Lineup changes could be coming after three-game slide
Vivlamore at practice on Tuesday. Here is your report:
No real news on the Hawks continued search for a big man to help their depleted corp – but changes could be on the way in light of the current three-game losing streak.
In talking with Larry Drew following this morning’s practice, the coach said he is considering a number of changes to get the team’s energy back. It’s something he said has been lacking in the past three games.
“We are not going to panic,” Drew said. “This is not a time to panic. Is it a time for concern? Yes. My biggest concern is our energy. The energy I saw on that road trip, since we’ve been home I just don’t see that type of energy. That is my biggest concern.
“When you get in these types of situations, you’ve got to do something to generate some type of energy. You’ve got to find our mojo back. How we do it, we possibly have to look at some things a little differently and maybe shake some things up. As a staff, we are still talking it. I’m still looking at possibly doing that. We’ll see what happens.”
Like lineup changes?, I asked.
“That is always a possibility,” Drew said. “It’s not just losing the three games, it’s the way we are playing. It’s the energy. It’s the urgency. It’s the combination of players who are out on the floor, starters versus guys who come off the bench. I’ve got to try to find that combination. I’ve got to find whatever it’s going to take in order for us to get that swagger back.”
Stay tuned on that front. We’ll check in Wednesday morning before the game against the Pacers.
* I asked Jerry Stackhouse, who had his contract guaranteed after close of business Tuesday, whether there had been a team meeting to address the current slide.
“We’ve met,” Stackhouse said. “It’s kind of overdue, having a meeting and some sessions about what is going on. The fact that guys might think that they know, but might still have to be prodded and told what to do daily or even on a possession-to-possession basis sometimes. It’s not that guys don’t want to do it, it just has to be reinforced. We have to reinforce some things as far as our principles. I thought there were stretches [in Monday’s loss to the Suns] where we were better in some of those principles but as the game wore on we reverted back to not helping each other, not trusting each other and that’s where we go wrong. Once we find that and get a win, winning is always a cure-all when you are in the midst of a losing streak.”
* On the search for a big man, Drew once again acknowledged the team needs some help at the center position with Al Horford out and Jason Collins on the shelf for two weeks. Drew said there would be another meeting Tuesday to discuss the situation.
“There is a list and we’ve talked about the list but nothing has really materialized as far as a name that really gets us excited,” Drew said. “We are going to talk today, as a matter of fact, and go over some more names. Try to find a name that makes more sense for us, whether it’s a 10-day [contract], whether it’s a player like a Kenyon Martin that is still available, which I don’t think there is. Right now we are looking at the list and see what makes sense for us so we can get some help at the five spot.”
Columnist Jeff Schultz gives his take on the need for a big man.
* Look for my feature on guard Willie Green on ajc.com a little later and in Wednesday’s print edition.
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335 comments Add your comment
Harpie
February 8th, 2012
11:38 am
It’s not a lineup change that’s needed, it’s a COACHING CHANGE! Larry Drew hasn’t a clue!
Rev in Tampa
February 8th, 2012
11:40 am
“No one here has a clue what they are talking about. Tegue needs to pass more shot less, Joe needs to take this team and put people in there place and shot the ball more, trade marvin and za za for a big.”
At least most “here” know how to spell and construct a readable sentence.
Rev in Tampa
February 8th, 2012
11:45 am
“Anyone getting geared up for Indy?”
Sorry, Kevin, I am not. The Phi & Phx games deflated me a bit. I’m with Slim – 0-7 going into the All-Star break. I’m more interested in the mashed potatoes I am going to eat tonight for dinner.
GET A BIG MAN, SUND!
Melvin
February 8th, 2012
11:48 am
Najeh,
How can Hollinger have Knicks and Nets players on the All Star team as his reserves when the Knicks are currently in 9th place and Nets 11? They would not qualify if the playoffs started today. His current picks have no representation from the 4th and 5th place teams. So he’s basically penalizing a team for being good. No way should 4 pgs be on the team. Keep Rondo. Drop Jennings, Williams and Chandler. Add Joe, Hibbert and Deng or Josh.
Dawg
February 8th, 2012
11:49 am
Marvin Williams is not as big of a bust as the Hawks management in general.
Astro Joe
February 8th, 2012
11:50 am
Twin gets “significant minutes”? Really, I know that I haven’t watched every minute of every game, but I must have missed the “significant” minutes he has played.
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
11:51 am
“Marvin vs. Granger – #2 pick vs. #17 in ‘05″
That script should have been flipped? Thank you Mr Knight! For years to come….
Hollywould
February 8th, 2012
11:51 am
What is the over/under on Dribble King smiling this year?
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
11:56 am
vava74
February 8th, 2012
11:05 am
“With all contracts guaranteed, there is ZERO chance that they will sign anyone. ZERO.
We will go with what we have.”
It not about what Gearon’s puppet says. It’s all about what he does… Hmmmmmmmmmm?
ntrigue
February 8th, 2012
11:57 am
Larry Drew is only perfected one thing that’s blowing a whistle with his fingers 20 times a game!
Rusty
February 8th, 2012
11:59 am
I would prefer any coach over LT,even woody who I thought was horrible.
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
12:01 pm
“Marvin vs. Granger – #2 pick vs. #17 in ‘05
Anyone seen Cenk Akyol yet? Ugh…we blew all 3 picks in that draft…could you imagine Bynum in our lineup?”
When some of us said Billy did not have a clue we weren’t joking..He was unbelievable…
See what arrogance and pride does..It blinds you…..You may be great with book knowledge but a complete dumb azz…………..
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
12:05 pm
Three straight incompetent GM’s the Hawks have fielded over the past 14 some odd years…..
vava74
February 8th, 2012
12:10 pm
Slimjr:
Three straight incompetent GM’s the Hawks have fielded over the past 14 some odd years…..
Only 3? Hawks’ GMs have been grossly incompetent since they signed Koncak’s extention… which was about 25 years ago…
Smitty, Deke and Mookie’s team was an aberration, something that happened just by mere chance.
WE TRADED OUR HISTORICAL MARQUEE PLAYER (Pettit does not count since he was in STL) when we were #1 in the standings and he was playing his BEST BASKETBALL !!!!!!!!!!!
vava74
February 8th, 2012
12:11 pm
WITH JORDAN RETIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!
ejh
February 8th, 2012
12:13 pm
It is amazing how people are pushing the panic button. It is early in the season and people act as if teams are not going to have down stretches where a team may loose 3 or 4 in a row. My concern is to be healthy by the playoffs. The one thing people keep saying is the lack of depth is hurting the hawks. In some areas that maybe true, but you have to counteract that with an uptempo game plan. The hawks should be pushing the ball after madeTeag baskets and missed baskets, to try and tire out the other teams bigs. Hibbert would be ineffective if he is having to run the floor. The same would be true of Gasol and Bynum. But the hawks walk it up not putting any pressure on the defense.
Line up change: Teague, Willie G. Joe, Josh, Ivan: Second Unit: Pargo, Hinrich, T-Mac, Marvin, ZsaZsa. You need energy, Willie Green and Ivan will give it to you on the first unit. Marvin playing the four would allow him to get to the foul line and drive the basketball. Pargo at the point, hinrich at the 2 McGrady at the 3 and Pachulla at the center spot.
i know it all
February 8th, 2012
12:14 pm
buddy you are a very confussed person just the other day you was on here talkin about kh is so good and how he should be playing over pargo and starting over teague now you realize that was just a lot of bs you were talking we need to make a strong push to get d12 even it means moving kh mw js ah in some type of three way trade not saying move all them but 2 or 3 of them to get d12 and couple other players back that can make a playoff run
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
12:20 pm
ntrigue
February 8th, 2012
11:57 am
“Larry Drew is only perfected one thing that’s blowing a whistle with his fingers 20 times a game!”
I can shoot a basketball as good as a pro, but I cant whistle with my fingers? That requires special talent…….LMAO!
honest_abe
February 8th, 2012
12:23 pm
haha thnx aj. yes as a disclaimer for my previous comment. i’m a jeremy lin clone. a little east of taiwan but you get the picture.
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
12:23 pm
I hear ya vava74, so tradition in the parts continue? Hahaha…….wow…..
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
12:23 pm
{these}^^^^
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
12:24 pm
Gotta make a pizza run for lunch! Gettin hungry..
Najeh Davenpoop
February 8th, 2012
12:35 pm
“Difference is Salim was an undersized gunner. Lin is a Steve Nash-type cerebral point guard who can attack the basket. Give him a chance to get his turnovers down and he will play for a long time in this league. Just needed somebody to see past his skin color and give him a chance. I knew Lin could ball two years ago when he took it to John Wall at the Vegas summer league.”
He may very well be all those things, but I’m just saying I’m not going to make any definitive judgments about him after two games.
Section 303
February 8th, 2012
12:36 pm
O’Brien, I understand what you are saying about Stackhouse. But, I think you are belitting the importance of Stackhouse’s leadership. Especially, when dealing with Josh Smith. I’ve seen Stackhouse go settle Josh down on more than one occasion. Against the Sixers Saturday night, Josh was getting on LD while heading to the huddle during a timeout. Stackhouse was the first player to actually go over to Josh and talk to him. And then stood by Josh, as if to protect him from saying another stupid comment to LD.
That may seem minor, but I do not think it is. In fact, I would rather have someone like Stackhouse, who will actually intervene in those situations, than a big guy who can’t play.
Bad big guys can completely slow a team down. They offer nothing. And, since they cannot get up and down the floor quickly, they disrupt the tempo of the offense/game. The scrape heap is barren of big guys, for the most part. Not worth the trouble. Only two I see worth a shot at are Soloman Jones (if he is cheap enough) or Frenseko (if he is healthy). Otherwise, stand pat.
cpsman_atlanta
February 8th, 2012
12:36 pm
I’ve got an idea; why doesn’t Atlanta Spirit Group sell the team to owners that actually care? Maybe that’ll fix the team…
Najeh Davenpoop
February 8th, 2012
12:37 pm
“How can Hollinger have Knicks and Nets players on the All Star team as his reserves when the Knicks are currently in 9th place and Nets 11? They would not qualify if the playoffs started today. His current picks have no representation from the 4th and 5th place teams. So he’s basically penalizing a team for being good”
Hollinger doesn’t believe in rewarding players with All Star votes for winning. He says in that article that coaches shouldn’t reward players for having good teammates. There is some truth to that argument (see Mo Williams’ All Star selection a few years ago for example) but the flip side to it is that a player like Melo on a bad team can put up big numbers with poor efficiency.
STRETCH
February 8th, 2012
12:40 pm
cpsman_atlanta,
EXACTLY, LOL!!!
W.R. Terrell
February 8th, 2012
12:42 pm
Line up change?…Ok…..Ivan Johnson for Josh Smith, TMAC for Marvin and lets see what happens. Gotta start somewhere.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 8th, 2012
12:45 pm
Regarding Lin, I think the fact that he played in the Ivy League worked against him at least as much as his ethnicity. I know a black dude who played really well in the Ivy League (he still holds one of the league’s all time records if I’m not mistaken) but didn’t get drafted and has since established himself as a good player in the Euroleague. If Lin had done what he did at an SEC or ACC school, I think it’s likely that someone would have taken a flier on him in the second round at some point. It’s not like unproven Asian players haven’t been drafted before.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 8th, 2012
12:53 pm
“Unsurprisingly, Hollinger has Collins listed second from the bottom in Player Efficiency Rating among all active NBA players averaging at least 6 minutes per game. I’m not here to argue the validity of Hollinger’s PER rankings. What’s inarguable is that for the second year in a row, Larry Drew is giving significant minutes to a player who is in the conversation as possibly the worst player in the league..”
PER doesn’t take into account charges, box outs, good man to man defense (that doesn’t involve steals or blocks), or sealing your man out of the lane to create space for teammates to drive to the basket. Collins does all of those things. In fact, those are pretty much the only things Collins does. He’s not going to rate highly in any metric that relies exclusively on box score stats. I think it’s a stretch, though, to go from that to saying he’s one of the worst players in the league. Like someone else on this blog says, he’s basically the equivalent of the lefty specialist in baseball.
Put it this way: I’d rather have Collins than Hilton Armstrong and Josh Powell, and both of them had better PER and counting stats than him.
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
1:09 pm
W.R. Terrell
February 8th, 2012
12:42 pm
“Line up change?…Ok…..Ivan Johnson for Josh Smith, TMAC for Marvin and lets see what happens. Gotta start somewhere.”
Talk about a shake up? lol
Oh dont forget KH for JT?..You know Larry is sweating to make that happen…
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
1:17 pm
wish they would snub iso, so no Hawk partakes in the AllStar weekend.
That would send a message to Gearon and da boys they aint buying the hype…..
O'Brien
February 8th, 2012
1:24 pm
303,
But, I think you are belitting the importance of Stackhouse’s leadership. Especially, when dealing with Josh Smith..
One of the reasons we brought Nick Van Exel in is to work with Teague. So why can’t we cut Stackhouse (the player), to free up a roster spot, and then hire him as an assistant coach? imo, he will never be a significant player in the league anymore, and he has interest in coaching. This could be his start.
Obviously, the Hawks would have had to do their homework prior to yesterday, but that is what I would have done (since the coach’s salary does not count against the salary cap).
Speaking of Josh, this is from hoopinion;
Josh Smith FG% by location. From Hoopdata, through last night’s Suns game:
Location FGA/G eFG%
At the rim 4.8 69.6
Everywhere else 8.7 33.7
Not much of a surprise, nor much to add. Anyone paying attention knows that Josh Smith quite obviously excels at some things, quite obviously struggles with others, and his strengths and weaknesses don’t always inform his actions.
The league averages 63% at the rim and 41.3% from everywhere else..
So Josh is better than the league average at the rim, and worse than the league average everywhere else. So my question is…When will Josh Smith get it? Do more of what works, and less of what doesn’t. C’mon Man. It’s been 7 years or 8 years, and counting.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 8th, 2012
1:25 pm
“wish they would snub iso, so no Hawk partakes in the AllStar weekend.
That would send a message to Gearon and da boys they aint buying the hype…..”
Come on Slim, you know they would just blame the media the way they already blame Jeff Schultz for the perception of them.
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
1:29 pm
NBA: Most Obnoxious Player on Each Team
By
John Friel
(Featured Columnist) on January 8, 2012
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Atlanta Hawks: Josh Smith
136431536_display_image
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
“A superstar athlete who could very well be one of the NBA’s top players, Josh Smith is lacking a few key ingredients to becoming one.
We recognize that Smith is an excellent athlete who fills up a stat column, but his commitment and attitude towards the game has proven to be his downfall.
It always appears that he’s not playing 100 percent, and he rarely utilizes his athleticism and talent in a half-court setting.
Only in the open court will you see Smith show off his athleticism. In a regular half-court offense, Smith hardly takes an initiative to drive and draw fouls.
Instead, he’ll usually rely on post-ups and ill-advised jump shots that no defender ever takes seriously.
On a Atlanta Hawks team that’s only a key piece or two away from becoming elite, Smith is the player holding them back because of the potential he possesses that will most likely never be put to good use.”
Incredible piece…
KevinM
February 8th, 2012
1:31 pm
We look like we are going to end up hovering around the 5-6 playoff seed going forward. That puts you up immediately against a team who probably has outplayed overall this year.
I don’t think we get past Philly at this point.
We have to beat Indy, Orlando and Boston head-2-head just to keep our current position.
Astro Joe
February 8th, 2012
1:33 pm
OB, as you know, Josh’s teammates believe in his ability to make those shots. So why on earht would he stop as long as his teammates have his back?
Rev in Tampa
February 8th, 2012
1:34 pm
@Najeh – “I know a black dude who played really well in the Ivy League (he still holds one of the league’s all time records if I’m not mistaken) but didn’t get drafted and has since established himself as a good player in the Euroleague.”
Is he a center?
MattP
February 8th, 2012
1:40 pm
KevinM,
I really seeing the Hawks winning a best of 7 series against the Bulls, Heat, Pacer, or Sixers. LD will get out coached like always.
doc
February 8th, 2012
1:43 pm
o’b at 11:26
nuff said
bigdave
February 8th, 2012
1:43 pm
no way im falling for the “lineup change” again..
didnt he say the same thing last year?
Astro Joe
February 8th, 2012
1:45 pm
If you’re Gearon and you have a bottom third home attanedance despite two All-Stars the past two seasons, why would you be concerned about no All-Stars this year? Worried that attendance will go from bottom third to bottom third? IMO, the one and only thing that will drive significant change (other than an ownership change) is if they see a big reduction in home playoff games. Go from 6 home playoff games (the past 3 years) to maybe 2-3 and that will very likely force something to happen to recoup that lost revenue.
Follow the Money.
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
1:58 pm
“IMO, the one and only thing that will drive significant change (other than an ownership change) is if they see a big reduction in home playoff games. Go from 6 home playoff games (the past 3 years) to maybe 2-3 and that will very likely force something to happen to recoup that lost revenue.
Follow the Money.”
Thats an excellent point Astro Joe….” Follow the money” Hmmmmmm.
Slimjr
February 8th, 2012
2:01 pm
Right now, Indiana or Philly would win a 7 game playoff series against the Hawks in 4 or 5 games…No problem at all…
Walt Frazier
February 8th, 2012
2:03 pm
Pacers 121 Hawks 90
Mac-Town (#maconchevyrider)
February 8th, 2012
2:04 pm
Those boys Gearon Jr. and Sund on those ’shrooms
Mac-Town (#maconchevyrider)
February 8th, 2012
2:06 pm
lol stackhouse guaranteed
doc
February 8th, 2012
2:14 pm
rev it sounds like with that prediction you lost your previous prayer group and have fallen in with lost sheep bro.
warned ya, heh heh
yoursporthouse dot com
February 8th, 2012
2:22 pm
New lineup should be:
Teague
Hinrich
Joe
Josh
Zaza
Bench:
Pargo
Green
McGrady
Marvin
Ivan
Case closed
hawksfancents95
February 8th, 2012
2:29 pm
id like to see a jeff/joe/tmac/josh/zaza lineup tonight
id also like to see some 3 guard lineup like jeff kirk and willie kinda speedball like LAC for a stint during the game.
L.D does not come up with anything original, he just trys to “match up” with the style of play of everyone else. our identity is what? we are not a transition team, we arent a halfcourt team, idk what we are. how can u lose by 20+ at one point in three straight games? i know it starts w/ the owners but if we have an inept GM that cant make proper acquisitions or has no imagination to create a win-win trade. we have an assistant coach as our head coach and our best player(joe) has no fire to instill that motivation into our team. KG might not be the old KG but at least he will not accept poor play/effort from anybody and holds his peers accountable, he plays like its a privilage and i see our hawks playing like its their right on some nights, it makes me sick. but yes i will still watch every hawks game and root for my team