Atlanta Hawks at Lakers: Game thread
Los Angeles–It’s the usual starters for the Hawks. Steve Blake (ribs) is active for the Lakers.
- Jason Collins (elbow) has joined the team here but Larry Drew said it’s doubtful he will play on the trip. That means there’s a pretty good chance Erick Dampier will stick around for a second 10-day contract.
- Collins said the elbow is feeling a lot better and has a checkup with his doctor tomorrow. He’s eager to play. “Especially a game like tonight,” he said.
- Kirk Hinrich said he “feels great” physically and sounds as if he’s ready for more minutes: “I’m just staying patient.”
Hawks players gathered around Josh Smith’s IPad to watch Knicks underdog sensation Jeremy Lin hit a game-winning 3 at Toronto.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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624 comments Add your comment
Spyro
February 15th, 2012
1:07 am
I don’t get why so many of you are so eager to rebuild… Do you really trust this management to f-cking rebuild? We’ll end up like the freaking Wizards if we try to rebuild with the ASG in charge.
NUNNA!!
February 15th, 2012
1:08 am
Tuck the Frashers!!
Big Lou
February 15th, 2012
1:08 am
I hate to admit it, but I am going on strike on the Hawks on this road trip. I have better things to do then watch this team fall apart. If they win three games, I MIGHT consider watching them again. Later Guys!
Kontract
February 15th, 2012
1:08 am
OK fair enough..good ideas!!!! Would this have beaten the Lakers tonight?
NUNNA!!
February 15th, 2012
1:09 am
My bad..
Tuck the Fhrashers!!!
Rusty
February 15th, 2012
1:09 am
I wouldn’t use LD as a condum ,you know ihe would leak like mad. This coach is the worst coach the NBA has ever had.I’m so sorry I talked bad against woody.
Rod from College Park
February 15th, 2012
1:09 am
“LOL.. Lin would do nothing in a Hawks uniform… LD is unfamiliar with this new offensive inovation, the “pick and roll.”
It really is unbelievable that we don’t run pick and roll. It’s almost laughable.
Slimjr
February 15th, 2012
1:10 am
Lin will drop 35 on the Hawks!
Ole Hawks's Fan
February 15th, 2012
1:10 am
Hawks will be 18-16 when they return home…………….2 game over 500. The Knicks will have tied them or surpass them.
Spyro
February 15th, 2012
1:10 am
teague needs to learn how to drive and dish the ball to josh for easy baskets and josh also needs to make sure hes ready for the ball to be dished and not stand out by 3 point line..
Are people really this stupid. I think LD is one of the worst coaches in the league, but it isn’t just a free-for-all, “go stand wherever you want” on offense. The guy actually calls plays to be run. If Josh is standing out by the 3point line, then it is Drew’s fault, not Josh’s! Hell, people say Josh is uncoachable and has a low-IQ for this, but he is actually listening to his f-cking coach!
NUNNA!!
February 15th, 2012
1:10 am
Spyro,i would rather have someone in here as an owner with some money and a GM or coach who knows talent..
RIght now i would bring in Tenn.State’s HC for Drew..
boykin
February 15th, 2012
1:11 am
Maywether:
In your face homeboy!!!!!! Keep runnin from Manny….oh, after jail time! LMAO
Ole Hawks's Fan
February 15th, 2012
1:11 am
is Ivan Johnson still on this team? If he is, why didn’t he get a look tonight?
Joe
February 15th, 2012
1:13 am
Please bloggers, stop with the trade scenarios, after attending the Gearon circle jerk before the heat game it is now crystal clear that he does not have a clue. His saddest day as a Hawks fan was when the hawks traded………hold on……….stay with me………it’s coming…..Pete “I never won anything but INDIVIDUAL awards” Maravich. Immediately put down my nasty azz chicken nuggets and left. Not to disparage the dead but that told me all I needed to know. Yes the Pistol was fun to watch, his LSU teams never won and neither did his pro teams……well maybe once when he played with Bird but that was it. It explained everything, love of Domique, never won anything but a few scoring titlles, to his love of head case Osh and JJ, should not even be a Robin, but maybe a, canT think of a third wheel.to compare.
Having rooted for the Hawks since moving from NY, Reed Frazier Monroe, it’s all lets go Linsanity for the rest of 2012.
Josh Smith
February 15th, 2012
1:16 am
Too busy watching another team play instead focusing on tonight’s game.
NUNNA!!
February 15th, 2012
1:16 am
First Doc,and Now Randy “Whitman Sampler”..
Shoulda hired Nique..
Spyro
February 15th, 2012
1:17 am
Too busy watching another team play instead focusing on tonight’s game.
You realize the Lakers did the same exact thing, right?
boykin
February 15th, 2012
1:17 am
LOVE IT; A BROTHER CALLIN A BROTHER OUT!!!!
Spike Lee to Maywether tweet in regards to LIN:……RECOGNIZE!!!!!!!!!
Buddy Grizzard
February 15th, 2012
1:18 am
“SlimJim: What can we do AT THIS MOMENT REALISTICALLY to make our team better?” – Kontract
I honestly feel the only thing that could save the Hawks organization would be to fire LD immediately and convince either Phil Jackson or Jerry Sloan to take over as coach for the remainder of the season. The only thing that can save the Hawks is for someone to get through to Josh Smith. LD is an enabler… he was making relationships with everybody behind Woody’s back because he wanted Woody’s job. Ownership went with LD to placate the players, just like they hired Bob Weiss to placate Dominique, who was tired of Fratello telling him he had to guard someone.
Most likely scenario for the Hawks: Josh will be traded at the deadline next year, Zaza will sign elsewhere in the off-season and prior to the 2013-14 season the Hawks will begin full rebuilding mode. The organization may even Amnesty Joe at that point because it would have several benefits… by executing the Amnesty Clause while Joe can still play, another team is more likely to bid for him and pay part of his contract for the remaining years, thus saving the ASG money… let’s say $5m a season for the final three seasons.
That $15m in savings for the ASG out of the $69m they have committed to Joe over the final three seasons of his contract is nothing to sneeze at. Another factor is, if Joe is Amnestied, they money they owe him still counts toward the salary cap… so the Hawks don’t have to pay other players to meet the salary minimum. If the Hawks are rebuilding, this ensures that they will lose the maximum amount of games and have the highest possible lottery picks.
Mike
February 15th, 2012
1:18 am
I think its time to pull out the TNT and both this crew up, I don’t think they really even care at all. This core is done, plain and simple.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 15th, 2012
1:18 am
With 4:48 left in the 3rd quarter, the Hawks were down by 3, and Vlad came in the game for Josh right after Josh missed an ill-advised 3.
Josh sat until 8:03 left in the 4th, at which point the Hawks were down by 12. Both teams more or less traded baskets for the rest of the game, with neither team going on any extended runs.
I understand the need to rest your players, but sitting your best player (in this game) for 9 minutes during a key stretch of the game is just stupid. If LD was trying to send a message to him about shot selection, he may have lost this game in doing so.
I know a lot of people who post here think it’s a great idea to bench a guy for taking a bad shot or whatever, but it’s a lot easier to do that when you have other players on the team who can come in and do what he does. If the Hawks were 10-deep like the Nuggets and could bring in Birdman or Kenneth Faried to do a reasonable Josh impression, then it makes a lot more sense to use benching as a way to send a message. On this team, where Josh is by far the most important defensive player, this is just not a feasible strategy.
At the very least, he should have been back in to start the 4th, when the Hawks were only down 8 and still had a chance to steal this game. Instead, LD goes the first 4 minutes of the 4th with 4 bench players plus Zaza, allowing the lead to balloon to double digits.
Grandad
February 15th, 2012
1:19 am
Controversial;
Yawl may not want to read this.
Josh Smith had a great stat line.
15 points; 9 boards; 3 blks; 2 steals; 3 assts; *only 3 TOs ?
Why is it; that I felt like he was playing horrible ?
I was having ‘`Irritable Bowel Syndrome`’ & ‘`Gastroesophageal reflux`’
every time Josh touched the ball.
-side note-
I do not know who logs turnovers during NBA games;
but Josh was credited with only 3 ?
I lost track after 5.
I know because each time he turns it over;
as the other team scurries down the floor;
Josh remains on his end … debating with the ref;
showing him his arm, hand, wrist, whatever;
that has been detached by the bad guys.
(he has that wrinkled expression on his face of total consternation)
My question again:
how can he fill up the stat sheet and look so bad ?
Last note:
Some players are ‘`Pure Shooters`’, others are ‘`Scorers`’,
while Josh is a ‘`Chucker`’.
Mike
February 15th, 2012
1:20 am
and I am not on board for Linsanity until he goes up against better defensive teams like the Heat and Bulls. Plus I want to see how he, Melo and Amare exist together before we crown him.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 15th, 2012
1:20 am
“Another factor is, if Joe is Amnestied, they money they owe him still counts toward the salary cap”
Are you sure about this? This is how the previous amnesty worked back in 2005, but I thought they were going to make this amnesty so teams could clear cap space as well as save luxury tax money.
Slimjr
February 15th, 2012
1:21 am
Please bloggers, stop with the trade scenarios, after attending the Gearon circle jerk before the heat game it is now crystal clear that he does not have a clue. His saddest day as a Hawks fan was when the hawks traded………hold on……….stay with me………it’s coming…..Pete “I never won anything but INDIVIDUAL awards” Maravich. Immediately put down my nasty azz chicken nuggets and left. Not to disparage the dead but that told me all I needed to know. Yes the Pistol was fun to watch, his LSU teams never won and neither did his pro teams……well maybe once when he played with Bird but that was it. It explained everything, love of Domique, never won anything but a few scoring titlles, to his love of head case Osh and JJ, should not even be a Robin, but maybe a, canT think of a third wheel.to compare.
Having rooted for the Hawks since moving from NY, Reed Frazier Monroe, it’s all lets go Linsanity for the rest of 2012.
This is Gearon’s Team and guess what? Garbage……………………..
Najeh Davenpoop
February 15th, 2012
1:21 am
“My question again:
how can he fill up the stat sheet and look so bad ?”
Because you see what you want to see. Josh was the best player on the Hawks in this game, even with the 3 or 4 ill-advised shots, and the plus/minus bears this out.
Slimjr
February 15th, 2012
1:24 am
#24 is lost like his coach…..Sad…….
Spyro
February 15th, 2012
1:24 am
@Najeh: I think the amnesty counts towards the salary floor, but it doesn’t matter if you are already over it. Or something like that.
Buddy Grizzard
February 15th, 2012
1:26 am
“With 4:48 left in the 3rd quarter, the Hawks were down by 3, and Vlad came in the game for Josh right after Josh missed an ill-advised 3.”
Sounds eerily familiar… Vlad in the game and a 10-point swing in favor of the opposition? Where have I heard that one before?
Kontract
February 15th, 2012
1:26 am
Ok Buddy…good long term ideas…WHAT THE F DO WE DO RIGHT NOW ???? YOU TOO NAZR???
Grandad
February 15th, 2012
1:28 am
About my aforementioned post.
Josh was also the only Hawk with a + (+/-) rating with a +8.
It makes no sense to me.
_____________________________________________
I cannot argue with Najeh.
Just do not lay it on V-Rad – he played well tonight.
_____________________________________________
Everyone played poorly.
Even Teaguer
Leading scorer 18 points, yet only 2 assts.
He played 34 min / can’t blame LD for that one.
And Jeff missed 10 shots.
____________________________________________
LD;
does not get off the hook either.
Where are the line-up changes ?
His threats are *idle* !
The players know !
Where was Ivan ?
Buddy Grizzard
February 15th, 2012
1:30 am
“I think the amnesty counts towards the salary floor, but it doesn’t matter if you are already over it. Or something like that.”
This is what I was trying to say… it clears the salary for cap purposes but if the team is below the minimum salary (85% of the cap I think) it raises the floor so the team doesn’t have to sign more contracts to get to the minimum. Thus, the Hawks could have Joe’s huge salary raise their salary floor without paying to staff actual talented players in replacement… thus ensuring losses and lottery picks.
Rusty
February 15th, 2012
1:31 am
Can’t stand hearing LD after the game,he makes me sick, the stinger is one hell of a kiss ass.
Spyro
February 15th, 2012
1:31 am
Just do not lay it on V-Rad – he played well tonight.
He made a few threes and that means he played well? Are players not supposed to be held accountable for what they do on defense?
Yo
February 15th, 2012
1:31 am
“You realize the Lakers did the same exact thing, right?”
They have Kobe, Pau and Bynum. We have…….. nothing.
Buddy Grizzard
February 15th, 2012
1:32 am
Absurd contracts such as Kwame Brown for $7.5m for one season in GS are a product of teams being required to spend a certain percentage of the salary cap this year. If the Hawks are paying Joe’s amnestied salary, they wouldn’t have to do that, because it counts for salary minimum purposes (but doesn’t put them over the cap or tax threshold).
High-sider
February 15th, 2012
1:33 am
First, we [NBA fans] get the “Black Mamba” [Kobe Bryant] and then, we get the “White Mamba” [Brian Scalabrine]. Now, we get the “Yellow Mamba” [Jeremy Lin]. So now, I guess Eduardo Najera is going to the “Brown Mamba” because he [Najera] is/was a Mexican national. Are their any East Indians or Native Americans [Americans Indians or Indigenous Americans] in the NBA qualified or good enough to be the “Red Mamba”? I guess the NBA is trying to have an international rainbow of “Mambas.” My other question is what color “Mamba” would the outstanding bi-racial [bi-ethnic] and/or mutli-racial [multi-ethnic] NBA players such as Jason Kidd, Tony Parker, Blake Griffin, Klay Thompson, Shane Battier, Matt Barnes [and soon to be Austin Rivers], etc. be?
Spyro
February 15th, 2012
1:34 am
They have Kobe, Pau and Bynum. We have…….. nothing.
So? That makes the same action excusable?
boykin
February 15th, 2012
1:34 am
Bloggers, look at that Lin trey again! Amare nor Wilt nor Walt nor Starks was anywhere near the rim,,,this was Lin’s ball!!!!!!
Buddy Grizzard
February 15th, 2012
1:35 am
“Ok Buddy…good long term ideas…WHAT THE F DO WE DO RIGHT NOW ????”
I told you. Fire LD and pay Phil Jackson $5m to coach the Hawks for half a season. It’s the only thing that can save this franchise from full rebuild mode in the next 18 months.
Spyro
February 15th, 2012
1:35 am
@High-sider:
Well, Griffin is half-black, half-ginger, so he can be the black ginger mamba?
Homer
February 15th, 2012
1:35 am
“LakersReporter Mike Trudell: “ATL Coach Larry Drew: “You can look at the stats & see that their size & length did affect us, but we gave it our best shot.” …”
D’oh!
Spyro
February 15th, 2012
1:36 am
@Buddy:
Hell, I’d even be interested in hiring JVG at this point. Can’t be any worse than LD.
Najeh Davenpoop
February 15th, 2012
1:38 am
Hawks were 8/18 on layups according to MC’s Twitter.
Also according to MC’s Twitter, apparently LD left Zaza on the bench in the first half (which turned out to be a good move) due to the 2 foul rule, because he thought Zaza had 2 fouls. So even one of his good decisions was pure luck.
Grandad
February 15th, 2012
1:38 am
* Everyone played poorly
* should have read:
everyone else played poorly or all others …..
** Just after I said:
V-Rad – he played well tonight.
to say:
‘`Everyone played poorly`’
was dumb.
And I was … Dumb.
Kontract
February 15th, 2012
1:39 am
Buddy: Chalk u up as a blowhard like the other trolls..Damn, tryin to ask a serious Q about our Hawks….
Ra'mon
February 15th, 2012
1:39 am
I don’t know what LD is trying to prove, or if he’s just foolish. But he needs to realize that the Hawks just don’t play good defense without Josh in the game. So anytime you have the opposition’s starting PF and C in the game, you may want to keep Josh in the game. Truth be told, the only thing keeping Josh from averaging 19+ ppg is his free throw shooting. If Josh shot 80% he’d easily be the Hawks best offensive player all around (when factoring in assists, scoring, and rebounding), and he’s already the best defender on the team. Josh is having a career year in rebounding, and averaging over 2 blocks per game (with 1.4 steals per game). How in the world does LD keep taking Josh out in the 3rd quarter, only to see the team start losing by double digit figures, by the time Josh gets back in the game? LD should keep Josh in the game the entire 3rd quarters of games, unless you’re up by 8-12 pts. And then let Josh get his rest at the beginning of the fourth quarter for 4-5 game time (which ends up being 10-14 real time minutes).
Kontract
February 15th, 2012
1:41 am
Nazr as well…quick to criticize throw out some astute facts but unable to answer the Q: What the f do the Hawks do RIGHT NOW to improve this team as it i to compete for the rest of the season!!!
Hawks Fan Down Under
February 15th, 2012
1:43 am
Total garbage. Seriously losing interest in this team this season. Just gotta get LD outta there!!!
Where was Ivan? In the third when Marvin was terrible LD just kept playing him. Bring in Ivan at SF and watch him batter some dudes. Even for a few minutes.
The downward spiral continues but its ok….it’s all because we dont have Al. Al is our saviour and would elevate this team to a true title contender!! Bring on season 2012-13 when the Hawks soar towards their first title with LD extended for 5 more years!!! AWESOME!!!!!
2 Chainz
February 15th, 2012
1:43 am
Hawks suck. TRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!