Jennings
‘10 – Paul George
‘11 – Jimmer Fredette
I think JJ has turned out quite well out of that lineup….and out of that ‘01 draft, Jason Collins was #18.
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 20th, 2012
11:10 am
“drmaryb.: MC covers the Hawks. That is a legit question. Did you read a book about blogs. Get a life. I will ask any question about the Hawks.
I am glad you contributed to this blog with such an informative entry. Idiot.”
______________
Well OK, ask MC when will world hunger end and what it will take to get Kobe in a Hawks uni, since you’re sitting on Santa’s lap. Aim High! While you got the request lines open.
Bottom line is this: only God knows when Kirk will be back. Most of us font live in parallel universes where we can predict the future.
Move on man.
Therut
January 20th, 2012
11:11 am
How did Philly wind up with an almost all Ga. connection, roster?
drmaryb.[*_*].
January 20th, 2012
11:12 am
* most of us DON’T live ….
O'Brien
January 20th, 2012
11:46 am
Hawks catch a big break if Spencer Hawes doesn’t play.
Hawes is signed to a 1 year $4.6 mil deal, and will be an unrestricted FA next offseason. I think his next contract will double. Bigs always get overpaid.
Marreese Speights who was with Philly, and was traded ,is averaging 9 and 6, in 22 mpg, making $2.7 mil per. When Philly traded him earlier this season, do you know what they received for him? 2 second round picks.
It would be nice if Rick can find a deal like that, even if its closer to the trade deadline.
doc
January 20th, 2012
11:49 am
najeh extracted from an article in yahoo sports on the hawks referring to the lack of a scoreboard:
“Now, to get the fans of Atlanta on board.
As usual, the Hawks rank near the bottom of the league in attendance. Even with football season over in these parts and spring training a month away, the Hawks are still struggling to get noticed. They averaged only 12,128 during their perfect homestand and the upper decks behind each basket were largely empty for the win over the Trail Blazers.
Of course, the skepticism by the fans is easy to understand.
The owners, known as Atlanta Spirit, already sold off the city’s NHL team and they had a deal to peddle the Hawks to California businessman Alex Meruelo— but the deal fell through over financing issues.
Now, the owners say the team is off the market and they’re fully committed to building a championship contender. But it’s hard to take them at their word when two large auxiliary scoreboards at each end of Philips Arena have been dark all season, apparently broken. There appears to be no sense of urgency to get them back on line.
The players aren’t worried about empty seats or blank scoreboards.”
yup, basg just dont care in the end about putting out a first class operation.
vava74
January 20th, 2012
12:09 pm
The Truth January 19th, 2012
1:42 pm
From previous blog: excellent post putting bball knowledge and perspective by correctly evaluating Collins’ value/role.
Actually, going a few games back, I don’t see any appreciation around here for Collins’ enforcement of bball etiquette on IND’s classless nutcase Stephenson.
Give the man some props. Sincerely, I haven’t seen much of that from our guys in the past, although there was some emotion after Westbrook’s similar action last year.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 20th, 2012
12:12 pm
According to this article, the Hawks are in the luxury tax.
Astro Joe
January 20th, 2012
12:27 pm
Najeh, yeah, I think we knew that. But the expectation is that one (or more) of the unguaranteed contracts gets terminated to bring them under the threshold by the end of the season. I think Pargo, Ivan and Sloan have unguranteed deals (and maybe Stack).
ryan
January 20th, 2012
12:51 pm
If the Hawks trade for say Boris Diaw that would an expiring contract i wondering if the Hawks are going to make trade it be to get under the cap because Dwight Howard will be the big prize this Summer .
Dap01
January 20th, 2012
1:05 pm
vava74: You make a good point on Collins.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 20th, 2012
1:06 pm
“But the expectation is that one (or more) of the unguaranteed contracts gets terminated to bring them under the threshold by the end of the season. I think Pargo, Ivan and Sloan have unguranteed deals (and maybe Stack).”
Later on in the article, it says that even if they cut players to get under the tax, if they make the playoffs and players get paid bonuses for how far they advance that can push them back over the tax line.
Trojan
January 20th, 2012
1:09 pm
dmaryish: Are you the blog queen? I asked the question because I am interested in when Hinrich gets back because he will help.
If it bothers you, just disregard it. If if helps I will start judging the merits of your blogs entries.
Obviously you are above answering the questions.
Hinrich does have an anticipated return date. Try hobbies or dating (if possible)
Najeh Davenpoop
January 20th, 2012
1:14 pm
Hawes being out helps the Hawks, but this game is really more about the perimeter players’ ability to stop the Sixers’ dribble penetration. Last year, when the Hawks got blown out by them, players like Holiday, Williams, Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, etc. blew by the Hawks’ defenders and got into the paint at will. If the Hawks want to win this game, they have to do a better job keeping the Sixers out of the lane.
I also think this is one of the rare games where the Hawks are better off slowing the pace down and playing a more grind-it-out style.
Buddy Grizzard
January 20th, 2012
1:31 pm
“According to this article, the Hawks are in the luxury tax.” – Najeh
Yeah I did an analysis of this a while back… my numbers weren’t exact because I don’t know all the rules but I knew the Hawks couldn’t carry this many players the whole season. Sloan is done as soon as Hinrich can suit up. Stack will be gone in February before contracts become guaranteed.
Buddy Grizzard
January 20th, 2012
1:34 pm
Also note, Najeh, that the Hawks will be going up against Doug Collins, in the conversation with Thibodeau for best coach in the NBA.
KevinM
January 20th, 2012
1:55 pm
Philly 5th in the league in points per shot….Hawks are 7th
Philly 3rd in FG%….Hawks are 15th.
Philly 3rd in pts….101….Hawks are 6th at 97.9
No problems scoring for either team.
MsDee
January 20th, 2012
2:05 pm
@rusty “drmaryb is a dumb a$$. stay in the kitchen or bent over some place where women belong, not on a sports blog”
Wow Rusty, isn’t that kinda sexist?
Sautee
January 20th, 2012
2:15 pm
vava,
about this: “Even when he is freed to scrimmage, it’s highly probably that Hinrich’s shot will be way off until he feels 100% comfortable.”
FYI – It was his LEFT shoulder. He’s right-handed.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 20th, 2012
2:36 pm
“the Hawks will be going up against Doug Collins, in the conversation with Thibodeau for best coach in the NBA.”
Yeah he is good. I would also like to add that the Hawks also have a Collins who I think could be a good coach some day. The best coaches seem to be the former players who had limited athleticism but understood fundamentals well.
I would zone up the Sixers whenever Jodie Meeks is not on the floor. He is their only shooter. Make them beat you with passing rather than athleticism.
yoursporthouse dot com
January 20th, 2012
2:44 pm
Astro Joe,
Marvin should be measured as being a starter in on an NBA team than falls all the time, can’t make a layup at 6′9, and gets his stuff swatted on a regular.
Astro Joe
January 20th, 2012
2:48 pm
Najeh, yeah, but for whatever reason, centers aren’t allowed to be head coaches. You could probably count them on one hand.
Rod from College Park
January 20th, 2012
3:27 pm
“Marvin’s ceiling was adjusted when he received his contract a few years ago. That became his measuring stick, not his draft selection. Does anyone measure Joe against a #10 draft selection? Bueller?”
I guess that is why the GM at that particular press conference stated that he is looking for big things from Marvin, and steady improvement in the future. Guess that is why they also gave him a a five year deal with a player option at the end of the deal. I’m almost positive they are just thrilled with Marvin at this point. His numbers sure are on the upswing huh? LOL
“JeJe . . the Marvin bashing needs to stop.”
Watch out JeJe, you would not want to make northcyde mad. How could you say bad things about Marvin?
“On a per 36 minute basis, Marvin is averaging
15.7 ppg
9.6 rebs
6.1 free throw attempts
Those are EASILY his best marks of his career. If Marvin is destined to become a 20 – 25 minute a night guy, I’ll take those numbers all day. And if his midrange jumper comes back, those numbers will be even better.”
If Joe knew how to go up strong, and get to the foul line, he would be Dewayne Wade. If Josh would stop making bad decisions, he would be the best small forward in the league. If Horford had a bunch of post moves he would be Karl Malone. If I was 4 inches taller I would have played in the NBA. See how easy that is. Guess what, Marvin does not play 36 mpg. I wonder why?
Astro Joe
January 20th, 2012
3:56 pm
But Marvin does make ~$8M/year and likely sleeps quite well at night.
wordsmithtom
January 20th, 2012
4:18 pm
AJ, that’s not outrageous for a man who can play 2,3,or 4 and even filled in a few minutes at 5 his rookie year. 5? He’s as large as Horford; he’d play some minutes there now if needed, and if asked. Sure he gets paid well. Where are you going to get a 4 position player for less? Name ONE.
The Truth
January 20th, 2012
4:19 pm
” If I was 4 inches taller I would have played in the NBA.” – rod
LOL, Rod,
From a previous blog (years ago) I exactly thought you stated you did
O'Brien
January 20th, 2012
4:29 pm
In 3 of the 4 games against Philly last year, the game was decided by 5 points or less. In those 3 close games, Horford played.
In the one game we got blown out (losing by 34), Horford did not play. Let’s hope that is not an omen for tonight’s game.
Also, something else that contributed to the blowout loss is we went 3-18 from 3, and our PGs were Bibby and Jamal, which meant little defense to stop the penetration.
Astro Joe
January 20th, 2012
4:40 pm
wordsmithtom, I’m not sure that Marvin can realistically play more than 2 positions. That said, I like Marvin and would like to see him get more minutes when he is playing well. Now that Marvin is healthy, I like what he is doing. He isn’t the reason he only gets ~26 minutes regardless of how well he played in the first 3 quarters.
The Truth
January 20th, 2012
4:45 pm
“The Sixers haven’t had to face three straight winning opponents this season and have started this run in the most heartbreaking fashion. But they can erase that a bit by defeating the first place, 11-4 Atlanta Hawks before going to Miami to face none other than the Heat the next night.”
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ycn-10860113
A highly motivated game for the 76ers; I got a bad feeling about this one, a disturbance in the force. This game may have the look and feel of Indy.
We Shall See
Rod from College Park
January 20th, 2012
4:55 pm
“But Marvin does make ~$8M/year and likely sleeps quite well at night.”
I have no interest in how another man sleeps at night. No homo.
“From a previous blog (years ago) I exactly thought you stated you did”
I stated D1 and professionally. There are other places to play professionally besides the NBA. I have no need to lie. I’m sure there are numerous professional basketball players, and coaches who are regulars on this blog. No way that Nireclown, Astro Joe, Grandad (I know he waas a coach) and Ken Strickland were not professional players, or coaches. Have you read their post? Very informative. LOL. PS Grandad: Don’t take being placed in a group with the above people the wrong way.
The Truth
January 20th, 2012
5:05 pm
“I have no need to lie” – rod
Yeah, I did unintentionally suggest a “tall tell”, thanks for the clarification.
Najeh Davenpoop
January 20th, 2012
5:16 pm
” I got a bad feeling about this one, a disturbance in the force.”
Sources tell me that it may in fact be a trap.
Slimjr
January 20th, 2012
5:24 pm
Hawks Win! Hawks Win!
Hawks by 4 tonight. Go to 12-4, closing in on my prediction n the preseason of 18-4 1st 22 games!
GO HAWKS!
Slimjr
January 20th, 2012
5:33 pm
If Josh had a dribble drive pullup jumpshot this dude could drop 30-40 a night!
And would be compared to Lebron…HaHa…
If I were 4 inches taller I would destroy Kobe one on one……LOL
Slimjr
January 20th, 2012
5:39 pm
The left hand would give the Black Mamba fits!……HeHeHe..
Speakin of Kobe when is the last time said dude drop a measly 7 points in a game?..Lebron stole his girl and took his lunch money last light! Wow…..
Trojan
January 20th, 2012
5:52 pm
Rusty: Thanks. You are exactly right. I was hoping for an update to when help could be on the way.
That “trolling” comment made no sense.
Big Lou
January 20th, 2012
6:10 pm
It’s a TRAP!
All BS aside, comparing last year to this year is pointless. Our defense has improved greatly, and our bench doesn’t only consist of the ’shot jacker’ Jamal Crawford. So, we’ll see.
Big Lou
January 20th, 2012
6:11 pm
Slimjr
Even if they win tonight and against the Cavs, I don’t see them beating the Spurs.
SteveW
January 20th, 2012
6:12 pm
Since the non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed Feb. 10th, and they’ll want to give Kirk a few games to see if he’s ready to go and make sure he’s not re-injured, I would say Kirk will be back on the court by Feb.5th or slightly before if at all possible.
That would be about 3 months after the surgery – and he is ahead of schedule.
Vino
January 20th, 2012
6:17 pm
On a per 36 minute basis, Marvin is averaging
15.7 ppg
9.6 rebs
6.1 free throw attempts
Those are EASILY his best marks of his career. If Marvin is destined to become a 20 – 25 minute a night guy, I’ll take those numbers all day. And if his midrange jumper comes back, those numbers will be even better.
Start brining him off the bench
Grandmaster JeJe
January 20th, 2012
6:41 pm
LOL @ northcyde defending Marvin.
We all know you love reading stats all day, but the per 36 doesn’t mean much to me. I’m sure Ivan (a 27 YEAR OLD ROOKIE) has extremely similar numbers per 36 minutes as Marvin does.
This is how I sum up Marvin::
Can he jump up and land without falling? NO
Can he absorb contact and not fall? NO
Can he UTILIIZE MISMATCHES (Ridnour, Korver)? NO
Does he want to utilize mismatches? NO
Is he shot great? NO
Can he stay healthy? NO
Can he make a layup/dunk at the rim? NO
Can he drive to the basket without falling? NO
Is he a bust? YES
Does he have the longest wingspan on the team, is the tallest starter, yet plays the smallest? YES
AMNESTY MARVIN
Rod from College Park
January 20th, 2012
6:53 pm
Grandmaster Jeje,
No arguments from me. Remember Northcyde thinks Joe Johnson is the league MVP every year, so no wonder he is so protective of Marvin.
Michael Cunningham
January 20th, 2012
6:54 pm
new blog posted. shutting down this thread.