Atlanta Hawks at Knicks: Game Thread
NEW YORK — Much of the news of the day was reported earlier with the news that Joe Johnson is out of the All-Star Game because of his ailing left knee and Marvin Williams response to a report he wants out.
As the game thread, here is coach Larry Drew’s take on the adversity affecting the Hawks as the limp home from another 10-day, five-game road trip and the loss, at least temporarily, of their second all-star.
* “I want to see us respond to the fact that we have two all-stars who won’t be here. … I want to see our guys respond in a positive way and that means playing consistently from start to finish, four solid quarters.”
* “I just personally feel that this is a true test to see what our team is made of, where we are at this point. We said all along in bringing in help off the bench, veteran guys, can come in and help us in these types of situations. You lose key guys and it opens up opportunities for other guys to play. It’s a matter of us responding to the challenge.”
* “We can’t allow any adversity to step in to the fact where we fragment when the situations are what they are, given our schedule, that we have key players out. We have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep marching on.”
Also:
Drew said his team will not get caught up in the Jeremy Lin hype that is sweeping New York. In the Knicks’ last 10 games – nine with Lin as a starter – the guard has averaged 24.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 2.9 steals and 5.6 turnovers.
“The one thing that I won’t allow to happen as we prepare for New York, or any team, we don’t focus on just one guy,” Drew said. “Too much focus, too much attention on one guy and then you leave these other guys open. Our approach to the game tonight will not be to stop Jeremy Lin. It will not be that. We know what we have to do against him. We know what we have to do against the rest of their team but we will not just focus on one guy.”
As a final note, former Hawk Mike Bibby paid a pre-game visit to his old team’s locker room before the game.
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774 comments Add your comment
High-sider
February 22nd, 2012
10:59 pm
No Joe Johnson, no Al Horford, no Jamal Crawford and this fool [Marvin Williams] still puts up a goose egg. SMGDMFH [Shaking My Gosh Darn Mickie Fickie Head]
crazy_88
February 22nd, 2012
11:01 pm
I don’t think LD has it in for Tracy – I think LD is just a wuss who is afraid to make a change in the lineup because of how much $$$ mgmt has invested in Joe, Josh and Marvin.
I think LD is afraid to bench Marvin because it will make mgmt look stupid considering they’re paying him $9Mil per season. It would be the last affirmation that he’s a bust and LD doesn’t want mgmt asking him why are they paying a guy $9Mil to ride the pine.
LD probably sold mgmt on the fact that he can make Marvin into a better player and to bench him would mean that he sucks as a coach and Marvin’s confidence would be destroyed along with his trade value.
I’m sure LD is a nice man but its more than obvious that he doesn’t have what it takes to be a head coach in this league and that he is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy over his head.
heat check
February 22nd, 2012
11:05 pm
Bob Rathbun: “Every opposition’s gameplan begins with ‘what are we going to do with Joe Johnson?’”
Nique: “That’s everybody’s gameplan defensively….’how are we going to stop Joe?’”
SILENCE….
Nique…..you’re posterizing the listener’s ears at this point. Please step down and let Mike Glenn take over as the color man. I loved you as a player, but you clearly couldn’t care less about your current job. Talk about phoning it in!
On to the game. It was awful. Lots of flailing around on defense and shooting 3’s with 15 seconds on the clock. Looks like they’re taking the allstar break early. That wasn’t easy to watch. And Nique didn’t help with the audio.
cp
February 22nd, 2012
11:09 pm
@doc.. This is supposed to be a great draft this year depending on if guys leave early. The problem is that even if the Hawks somehow ended up in the lottery do you trust them to take the right guy?
Rusty
February 22nd, 2012
11:14 pm
Has ld made even 1 player better this year?
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
February 22nd, 2012
11:27 pm
Rusty
February 22nd, 2012
11:14 pm
Has ld made even 1 player better this year?
LinkReport this comment
Neither did Woody
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
February 22nd, 2012
11:30 pm
Northcyde gave up on Eric Gordon.
Gordon has had a rough year. Would’ve killed it if healthy
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
February 22nd, 2012
11:31 pm
Ok I would please like an update on what is going on with the AJC.
Why is there no live blogging? Why do we have two writers? Why do we sometimes go days without blogs?
I see all of MC’s tweets…they’re excellent…
What’s going on…
Supaficial
February 22nd, 2012
11:50 pm
Your Atlanta Hawks are the true definition of no faith.They are very talented but has no one to guide them.When they do believe in themselves they are a team we are all rave about. When they lose we talk like theyre a piece of u know. Lets face it we really don’t support the Hawks like we do the Falcons and Braves so when they lose we are so quick to point fingers and say the hawks sorry. The city should strip ASG of ownership for damaging the Hawks brand for future reference because no wants to come here as long as their owners. But Atlanta will be the laughing stock of the NBA for years to come because they have to rebuild again. As the league gets even powerful the core has run its course because JJ is as a good as a six man really. Josh skipped fundamentals 101 and went straight to the big leagues. Al should stay because he’s a valuable 4 with some heart with him. Marvin Marvin Marvin God Bless Marvin. 1 2 buckle my shoe Marvin skipped the course too. Pretty much like his game. Teague mad love for the dude doesnt get the chance to get in his zone due to not being played in previous years and being yanked after he make a few mistakes.This is really his rookie year folks. Zaza is your toughest player on your team(says a lot about toughness). Then LD. Oh LD. If you only had a brain you be smart which you are not. You cant even get these guys to listen to you. They run you where are your balls.Man up! Call em out thats what coaches do. Bench them when you think they are not giving you 110. (percent). You make excuses for them. You cater to this teams wants.Hawks shouldve took Avery Johnson. At least he would have brought toughness.
This GM should have never been hired in the first place. He has a bad rep everywhere he has been and destroyed franchises for years. Then the owners our beloved broke owners who decides to sit on money and make a profit for ten years loves mediocre play. Chooses not to do what it takes bring championship(conference finals will do) caliber team to Atlanta.Take notes from the Thunder on how to rebuild starting with the fans.
hawkfan
February 22nd, 2012
11:50 pm
at this point if we keep slumping and fall to 7th or 8th with miami or chi at 1 or 2 we should just miss the playoffs all together and be in the lottery, no point going in to the playoffs and being HISTORICALLY EMBARRASSED again
doc
February 23rd, 2012
10:39 am
it will be interesting to see what the heat do with lin and if they go to the d rose defense by queen to try and slow him down.
doc
February 23rd, 2012
10:41 am
cp, no but a guy has to have hope. look we found few acorns in spite of ourselves and the many opportunities given..
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:24 pm
Top 32 Draft Busts of the Last Decade (according to the bleacher report)
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:24 pm
Mouhamed Sene, No. 10, 2006, Seattle SuperSonics (Rick Sund GM)
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:26 pm
hall of shame for such a category, Billy Knight and Rick Sund would easily be inducted.
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:32 pm
Honorable Mentioned Bust (added)
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:33 pm
Vladimir Radmanovic, No. 12, 2001, Seattle (Rick Sund GM) SuperSonics
He came to the U.S. with a lot of fanfare in 2001. Vladimir Radmanovic was drafted by Seattle and has managed to survive 10 years in the NBA but his statistics certainly look like someone who was totally underachieving for such a high pick.
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:33 pm
Mouhamed Sene, No. 10, 2006, Seattle SuperSonics (Rick Sund GM)
The 6′11″, 230-pound forward from Thies, Senegal just turned out to be a major bust and another example of bad scouting. In four campaigns with Seattle, Oklahoma City and the New York Knicks, Mouhamed Sene averaged just 2.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and no assists. That, my basketball friends, is mediocrity at its finest.
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:35 pm
Sheldon Williams, No. 5, 2006, Atlanta Hawks (Billy Knight GM)
At 6′9″, 250, the Hawks felt they had a future All-Star defensive force when they drafted Williams. He didn’t get better at the next level; if anything, he regressed. Williams averaged just 5.5 points his first season and three points in just 11 minutes per game during his second campaign in Atlanta.
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:38 pm
Robert Swift, No. 12, 2004, Seattle SuperSonics (Rick Sund GM)
The brass in Seattle should have seen what was coming—Swift had refused to work out for teams before the draft and maybe that little clue would later speak volumes about his abilities or lack thereof. In just 97 games, Swift averaged just 4.3 points per game and recently left the D-League’s Bakersfield team which may indicate his career, at 24, is over.
Marvin Williams, No. 2, 2005, Atlanta Hawks (Billy Knight GM)
Williams has largely been a disappointment. His average after six seasons stands at 11.7 points per game—not exactly All-Star caliber. The conventional wisdom was that Williams as a pro would develop more of an offensive game as his minutes increased. That has not happened.
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:42 pm
DerMarr Johnson
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:47 pm
Babkock-GM
The Truth
February 23rd, 2012
4:47 pm
Pete Babkock-GM
pointguardslim, LD's Offense
February 23rd, 2012
6:21 pm
“L.D. has some philosophical principles to go along with the Xs and Os. He said he believes his system will work because the Hawks have so many “interchangeable pieces” to work with. Al will play some power forward with Zaza or Twin at center but Drew said the combinations won’t end there.
“We have the luxury a lot of interchangeable positions. We’ve got twos that can be play 3, threes that can play four, fours that can play five. We can even move Josh to the five against certain matchups. You might see the five at the three. You might even see the five at the one. [Regardless of lineup] nothing changes as far as the action on the floor. I want to utilize our abilities as interchangeable pieces.”
- Atlanta Hawks: Inside ‘Camp Drew’
4:45 pm August 11, 2010, by Michael Cunningham