Atlanta Hawks at Pistons: Game thread
Auburn Hills, Mich.–Joe Johnson returns to the starting lineup after missing six of the last seven games with left knee tendinitis. Joe had been working out daily. He got the go-ahead to play after a workout during today’s shootaround. “It feels great,” he said. “I don’t have any pain it so that’s the main thing. As the game goes on, that’s the only concern. We’ve got to test it.”
- As for the strength in the knee, Joe said: “Not to where I want it to be but from the last time I tried to play, 10 times better than that.”
- Willie Green will miss his fifth consecutive game. In addition to a sore back, Green said he tweaked a hamstring while working out today.
- Ivan Johnson is to leave the team after the game because of a death in the family. He’s expected to return for the game at Sacramento Sunday.
- After an intense game against the Heat, the Hawks face a Pistons team that’s still last in the Central Division behind Cleveland in spite of showing signs of life since the start of February. It will be interesting to see if the Hawks are as spirited against a struggling opponent as they were at Miami.
- Larry Drew: “You say struggling but this team has won 9 of its last 15. They’ve got some healthy bodies back, they have been playing well. They are coming off a big win against the Lakers, which they have to be feeling good about. It’s always a physical game when we play this team. That’s one thing we have emphasized with our players. This may be the most physical games of this road trip and that’s the mindset you have to have going into this game.”
- Pistons forward Charlie Villaneuva (ankle) is expected to play for the first time since Jan. 4.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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600 comments Add your comment
Mr. Thompson
March 9th, 2012
10:26 pm
Also, Teague has GOT to play better. If you are the main PG and you play 30+ mins, you have GOT to score more than a few buckets and a few assists. Too little production from someone we need significant contribution from.
DawgNole
March 9th, 2012
10:27 pm
tb hawk fan
March 9th, 2012
10:21 pm
what can we look forward to hawks are looking bad braves are 1and 7
______________________
That’s why they call us “Losersville.”
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
10:28 pm
RG3 to the Redskins.
prison mike
March 9th, 2012
10:28 pm
Wow Lakers in the same predicament as we are final 26 secs.
James
March 9th, 2012
10:30 pm
This is very similar to what happened the last time the Hawks played the Pistons. Both times, the Pistons essentially dominated us on the inside, but this time, Joe didn’t hit a big shot at the end of regulation.
Big and physical front lines just seem to give the Hawks a lot of trouble. Maxiell was the best big man in this game, and he seemed to score most of his points with ease. Josh played off of him too much and gave him a bunch of open jumpers. Meanwhile, both Maxiell and Monroe got whatever they wanted inside against any and every Hawks defender. The Pistons dominated almost every statistical category in this game, including FG%, rebounding, and assists. The only thing that really kept the Hawks in this game was all of the Piston turnovers and a lot of timely three point baskets.
The Hawks didn’t really play badly, the Pistons just played better. It would have been amazing if the Hawks would have won this game with the Pistons shooting 55.9% and with the Pistons out-rebounding them by 13. In reality, the Hawks should have lost both games this year to the Pistons with the way Detroit has played against them, but at least the Hawks stole one of them.
I’ve got to tip my hat to Maxiell. He was pretty much the key to the game tonight.l He dominated his matchup with Josh and anyone else who attempted to guard him by basically just outworking everyone and playing to his strengths. Twelve rebounds in 29 minutes is evidence of hard work.
Meanwhile, the Hawks apparently don’t have any healthy player capable of guardian Greg Monroe. Once he realized that he was quicker than Zaza, that was pretty much the end of that, and with a few pump fakes, he was able to easily score on Josh.
As far as the Hawks were concerned, Teague seemed a bit too tentative in this game, and the Pistons basically turned Josh into an inefficient volume shooter on the offensive end. He scored 21 points, but he needed 19 shots and 8 free throw attempts to do so. Joe was fairly effective, but I’m surprised he only took 12 shots. Marvin was pretty solid for his role, but he passed up some open 3 pointers when he had it going, and that probably hurt the team in the long run. The bench was lackluster in this game as well. The physical defense from Damien Wilkins nullified T-Mac and Detroit’s guards did a goob job of running guys off of the 3 point line. Also, their physical interior defense took away almost anything we had going at the hoop. I’m surpsied this game was as close as it was. Looking at the stat sheet, it felt like this should have been a blowout loss, but at least the Hawks didn’t fold when they got down in the fourth.
On to the next one…
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:30 pm
2 FG’s in the 1st 15 mins of the 2nd Half? You should have lost…Brutal…yep…
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:31 pm
Redskins will be in a Superbowl within 4 years….
Colts will be sorry they did not draft RG3….
James
March 9th, 2012
10:33 pm
Correction: “…capable of *guarding* Greg Monroe…”
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
10:33 pm
No Kevin Love for the Wolves and they have a chance to beat the Lakers.
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:33 pm
Brutal 3rd quarter! Where’s the ENERGY LARRY?
prison mike
March 9th, 2012
10:33 pm
Of course Kobe gets to the line an puts his team up 1. While Joe….
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:34 pm
“No Kevin Love for the Wolves and they have a chance to beat the Lakers.”
Great coaching and their #2 pick is playing like a #2..Our #2 pick? Crickets………
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
10:35 pm
When Joe kicked it back out to Teague, I have no idea why he went out to the perimeter instead of staying in the post against Stuckey and asking for the ball again.
Hawkfan
March 9th, 2012
10:35 pm
Really, if you know basketball ou know this team is terrible on defense and on the boards when Josh goes out or plays in foul trouble like tonite. Culprits tonite are bad game by ZaZa, Teague, Hinrich and usual weak game by Marvina. LD showed once again he is an idiot. Also poor game by TMac. Need more Ivan, Pargo and need Willie Green back. Best 5 lyricists
Dylan
Tom Waits
Springsteen
Lucinda Williams
Nick Cave
Mikee
March 9th, 2012
10:35 pm
allow 56%+out reb 37-24+shoot 68% from FT=Lost.
How yu let somebody 6′7 out rebound someone 6′11(Zaza) and highflyer(6′9)Smoove who avg 9.9rebs pers game smh put ur as on somebody and box out smh.This a game were horford was missed in reb
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
10:35 pm
Melvin,
I’m not ok with a 12 pt qtr. But lets not forget we had the same issues when Woody was here (especially in the 4th), and when Jamal was here, so this is nothing new. I think it goes more to coaching more than anything else, because we haven’t had a coach who can cal a play that will get the right guy an easy shot in the right spot.
I am starting to buy into vava’s theory that Josh wants to be the #1 option, because JJ as the #1 option has run its course. Josh did not even touch the ball on the last possession, despite the fact that he has been carrying the Hawks with JJ and Al out.
Josh wants to be top dog, and has the mentality to be top dog. JJ? Not si much.
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:36 pm
The Ref’s did not help Detroit beat the Hawks for sure..Larry took care of that…
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
10:38 pm
Hawks are real close to being the 7th seed, which is almost guaranteed to be a 1st round loss going up against Miami or Chicago.
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:38 pm
Dylan
Tom Waits
Springsteen
Lucinda Williams
Nick Cave
Best 5 singers? None of the above….
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:39 pm
Miami in 4, Chicago in 5…
High-sider
March 9th, 2012
10:40 pm
@James
Regarding your post @10:30pm – good synopsis.
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:41 pm
0-46= ECF visit for our Atlanta Hawks..Yes the streak will certainly continue…
Call in a Priest….
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
10:41 pm
At 4:54 in the 3rd, Josh picked up his 5th foul and went to the bench. The Hawks at the time were up 56-55.
At 11:26 in the 4th, Josh re-entered the game. The Hawks at the time were down 71-62.
That’s a 10 point swing in the 5 minutes that Josh sat out in the 2nd half. Say what you want about “21 points on 19 shots”, but efficiency is only one measuring stick. Fact is the Hawks scored 6 points in 5 minutes while he was out and let the Pistons get to the basket at will.
Hawkfan
March 9th, 2012
10:42 pm
Agreed Slim. Guess I like great songwriters that have to overcome lack of great pipes. Listen to Waits though. Never off key and more unusual voice than bad voice
High-sider
March 9th, 2012
10:44 pm
I forgot to mention Lupe Fiasco. He’s up there to me because he’s somewhat of a deep lyricist.
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:46 pm
Hawkfan look up Todd Smith when you have time…(Eyes wide shut) type of stuff…
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
10:47 pm
Dwight Howard was a groomsman in Josh’s wedding. One of the his groomsmen? Rajon Rondo.
If Hawks trade Josh, there is no way Dwight signs here (imo).
Rod from College Park
March 9th, 2012
10:47 pm
“Hawks miss 7 free throws and lose by 1 point; 86-85″
Did I mention that Jamal Crawford is shooting 95% from the free throw line.
Rod from College Park
March 9th, 2012
10:48 pm
I VOTE NO TO ISO JOE!!!!
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:49 pm
Is Atlanta Sports complexes built on Indian burial ground or something? This ish is serious over the past 45 years…The way these professional franchises fail to win is a function of mystery…
TMACfan
March 9th, 2012
10:51 pm
We scored 12 points in the second quarter…. we deserved to lose.
O'Brien
March 9th, 2012
10:54 pm
Rod,
Jamal might end up in Indy or Minny.
Grandad
March 9th, 2012
10:55 pm
LD cannot coach Joe or does not know how ?
Josh and Joe; chemistry … ? … I think not.
Did Zaza foul out ?
Why was marv in so much;
Mrs G-dad made me watch with the sound off.
Last pos:
24 seconds; wasted 8 lollygagging down the ct.
wasted 6 more waiting for Teague [Teague threw the ball in ?]
to get set up for the high screen.
Joe wasted 8 or 9 more seconds with his tricky dribble
passed back to Teaguer;
[asleep; caught off guard; never thought the ball would come back to him]
Teaguer didn`t want the ball – threw it back to Joe – panic 5, 4, 3, heave….
** note – please do not check my arithmatic**
Now: *[on the last pos]
Why was T-Mac; not in the game ?
Why was V-Rad; not in the game /
Why was Teague in the game if he was not going to drive & draw ?
Above All Why in Heck was Marv anywhere near the ct.
______________________________________________
This was for Rusty who thinks I never crititique LD !
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
10:55 pm
IN REAL NEWS:
“Fannie, Freddie Executive Bonuses Cut
Salaries of the 70 top executives will be limited to $500K”
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
10:56 pm
“Mrs G-dad made me watch with the sound off.”
Don’t you mean G-mom?
northcyde
March 9th, 2012
10:58 pm
Question: who was guarding Maxiell most of the game, and why couldn’t that person ( those people ) keep him in check?
James
March 9th, 2012
11:00 pm
“At 4:54 in the 3rd, Josh picked up his 5th foul and went to the bench. The Hawks at the time were up 56-55.
At 11:26 in the 4th, Josh re-entered the game. The Hawks at the time were down 71-62.
That’s a 10 point swing in the 5 minutes that Josh sat out in the 2nd half. Say what you want about “21 points on 19 shots”, but efficiency is only one measuring stick. Fact is the Hawks scored 6 points in 5 minutes while he was out and let the Pistons get to the basket at will.”
The Hawks are definitely better defensively, most of the time, when Josh is on the floor, but they were bad with and without him in that third quarter. You have to look at the big picture. The Hawks were up 50-41 at the half. By the time Josh left the game at the 4:54 mark, the score was 56-55 in favor of the Hawks, which means that during that 7:06 stretch, the Hawks only scored 6 points and gave up 13 to the Pistons, with Josh going 1-5 and turning the ball over twice. That third quarter was just bad for the Hawks, with both Josh in and out of the game.
Even if Josh’s stat line looks better than the other Hawks, he was as much to blame for this loss as almost any other Hawks player. Yes, the Pistons may have gone on a run while he was out, but they also had a run when he was in, and all of the points and rebounds he gave up to Maxiell essentially balance out or outweigh anything positive he did.
Regardless, the Hawks just played poor interior defense in this game, and didn’t rebound the ball effectively enough. Josh and Zaza flat-out got dominated by Maxiell and Monroe in this game on both ends of the floor. Josh and Zaza combined for 23 points on 8-22 shooting and 9 rebounds, meanwhile Maxiell and Monroe combined for 39 points on 19-26 shooting and 19 rebounds. This game was lost in the paint. A team doesn’t typically shoot 55.9% unless they are scoring a lot in the paint or scoring on a lot of open/easy shots. The Pistons did both with little resistance.
Slimjr
March 9th, 2012
11:00 pm
Man that Detroit defense was on lockdown holding the Hawks to 2 FG’s in the entire 3rd? Wow….
James
March 9th, 2012
11:04 pm
“Question: who was guarding Maxiell most of the game, and why couldn’t that person ( those people ) keep him in check?”
From what I noticed, a combination of players defended him. Josh got the initial assignment, but with some of the switching that occurred, I saw Marvin on him at times, and Ivan as well. I’d have to go back and look at the game again, but the main issue I saw was the Hawks just kept on giving him open jumpers and failed to get a hand up, and he kept making them pay. When he wasn’t scoring on jumpers, he was just outworking everyone inside to get offensive rebounds, or just rebounds in general. No one was boxing him out consistently, and he did the same thing he did last time the Hawks played against the Pistons. I don’t know why the Hawks wouldn’t respect his game after already seeing what he did to them last time, but apparently, they didn’t think he was good enough to hurt them, and they found out the wrong way that he was.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
11:05 pm
I agree that Josh individually and the Hawks as a whole were bad on D and on the boards in this game, like I pointed out several times throughout the game, but that post was directed at the people who take one efficiency stat by itself and use it to pass judgment on how well someone played. Even with the lackluster team D, the Hawks were beating the Pistons while Josh was in the game. +11 with him, -12 without him, including -10 in that second half stretch alone.
James
March 9th, 2012
11:06 pm
That one play in the fourth quarter where Maxiell had that one-handed put-back dunk basically summed up the game for the Hawks on the interior. No one boxed him out and he just wanted the ball more than everyone else.
northcyde
March 9th, 2012
11:09 pm
Damn. Which Hawk was 2 – 9 fg in the 2nd half?
soullrenaissance
March 9th, 2012
11:11 pm
ISO Joe MUST GO! I am perplexed and I must have missed the Josh Smith trade request….hmmm…maybe Smith can leverage his clout with the front office (which he should have an abundance of) and demand LD be shown the door and the hiring of a legit NBA coach or else he wants out. O’brien you are right with that number 1 top dog spot post. He should be APEX leader on the team because he is. He is the only one with ever-burning fire – despite his limitations.
LD is behind the (8) for unimaginative play calling.
Rusty
March 9th, 2012
11:11 pm
Grandad LD coached a horrible game. He yanks JT around, he left KH almost the entire 3rd. KH just dribbles around in circles never really doing anything . KH is not a threat at any time & is nowhere as good as JT on defense. I almost have to believe LD preaches to JT that he is a pg & has to not look to score for himself. LD wanted JJ to go iso,JT knew enough not to take the shot.why the hell did he have JJ bring the ball up. Of course MW had the ball in his hands for a second after Jj’s shot.LD coached a real bad game,to many stupid decisions to talk about. This team wins games inspire of his coaching.the worst thing he has done is trying to fk JT up. He gives him no trust or confidence.
High-sider
March 9th, 2012
11:12 pm
Chris Paul (36pts, 11asts) and Mo Williams (33pts) got busy tonight. Clippers file down Spurs 120-108.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 9th, 2012
11:20 pm
Up 9 at halftime I said we had to be very very careful.
Same ole Hawks.
A bunch of nice guys
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 9th, 2012
11:22 pm
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2012
10:35 pm
When Joe kicked it back out to Teague, I have no idea why he went out to the perimeter instead of staying in the post against Stuckey and asking for the ball again.
LinkReport this comment
Teague hesitated too. Josh was on 3pt line. What a joke of a coaching staff to not even draw up a play
Rusty
March 9th, 2012
11:22 pm
JT has all the talent in the world just like his brother. The first quarter it looked like JJ ,MW & JS was trying to play keep away not letting JT into the game. I am waiting for him to leave & to be a real good pg somewhere else. He is such a great improvement on defense from a previous
Pg & really does not turn the ball over. He also is the only hawk who really goes to the basket. The only thing he really needs is to not have a coach sticking it up his butt .
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 9th, 2012
11:23 pm
Joe with 2 boards in 36 minutea. Yet no one else in this damn city calls him out consistently besides me
Michael Cunningham
March 9th, 2012
11:24 pm
new blog posted. shutting down this thread.