Atlanta Hawks: Nuggets 118, Hawks 117 (OT)
1:29 am March 14, 2012, by Michael Cunningham
Denver–There were series of gaffes, miscalculations and questionable strategy by the Hawks and an incredible 3-pointer from Danilo Gallinari, and yet the Hawks still had a chance to win with a play that was executed perfectly . . . right up until the point where Zaza Pachulia’s layup attempt bounced harmlessly off the rim.
- “Just missed it,” Zaza said. “It was a great opportunity for me.”
- He can get in line with Joe Johnson’s turnovers and forced iso Js, Jannero Pargo’s fumble, Kirk Hinrich’s missed free throws and shot-clock violation, Vladimir Radmanovic’s 0-for-4 on 3s. . . . and don’t forget those 11 dunks and layups the Hawks allowed in the first half.
- Larry Drew said the final play was designed to free Zaza near the basket: “The execution was perfect. We executed. That was probably the best play we executed all night. ‘Z’ just missed a point-blank layup. But I told the guys it didn’t come down to that. That game was lost in the first half when we didn’t make a stand defensively and they basically had their way with us.”
- Joe took the heat off Zaza and Kirk and put it on himself: “We don’t put this game on Zaza missing a layup or Kirk not making a free throw. I look at the stat sheet and I had five turnovers and probably three of those were at crucial times.”
- Kirk: “It’s tough. I had a chance to win it. I made the hard one, the first one, and I missed the second. I’m very disappointed.”
- Zaza: “We had so many opportunities, you know. I don’t think we were lucky today. Of course it’s not an excuse. I have to finish that. But if you think about it, the turnover we had over there off Pargo’s leg, Gallinari’s three, Kirk’s free throw and my layup. That’s four big things. We just weren’t lucky today. Again, that’s not an excuse and personally, me, I have to finish when I have that kind of opportunity. I take that blame on my shoulders.”
- On the 3, Gallinari wasn’t even squared up when he received the pass. Joe and Josh Smith were all over him when he let it go. “I don’t know how he made it,” Joe said. “It was definitely a tough shot. He caught it kind of fading. But before that we couldn’t get big stops. They were either scoring or we were fouling.”
- Drew: “He hit a tough shot. You couldn’t have defended it any better than that.”
- Kirk: From my vantage point, I was boxing out under the basket. When he let it go, I thought, ‘There’s no way he will make that.’ And then the ball fell through the net into my hands.”
- Another beastly line for Josh: 33 points on 23 shots, 13 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and just one turnover. His tendency to try to set ballhandlers up for blocks when they drove contributed to some of those 11 dunks and layups but the perimeter D was atrocious.
- Josh put the Hawks ahead with a sweet spin move after Drew went away from Iso-Joe. The Hawks missed him once he fouled out 2:46 into OT because he was setting up Joe and Kirk for open Js.
- Joe put the Hawks ahead 117-1112 with a crafty move, keeping his dribble alive to thwart a double team and making a fadeaway J. But he missed on a forced iso J that led to two free throws for Nene and got bailed out on a forced drive when, after a long review, the refs decided the replay was inconclusive and the Hawks kept the ball.
- Drew: “When we lost Josh, and then I couldn’t bring Marvin [Williams] back because he took the bang on the hip, I was going to ride Joe. I just tried to put him in a position where he could operate and we just surrounded him with shooters.”
- The last play wasn’t Iso-Joe, though. “Going down the stretch we had opportunities that we just kind of let slip away,” Drew said.
- Both Joe (34 points on 26 shots, 6/10 3FG) and Kirk (22 points on eight shots, 3/4 3FG, 5/6 FT) had great games that were marred by bad moments.
- Marvin once again was aggressive early coming off the bench. It’s a role that seems to suit him.
- Marvin came back in the game briefly late in the fourth quarter after he suffered the hip injury. It was his pass that Pargo bobbled off his knee. “He couldn’t move,” Drew said of Marvin. “I only used him at the end there just to be a passer on the out of bounds. I wanted to put him back in down the stretch and overtime but he couldn’t go. I had to use what I had.”
- The Hawks said both Marvin and Willie Green (back, hamstring) will miss the game tomorrow at the Clippers. Tracy McGrady is expected to play after being held out on the first night of a back-to-back, to the Hawks will have 10 healthy bodies available.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
362 comments Add your comment
@DanWeiner
March 14th, 2012
1:33 am
Only one way to get over the stink of this one: everyone has to play pi**ed off tomorrow night in LA.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
1:35 am
“But I told the guys it didn’t come down to that. That game was lost in the first half when we didn’t make a stand defensively and they basically had their way with us.””
Sure LD. It didn’t come down to you going iso-Joe in the last 3 minutes instead of continuing to ride Josh or anything. It didn’t come down to putting Pargo in the game to catch an inbounds pass or anything.
Dumbass.
Props to him for finally getting T’d up though. About damn time.
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
1:36 am
Beat LA!!
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
1:36 am
Whether or not they have a letdown game tomorrow will say a lot about their mental toughness. The Clippers are beatable. Hopefully Ivan is back soon. Could have used him tonight, considering Vlad’s -11.
vava74
March 14th, 2012
1:41 am
Another game in which Smoove beasted.
Another game on a difficult court where we were competitive.
Where is the &@%#$¥ doubt that Josh has flourished? And that the Hawks are a better team with him leading?
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
1:43 am
TMAC is back!!
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
1:48 am
“Don’t Fake the Funk – On a Nasty Dunk!” -The Big Aristotle-
Mark
March 14th, 2012
1:58 am
This team is full of Chumps!
Mark
March 14th, 2012
1:59 am
Why is TMAC being held out of so many games? We could have used him tonight. I hate this STUPID TEAM!
vava74
March 14th, 2012
2:00 am
drmaryb,
Jamal was 2/7 in 22 minutes in Indiana tonight with a +- of -26, the worst in his team.
We don’t need Jamal to win these games, we need people back from injury and leave and we need LD to stop going ISO-Joe.
In the absence of Josh, LD should have gone with T-Mac on the floor.
What freaking fool who is already undermanned sticks to his plan to not use T-Mac after losing two more players to injury and foul out???
Freaking unbelievable.
Mark
March 14th, 2012
2:05 am
Maybe LD will get hurt and miss some time. I put Marvin in just to pass. Vlad Rad at the four when you need rebounds and people to box out, why not Dampier. ISO Joes down the stretch. Maybe Woody wasn’t so bad after all. Could you imagine if we had a Larry Brown or Doc Rivers. No Heart, No Brains and No Testicular Fortitude for this IDIOTIC TEAM!
Mark
March 14th, 2012
2:07 am
Dang this team SUCKS! I can’t stand this Playing not lose nonsense. Holding TMAC out! We need wins and this STUPID COACH wants to REST PLAYERS! Play them until they get hurt.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
2:12 am
vava-VOOM! Thanks for the Jamal stats line – he sux and has puppy-roni breath! smh
Then, go get Kaman for the play offs! The window is closing fast. Marvin probably injured himself falling down.
Mark
March 14th, 2012
2:12 am
I wish this team just TOTALLY SUCKED because MEDIOCRITY is worse because it teases the fan bas into thinking we have a shot. This team is CURSED. We had an owner and they ruled that he didn’t have enough money…WHY! As I stated earlier, The Hawks have TALENT and maybe if they had a LITTLE HEART and SOME BRAINS they could advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Our problems start with CLUELESS and PATHETIC COACHING ( that starts players like Marvin and Kurt Hinrich) and BAD FREE THROW SHOOTING and ILL ADVISED SHOTS by SELF PROCLAIMED ALLSTARS that feel “they should have been marketed better” so they could make the allstar game. The stats should also take into account 120 million dollar SO CALLED SUPERSTARS that hold the ball too long and can’t make BIG SHOTS when you need them. Secondly, LOUSY OWNERS that feel SUCCESS is being one of three teams to ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND over the past three years (Right Michael Gearon) and SPINELESS General Managers that offers BAD CONTRACTS and gives away draft picks all in order to keep the team COMPETITIVE and loves the word UPSIDE. But hey at least they will MAKE THE PLAYOFFS!
soullrenaissance
March 14th, 2012
2:15 am
Marvin will be out and Willie Green is out so TMac must play. LD is a bum. Sund is a beach bum.
Golden State makes moves our FO twiddles thumbs. Kaman would have been nice tonight. He would have more likely not have botched that lay-up.
Spyro
March 14th, 2012
2:17 am
WTF does T-Mac have to do to get some playing time? Jeez…
soullrenaissance
March 14th, 2012
2:20 am
LD and Sund will shout that “Injured players” excuse until the cows come home. That is the only thing that could save their jobs. Be careful what we ask for if LD gets fired – The Hawks may make a big splash and hire his assistant Lester Connor
vava74
March 14th, 2012
2:36 am
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7683520/bruce-levenson-atlanta-hawks-co-owner-dispels-josh-smith-trade-rumors
ASG: as always, quite a few days too late to come out and do their side of the job
HawkEye
March 14th, 2012
2:36 am
As much as I hate to admit it, LD is right to an extent. They gave up a lot of points (especially in the paint) in the first half, but also this game is won if not for Iso heavy plays down the stretch of regulation, a Pargo turn, and a missed Kirk free-throw. Out of those three, two fall on the coach.
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
3:24 am
“ASG: as always, quite a few days too late to come out and do their side of the job” – Vava74
Here was my response to that:
http://www.hoopinionblog.com/2012/03/hawks-ownership-plays-semantics-game.html
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
3:35 am
“Surely we can get more than Kaman for JJ.” – SteveW
My trade proposal to send JJ to the Clips, Kaman to the Hawks and Mo Williams to the Hornets was all part of my master strategy for the Hawks to compete for championships:
http://www.hoopinionblog.com/2012/03/comparing-twilight-of-two-hawks-eras-by.html
Not only can we not get more than Kaman for Joe, we probably can’t get that much.
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
3:45 am
Doesn’t look like the Clippers are a candidate to take on Joe’s contract:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-clippers-fyi-20120314,0,375861.story
That leaves ORL.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
March 14th, 2012
3:46 am
Big Ivan should be playing 20 minutes a game.
vava74
March 14th, 2012
3:53 am
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3834/gamelog;_ylt=Ai6jWiZ3KCKAgNOkMoiw0oACPaB4
Flourishing before our own eyes.
Who can still have any doubts that this should be – CLEARLY – Josh’s team?
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
3:59 am
Hot Cakes!
Welcome to IHOP, where both sides of the pancakes taste the same. So go ahead and flip-flop them suckers.
__________
My response to BuddyG blog. Unfortunately, BuddyG it is impossible to make out those coded letters on a BBerry phone’s small screen. Presbyopia has caught up to my eyes. Why do they make it so hard to comment, is that feature necc.? LOL
Donte
March 14th, 2012
4:28 am
sund is a joke
Donte
March 14th, 2012
4:30 am
When is someone involved with the media going to stop being soft and stop asking sund these basic questions and being satisfied with his generic replies. What are his thoughts about the play of Marvin Williams? What does he think about the help we need on the boards???
Spyro
March 14th, 2012
4:33 am
Josh Smith’s numbers in March so far: 26.6 pts, 10.3 rebs, 3.6 asts, and 51% shooting on 21 shots. Whoever said that we need to run the offense through Smoove (vava?) looks to be right so far.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
4:39 am
“Did I mention that Jamal Crawford is shooting 95% from the free throw line this year.” – Rod from C.P.
“Did I mention that Portland is out of the playoff picture this year?” – Buddy G
Did I mention that MCM aka “Sarge” [Nate McMillan] is a worse coach than LD? Did I mention that Zaza Pachulia aka Z-Pac[k] has no lift, no low post moves and no offensive skills? Did I mention that Z-Pac[k] is what he is – a backup center? Did I mention that you can’t count on Z-Pac[k] to make a big shot or a clutch bucket [basket] especially at the end of a game? Did I mention that Z-Pac[k] is just as bad as Marvin at finishing at the rim?
vava74
March 14th, 2012
4:53 am
High-sider,
Look at Jamal’s clutch stats THIS year:
http://www.82games.com/1112/CSORT11.HTM
Jamal is shooting .286 from the floor during the last 5 minutes of game and overtime when the game is close.
The much maligned JJ is shooting .476
Josh is shooting .475
MARVIN is shooting .438
How’s the weather inside Jamal’s jock??
vava74
March 14th, 2012
4:53 am
Sorry,
Josh is shooting .457
vava74
March 14th, 2012
4:55 am
Check as well the ± stats in the clutch:
Jamal is MINUS 11
JJ is PLUS 17
Josh is PLUS 21
MARVIN is PLUS 8
vava74
March 14th, 2012
4:57 am
Correction:
Jamal is MINUS 8
MARVIN is PLUS 9
vava74
March 14th, 2012
4:57 am
Teague is PLUS 25
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
4:59 am
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
March 14th, 2012
3:46 am
Big Ivan should be playing 20 minutes a game.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
6:01 am
vav74,
Remember this. (Check out the link below)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AZ3rVJjeL8&feature=related
Just Joe
March 14th, 2012
6:05 am
Dwight saying “I want to finish the year here”, should make it official for ORL. He has no interest in being there next year. Tough spot for the team to be in. Dwight wants it his way. He knows if he goes to NJ right now, that he’s just going through the motions for the rest of the year. He’d rather stay and compete in the playoffs, and then walk this Summer and leave his team with a S&T as its only compensation.
NJ has to know this as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if NJ came after Josh right at the deadline. They are rumored to be trying to clear more salary (Farmar, Petro & Houston pick for Diaw). If they make that move and then offer a package like Morrow, Lopez, Humphries, S. Williams and their own pick for Josh & Hinrich, then they’d be sitting there with Brooks, James, Josh, and the bird rights to D Williams going in to the offseason. A Williams, Smith, and Howard core would be the most balanced big 3 in the league. Very similar to what the Lakers have with Kobe and their two 7 footers, only younger.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
6:13 am
Your same link shows LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland’s All-Star and Crawford’s current teammate, has a +/- of -27 and -19. So what’s your point. Those +/- statistics are overrated and are indicative of team play moreso than individual play. LaMarcus made the All-Star team in a deep and talented Western Conference while Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Jeff Teague did not make the All-Star team in a weaker and less talented Eastern Conference. BTW, I’m sure the weather is better inside Jamal’s jock as opposed to the weather up Josh’s butt since you’re probably having do deal with mudslides, thick tire tracks and a funky a$$ odor.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
6:14 am
vava74,
Post @6:13am is directed to vava74.
terrell
March 14th, 2012
6:16 am
Morrow, Lopez, Humphries, and Williams for Josh and Hinrich? Count me in.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
6:18 am
vava74,
Remember this. (You were probably the biggest cheerleader that night.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WhZwuCWq-0&feature=related
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
6:22 am
vava74,
Correction: “BTW, I’m sure the weather is better inside Jamal’s jock as opposed to the weather up Josh’s butt since you’re probably having [to*] deal with mudslides, thick tire tracks and a funky a$$ odor.”
northcyde
March 14th, 2012
6:37 am
SMH . . . still defending the “Roller Coaster”
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
6:42 am
vava74,
I don’t give a damn what those “clutch +/- statistics” show. If you honestly feel that Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams and Jeff Teague are more clutch than Jamal Crawford, then you are a damn fool. I think I’ll start callin’ you a “some dumb, smart, pseudo-intelligent MF.”
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
6:48 am
northcyde,
“SMH . . . still defending the “Roller Coaster”” – northcyde
At the end of the day, I bet I will have more credibility defending Jamal Crawford than you will have defending Marvin “Howard the Duck” Williams. Marvin Williams looks like Daffy Duck with his beak shot off.
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
6:59 am
Dwight Howard more cynical than LeBron?
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2012/03/schmitz-take-is-dwight-working-for-nets-playing-for-magic.html
vava74
March 14th, 2012
7:00 am
High-sider,
Jamal – shooting .286 from the floor in clutch time THIS year.
LAST YEAR:
The whole season – he shot .333 in the clutch
http://www.82games.com/1011/CSORT11.HTM
I do not deny that Jamal had his moments and that he had a very good series against ORL (5 out 6 games), but you will not convince ANYONE in the league that he is half as good as you think he is.
He only got a 5 million per contract with POR and he is already in the trading block.
ROLLER COASTER
Fun & Unreliable
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
7:01 am
northcyde,
BTW, Six Flags tried to have a Marvin Williams-themed ride but they had to scrap it [the ride] because it kept disappearing and nobody could find it.
vava74
March 14th, 2012
7:09 am
The weather inside Josh’s jock is fine thank you.
Here are Smoove’s stats for the month of March:
March G7 mpg37:12 FG10.7 FGA21.0 FG%51.0 3pt1.1 3ptA2.9 3P%40.0 FT4.0 FTA6.1 FT%65.1 OReb2.4 DReb7.9 Rpg10.3 Apg3.6 To2.1 Stl1.3 Blk1.9 FL3.9 PPG26.6
In 4 wins and 3 losses – with the 3 losses coming with a total point differential of 5 points
The weather is indeed fine over here!!!
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
7:10 am
vava74,
“do not deny that Jamal had his moments and that he had a very good series against ORL (5 out 6 games), but you will not convince ANYONE in the league that he is half as good as you think he is.
He only got a 5 million per contract with POR and he is already in the trading block.
ROLLER COASTER
Fun & Unreliable” – vava74
Jamal is a whole lot better than what you think he is and he’s just a victim of the system with respect to his contract. Hedo Turkoglu, J.J. Redick, Marvin Williams and Luke Walton make more than Jamal Crawford and all of those players are far less valuable than Jamal Crawford. Much to your chagrin, conspiracies do exist and some players have been blackballed, blacklisted, scapegoated and phased out of the league [NBA].
vava74
March 14th, 2012
7:14 am
ahahahahahahahah…
you are so freaking delusional!!!!
ahahahahahahahah…
the Jamal conspiracy!!!!!
Grandad
March 14th, 2012
7:18 am
High-sider
I get it, subtle humor, ‘`nobody can find it`’ ?
vava74
March 14th, 2012
7:23 am
Listen man, Jamal is a very very talented dude, but the game is played with 4 other teammates AND is also played on the defensive end.
Jamal never developed a complete game, so his value has been bloated by ball clubs that went for the offensive punch thinking that it would solve their problems.
Look again: it didn’t.
Jamal should be used very limitedly, for shot spurts of no conscience offense, in and out of the game and always depending on gameflow and match ups.
I would have absolutely no trouble in having Jamal in my roster but he would get as many DNP-CD as games in which he would play 30 minutes.
Knowing when and how to use it is where wining and losing resides.
McMillan has been an absolute idiot because he has been using Jamal as backup PG in many circumstances which in my book would be enough to get him fired.
McMillan should have been developing Nolan Smith instead of falling on the same trap as LD did last year.
Dawg
March 14th, 2012
7:38 am
Sund has no credibility. That was the most lame interview. Who believes one word he says? If everyone is healthy, we still are a poorly constructed team. We are still not balanced. He is a horrible GM and I wish someone actually asked him hard questions and called him out on the rehearsed answers.
Cee
March 14th, 2012
7:38 am
We better not trade josh I know that much
Section 303
March 14th, 2012
7:46 am
Did anyone really think these guys would win down the stretch last night? I was just sitting there waiting for the bottom to drop out, and it did.
We have the worst coach in this league. He sits on his hands and says nothing for weeks while the team gets hosed by officials. Suddenly, last night, he has an outburst and gets a T. Makes no sense. Where was that in Miami last week?
Zaza…..total dud. His moment to shine and he bricks a layup. I don’t even think the ball hit the rim.
What a shock that iso-Joe didn’t work last night. LD will continue to call it at the worst possible times, though.
And, why would you bring in Marvin (who “couldn’t move”, per our dipsh#t coach) to throw the inbounds pass to Pargo? Why?
F this team if they come out and win tonight. Will be just another one of their bullsh#t wins that they always have when the chips are down. Will mean nothing. I hope they lose by 100pts tonight.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
7:48 am
I agree with what was posted last night, both teams are mediocre at best..So keep your cool..Dont expect the Hawks to play like contenders cause just like the Falcons if you believe other wise your in for a huge letdown..That being said:
Sund, Larry, Marvin, and Al got ta go…
Also Gearon and his boys need to kick rocks..I wont spend a dime on these busters product till they are fully committed to winning a Championship..
The ASG are not fully committed…
Larry’s coaching cost them another win. That’s at least 3-5 wins now?
This guy only won 44 games last year cause just like Woody he and his players under achieved….
vava74
March 14th, 2012
7:51 am
It’s kind of funny that Leuer’s Mom has been clamoring that that Horford’s numbers are cr*appy when…
Bogut’s career numbers are:
“In 408 career games, he is averaging 12.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots.”
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
7:56 am
Doug Collins would have coached a win last night..
Doug would have coached 4-5 more wins at this point already…This team has more talent than 24 wins….
ZaZa is not a closer so we should have expected a botched layup at the end.. I put that on Larry!
He put a player in position to do something he does not do or have the talent to execute and finish…
This guy looks to get bailed out by fouls because he not talented enough to get it done…That’s on coach Drew…
Know your personnel! Apparently this coach doesn’t…
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:01 am
Somebody said last night something I never heard before!
Quote ” he has the most unclutch Gene”! That is one for the ages!
It was a description of “it was a terrible pick”… LMAO!
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
8:04 am
High-sider,
Did I mention that MCM aka “Sarge” [Nate McMillan] is a worse coach than LD?.
Ironically, Rick Sund said LD reminds him of a young Nate McMillan (which I’m pretty sure Rick meant as a compliment).
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:05 am
If Gearon Jr and his boys were car builders within 6 years they’d be in bankruptcy….
Section 303
March 14th, 2012
8:09 am
We (season ticket holders) get to meet with Rick Sund before the Celtics game on Monday. I signed up to attend the meeting, but don’t think I’m going anymore. I am in no mood to listen to their bullsh#t propoganda about how this team is so good and it’s the best group of players they’ve ever had. Plus, it will be right after the trade deadline. A deadline where the Hawks will do nothing to get better. So, don’t see any reason to trouble myself getting to Philips by 5:45pm when the meeting starts.
Last time Sund met with us, by the way, was his first year. He was almost 20 minutes late, claiming he was “stuck in an elevator”. Gotta love it. An organization with few fans, gives bullsh#t excuses to the people who are dumb enough (me) to continue to support this sh#t team.
Double Zero Eight
March 14th, 2012
8:11 am
The Atlanta Hawks are the epitome of mediocrity.
Some things never change.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:11 am
Expect this coach to put them in position to fail again tonight…
Clippers by 15…
Section 303
March 14th, 2012
8:13 am
Slimjr, I could not disagree with you more on Zaza. The guy had a point blank layup. He totally choked (an overused term, but it applies here). We all come on here and b#tch about LD using iso-Joe, when the play never works. He finally just calls a play in a crucial situation, instead of having everyone stand around and watch Joe take some stupid jump shot that has no chance of going in. The play worked. Zaza just wilted.
I think LD is the worst coach in the league. But, no way you can get on him for calling a play that resulted in a layup that was butchered by an a$$clown like Zaza.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:18 am
Repeat know your personnel..ZaZa, nine times out of ten will botch that layup! He’s done it many times before. Why do you think he’s always looking for the refs. to bail him out down in the post? Put T-Mac, or Ivan in that position and guess what we get a made layup or get fouled….
Larry is f______________king clueless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
8:22 am
Najeh,
I think the reason why Pargo was in the game at the end of regulation is because LD had more confidence in him knocking down FT than Teague. But why was Marvin making the inbounds pass? He was sitting on the bench, injured, but yet LD brings him in. And going Iso-Joe is never a good idea.
It was our 9th straight defeat in one point games on the road, which tied an NBA record. That is a clear indication of how LD and the players (especially JJ) tighten up when the game gets close. Mentally, we just don’t have what it takes (imo).
Up 102-98 down the stretch, we end up going to OT. Up 117-112, we end up losing. Props to JJ and Zaza for stepping up and taking responsibility, but LD shares the bigger part of the blame (imo).
And where is T-Mac? Is he hurt? His last 6 games in terms of minutes played; 2, 20, 0, 16, 0, 0. Has it gotten personal?
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:23 am
Double Zero Eight
March 14th, 2012
8:11 am
“The Atlanta Hawks are the epitome of mediocrity.
Some things never change.”
HOW BOUT GEORGIA PROFESSIONAL SPORTS IS THE EPITOME OF MEDIOCRITY?
150 COMBINED SEASONS AND 1 LONELY CHAMPIONSHIP(95 BRAVES) AND BOBBY COX TRIED TO LOSE THAT ONE TOO…….
THERE IS SOME DEEP ISH GOING ON IN THIS STATE..THERES A BOOK TO BE WRITTEN ABOUT IT???????
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
8:23 am
I wonder if Al would have made that layup (or dunk) that Zaza missed
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:25 am
If All NBA played last night the Hawks lose by 12…
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
8:26 am
vava74,
As I’ve stated previously, in Jamal’s first year with the Hawks, the Hawks won 53 games. The Hawks had not won 50+ games in 12 years. In ‘09-’10, Jamal had his best year in terms of individual success/accomplishment while the Hawks as a franchise had its best team success/accomplishment in 13 years. (In the ‘96-’97 regular season, the Hawks went 56-26 and in the ‘97-’98 regular season, the Hawks went 50-32.) That shows you Jamal helped make the Hawks a better team.
“McMillan has been an absolute idiot because he has been using Jamal as backup PG in many circumstances which in my book would be enough to get him fired.
McMillan should have been developing Nolan Smith instead of falling on the same trap as LD did last year.” – vava74
No. McMillan is an idiot because he was partially responsible for trading Andre Miller for Raymond Felton [or Fatton or Fat ton or Fatone or Fat one]. You know he’s [Raymond "Fat one"] the other UNC [alum] bust of the 2005 NBA Draft. Raymond “Fat one” [5th pick overall] was one of four UNC busts of the 2005 NBA Draft with the other three [busts] being Marvin Williams [2nd pick overall], Sean May [13th overall] and Rashad McCants [14th overall]. McM was also instrumental in acquiring Craig “The Clumsy Rhino” Smith who needs to be poached. Now, I see why rhinos are on the endangered species list.
I have been watching Nolan Smith and he is flat out sucking as a rookie this year which is typical of many Duke players who fail to live up to their hype such as J.J. Redick, Christian Laettner, Danny Ferry, Bobby Hurley, Jay Williams, Shane Battier, Johnny Dawkins, Mark Alarie, Dahntay Jones, Mike Dunleavy, Jr., and, yes, Grant Hill, William Avery, Elton Brand, Trajan Langdon, Shelden Williams. (Check out the link below for other Duke busts under Coach K’s regime/tenure that I may have overlooked.) I will admit that Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Corey Maggette are having or have had decent careers in the league.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/colleges.cgi?college=duke
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:27 am
Larry Drew= Wade Phillips, round peg/square hole
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:32 am
Remember All NBA played last year in record breaking blowouts on the receiving end.. Plus last year we sucked on the road against teams out West with Al playing..He’s not a difference maker by a long shot…
Trade his azz…
vava74
March 14th, 2012
8:34 am
Guys, lay off Zaza.
He has never been placed in a situation like that so he froze.
Next time he will dunk it. Let him learn from this negative experience.
What’s the big difference between missing a lay up or a runner on the lane or a long jumper?
It’s a miss.
We should be happy with the fact that AT LEAST WE DID NOT WENT ISO for that play.
Next time it will go in with either Zaza or Ivan on that same position.
Nonetheless, it’s inexcusable that LD did not put McGrady in when Josh fouled out whilst having Marvin also out with an injury*
Inexcusable. What the f__k is his excuse? T-Mac did not have any shorts under his pants??
Good grief, only an idiot sticks with a plan of not playing T-Mac last night after going into OT shorthanded and missing another player to fouls.
* funny that every single time that Marvin seems to become slightly more aggressive and producing more he goes down with an injury
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
8:39 am
O’Brien,
“Did I mention that MCM aka “Sarge” [Nate McMillan] is a worse coach than LD?.
Ironically, Rick Sund said LD reminds him of a young Nate McMillan (which I’m pretty sure Rick meant as a compliment).” – O’Brien
Rick Sund is stupid. Larry Drew, 53 [born April 2, 1958], is older than Nate McMillan, 47 [born August 3, 1964]. That makes him [Rick Sund] and the league look bad since it took too long for Larry Drew to get a[n] head coach job/opportunity in the NBA.
vava74
March 14th, 2012
8:41 am
High-sider,
You are delusional. De-lu-si-o-nal
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:49 am
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
1:24 am
“SUND FUND!
The Bank of Intelligence & Creativity is bankrupt! Go ahead and file Chapter 13 first thing in the morning!
Go visit my Grandma, she could take $5 to Food Lion and come home and cook a Thanks Giving miracle. And, do it every year. Everybody eats and Everybody goes home satisfied.
Why is it when a millionaire is broke – he jumps out a closed window. When poor people are broke – they find a way to keep the lights on?
Get out from under your desk, move some money around and FIX this damned roster. Stop with these silly quirps about being healthy! Your Bosses are wealthy – When are they gonna’ get healthy! Stop blaming the players and get up off your couch and get to work!”
Yes drmaryb this guy Rick Sund is the epitome of 32 years of mediocrity! How does he continue to get these GM jobs over the years? Pictures? Lodge affiliations? What does he bring to the table?
joeygt1
March 14th, 2012
8:54 am
no way josh score 34 and 13 and joe scoring 34..we should have lost the defense down the stretch when josh smityh got in foul trouble was horrible…without josh we look terrible on defense…why people think we should trade josh is beyound me…if we trade josh our team would turn into the knicks..
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
9:06 am
The Walking Dead!
SlimJr honey cakes, that fool knows where the bodies are buried. I just can’t stand his arrogance, much like The Black Knight, “I am THE basketball expert?”
As, IF he could! They talk to the fans like we are blind idiots with disposable income. I would rather flush a $100 bill down my TOILET before giving it to these SOB’s!
Clearly, these low post players have asked for some help and SIZE in the paint! What do we get? Collins and reluctantly Daimp … While “Kayman Island” sits on his couch which is 3miles wide!
Last year Josh said we need a “dead eye” bomber and we get a sorry butt BRICK layer!
I’m done with this Lower Management Team, “boonked” over a minnow stocked fish barrel, who one by one jumps up and says, “Whoope Gearon, JR … This is Just too much good stuff!”
Welcome to Loserville, GA “Where we operate on the cheap!”
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
9:09 am
vava74,
“What’s the big difference between missing a lay up or a runner on the lane or a long jumper?
It’s a miss.” – vava74
The “big difference” would be in the percentages. I expect an NBA player to make/convert a [wide open] layup 95%-99% of the time. On long-distance jump shots [depending on distance, the shooter, time and situation], I expect an NBA player to make/convert long-distance jump shots at rate of 35%-42% with that distance being 20′ to 24′ [from the basket]. That’s the “difference.”
thebiz
March 14th, 2012
9:18 am
Where was Teague in crunchtime? Heiny lost his effectiveness during the last two minutes. Failure to execute at the end with Smith. Yes, I think its his team these days.
Will be interesting/fun to see us healthy + Horford for the playoffs.
joeygt1
March 14th, 2012
9:19 am
even with all the effort..that loss was disheartening
vava74
March 14th, 2012
9:23 am
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
9:09 am
No you fool. A miss is a miss.
But at least the play was a better play than ISO-Joe or a long jumper.
It’s unquestionable that Zaza should have finished that play with a bucket, but the most important fact is that the play was good. Much better than in DET.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
9:24 am
“He was almost 20 minutes late, claiming he was “stuck in an elevator”. ”
LMAO That is priceless. Forget championships, they can’t even go all out thinking of excuses.
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
9:24 am
#FreeTMAC
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
9:25 am
#FreeKaman
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
9:25 am
Obicularis Rectitis!
Sund has this medical diagnosis … In short:
Diarrhea of the MOUTH. Just shut up man! Your breath smells like azz. When you speak, we can’t tell if you are coming or going.
Dre Bulls fan
March 14th, 2012
9:29 am
The Hawks need to get rid of Pachulia quickly he the worst player. No way he should have miss that basket last nite. Pachulia play like in highschool. I cant wait until Bulls come to ATL March 28, 2012 so I can laugh at Pachulia missing all the basket. Hawks have some great players but it some goofy one’s on the time who cant shoot.
Derrick Rose MVP #####111111111 Go Chicago Bulls
kwooden
March 14th, 2012
9:32 am
Really tough loss last night! Nice play to get Zaza open, he just missed the layup. If they can run plays like that consistently, they will actually be a good team. I think Josh is really getting it, in terms of his offense. The spin move he did on Nene is the exact counter move he needs for his left-hand jump hook. If he keeps this going, teams will have to double team whenever he’s in the post and then we can finally start playing inside out! Overall I liked LD’s defensive choices and some of his play calls. Clearly to much Iso Joe late, but without Josh in the overtime, LD didn’t have to many choices.
GO HAWKS!
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
9:35 am
Sund is THE EPITOME OF A BULLcHIT ARTIST…We’ve seen him operate for the past 4 and half years now……
TJ Dekalb
March 14th, 2012
9:36 am
Hurry up and get rid of ZaZa quickly. ZaZa to nervous playing on a NBA team.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
9:37 am
vava74,
“It’s unquestionable that Zaza should have finished that play with a bucket, but the most important fact is that the play was good. Much better than in DET.” – vava74
You are the fool because you just proved my point as opposed to rebutting my point in my post @9:09am. You just stated “Zaza should have finished” [at the rim] and he [Zaza] didn’t. Zaza is a scrub when it comes to low post scoring and finishing at the rim.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
9:38 am
Bust a Move!
Even IF it’s a buster move … Just do something to show the fans you are at least trying to help your team win a title. Even if you’re not, at least TRY to trick us.
We need to get healthy? Really Sund? Well, this city, this town, this state and these fans NEED a champion!!!
You sir NEED a healthy dose of reality. If I were a nut job, I would be at your door kicking it down right about now.
But, naw man … I got better things to do. And, I’m outa’ here, gotta go see some people and pay some bills.
Later Cohorts! NLOB (not laughing one bit)
joeygt1
March 14th, 2012
9:40 am
hawks need a bigman really bad..zaza is doing a great job.. but he cannot carry the load all the time…if we could trade k hinrich for chris kaman…our team would be so much better..as currently constructed we might be able to reach the 2nd round again.. but with a decent center we could make it to the eastern conference finals
TJ Dekalb
March 14th, 2012
9:41 am
I always watch the game and ZaZa never trying to help the team. ZaZa always standing around waiting for the balls come his way. He never trying to hustle and get the ball.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
9:43 am
ZaZa along with Marvin are some of the most uncoordinated Athletes I have ever watch play the game of basketball… Two stiffs, who just cant judge speed, angles,height, rotations…..et Al..Two people whose motor skills are on par with teenagers in the High school..
It’s up to a GM to figure out and acquire people who do have the motor skills to function at a high level in a game that requires world class physical skills..
kwooden
March 14th, 2012
9:47 am
I meant to post this message on the last Blog, but its still true after last nights game. The HAWKS aren’t going to beat either Chicago or Miami in the 2nd round of the Playoffs without an ALLSTAR level Horford, Josh beasting in the post (like last night) and Joe making 3s! PERIOD
Josh is playing like a true AllStar, but with an ALLSTAR level Horford playing also, we would have won by 20 last night. I will be the first to say that the HAWKS should pay Josh what he wants and ride the Josh, JJ, Horford trio until the wheels fall off. I don’t see any trade that will bring back a better set of players that can beat Chicago or Miami in a 7 games series. I’m not certain this trio can do it either, but I think they have a chance.
GO HAWKS!!
TJ Dekalb
March 14th, 2012
9:48 am
Slimjr I am with you 100% because ZaZa and Marvin seem so scare and nervous on the court.
Hawks owner need to put some money into this team or ATL will never go to championship.
Dear owner do like the Bulls owner and pay good money for the best player. Get rid of these lazy player.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
9:49 am
The Hawks have the talent to have won 6-7 out of 9 1pt losses.(NBA Record)
Those should have have been 6-7 wins! Larry Cost this team 6-7 additional losses.Along with Sund not acquiring the help needed on the front line
The Hawks should be at around 30-12 or 31-11 right about now…
STRETCH
March 14th, 2012
9:49 am
Mr Cunnigham,
Just wondering if youve ever had the chance to sit down and talk with some of the other writers in Atlanta like Mr Schultz, Bradley, Chip Towers and Mr Ledbetter about why all our sports teams continue to be mediocre?
Im pretty sure the common denominators would be the issues that continues to plague them, and that is incompetent upper management overwhelmed coaches (which includes not being able to discipline or control players), and lack of players interest.
Great and future NFL players would rather be at Alabama, LSU or Florida. NBA players know they have a better shot with Miami, Chicago, LA or even OKC cause the dont tolerate things like ASG. Baseball guys dont care about the Braves “Great clubhouse atmosphere” they want to make it past the Divsion Series.
Even Mr Blank has put together a really good Falcons team, but they are just what the Hawks, Braves, Jackets and Bulldogs are. Mediocre teams, just good enough to compete, but they are either not talented enough or plain out coached at crucial times, (see Mike Smith’s 4th and goal attempts and playing NOT to lose attitude), (see the Hawks 9 straight 1 point losses on the road), (see Mark Richt’s record against the big boys in the SEC), (see the Braves continued choking ways since 1996), (see Paul Johnson running the option 4 years in a row with the same results every year).
Qoutes by idiots like Richt, Mike Smith, Sund, and Wren are just plain unbelievable to me. Guys like them dont last long in the LSU’s, Alabama’s, Florida’s, Texas’ or the Boston’s, LA’s, NY’s and Chicago’s in sports.
Geographically if you break the United States up into 4 corners, Atlanta should have a more incluential appeal in sports in the southern parts but instead, they hardly get any air time from major sports media because the state of Georgia is just as i said mediocre and thats in ALL apsects of sports from top to bottom.
Until owners start givin a crap, then people will give a crap! I love my Georgia teams and will still support them, weather its making a drive from Virginia Beach, Va to see them, or cable TV or Playstaion, i will be there. But im also a fan of sports and i like winners, so every year when the time comes, i will find a team thats making noise and root, becuase thats what we do as sports fans, we root for a good product.
Loserville is the appropriate name.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
10:00 am
“Geographically if you break the United States up into 4 corners, Atlanta should have a more incluential appeal in sports in the southern parts but instead, they hardly get any air time from major sports media because the state of Georgia is just as i said mediocre and thats in ALL apsects of sports from top to bottom. ” -Stretch-
Georgia is Loserville when it comes to sports and why? This has been going on for at least 4 decades now…
I see a book being written about the ongoing failures these past 40 years…This book will become a NewYork Times Bestseller…Theres a ton of material to write about too…
You’ll have to dig deep cause of Georgia’s ugly past? Maybe it is Karma?
kwooden
March 14th, 2012
10:02 am
Slimjr, your over-reacting to last night. Zaza has no vertical and Marvin can only jump off two feet. They are both athletic and coordinated enough, but clearly not really athletic. For his size, I think Zaza is very coordinated, I’ve seen him soccer style dribbling a basketball in warm-ups before a game. I think we’ve all been told Marvin’s an athlete like Faried, but clearly that’s a lie. Zaza, by nature is finesse player (he was called soft his first few years in the league), so he’s never really learned how to use his body to score in the post, like David West. We shouldn’t be surprise when Marvin gets his shot blocked at the basket or if Zaza misses any contested layups. They are who they are!
STRETCH
March 14th, 2012
10:02 am
And in other news:
Carmelo Anthony’s discontent with the Knicks organization became so severe after Monday night’s loss to the Bulls, he told a confidant he preferred to be traded before Thursday’s trade deadline, The Post has learned. New York Post
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
10:03 am
Stretch just did a great job scratching the surface about material for this new book..
” The Failures of Georgia” A sports History seen through the eyes of a local sports fan or sports writer? Hehe
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
10:06 am
Who ever writes this book will get a lot of air time and debate on ESPN!
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
10:10 am
BTW Stretch, Arthur Blank does give a crap but has not won a playoff game in almost 8 years now and 3 regime changes later..
It goes much deeper than that. Cant quite put a finger on it but got a gut feeling about Georgia Sport Franchise Failures…
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
10:19 am
STRETCH it OUT!
Plastic man is on FIYAH right here. Excellent and non-emotional presentation of the facts. Just a brilliant commentary and indictment of what’s really going on here.
____________
“Carmelo Anthony’s discontent with the Knicks organization became so severe after Monday night’s loss to the Bulls, he told a confidant he preferred to be traded before Thursday’s trade deadline, The Post has learned. New York Post”
__________
A cautionary tale of being careful what you wish for. Carmelo wished and brooded to play in NYC – his home town.
However, does Melo have a Ney York state of mind? The scrutiny is brutal in The Big Apple. Those fans don’t have time for no BS happening on MSG. You know it’s bad when you got The New York Post riding your sack. It’s gettin’ hot in there and, these cays can’t handle it.
I hope Josh realizes how easy the “we don’t really care” about The Hawks fans really are. This ain’t New York baby. Having said this, IDK if I would take the ball hogger Melo over Mr. Johnson. Joseph does plays perimeter defense and shares the ball, he just doesn’t care to rebound.
STRETCH
March 14th, 2012
10:20 am
Slimjr
Like the idea! Maybe we can get a 30 at 30 episode on ESPN…LOL! Yeah, i really feel for Mr Blank though, cause he is actually trying.
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
10:21 am
“It goes much deeper than that. Cant quite put a finger on it but got a gut feeling about Georgia Sport Franchise Failures…” Slimjr
Well, I think it’s because GA will be the epicenter of the NWO when the collapse comes. That’s why they have the guidestones and millions of coffin containers. Winning sports brings new people to the city when they decide to move from another state, like a fresh start. I felt the plan was in action after the Olympic city bombing set up. They don’t want people to come here for some reason. Maybe this state will be spared on the upcoming doom.
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
10:25 am
“Like the idea! Maybe we can get a 30 at 30 episode on ESPN…LOL! Yeah, i really feel for Mr Blank though, cause he is actually trying.” -STRETCH
I like his effort, too. He’s just had bad luck. Maybe with the new OCs, FAs, and draft picks it will be better this year. At least he changes it up, unlike the Hawks and their assistant head coaches, horrible management, and same core from 5 years ago.
Nothing easy! Right Zaza? Lol
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
10:26 am
Looks like Woodson is going to take over the Knicks
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
10:27 am
Carmelo Anthony does average 6 rebounds a game. So, that’s an upgrade over JJ. Lol
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
10:28 am
Melvin
March 13th, 2012
9:38 pm
” I think getting an opportunity to play has really helped him. ” Coach Larry Drew.
Astro,
Can we now put the debate to rest that Teague improve play has come from playing time and not practice?
kuhndog
March 14th, 2012
10:32 am
It is inexcusable that zaza missed a bunny at the end though he did have somebody coming at him.He should of went up strong instead of a layup drill.I was upset with NENE hard play in the 3rd and no calls.we were getting aggressive at the rim and he took marvin down, and then josh both with no calls,marvin will miss a month with this injury.I am for bots for refs and let one human be on court for human interaction,these guys make too much and games are too important for human emotion to come into it from the refs. and it does .Nene should have fouled out before josh did.The bot refs will look like baseballs flying around and see all, even Lebron pulling down dampier in our last meeting with Miami, when they called damp for the foul no more home court ref calling,and with the bots you just set the sensativity of fouls being called
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
10:36 am
Big Lou your F_________king Brilliant dude! Now it makes sense..Your sense of connecting dots is uncanny!
You start winning in this town and people will come..Some permanently….The Guide Stones are very strange..They remind me of a miniature Stonehenge
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
10:37 am
Marvin’s injury didn’t look like a month long one… not that we’ll miss him with Tmac’s increased minutes.
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
10:41 am
Slimjr
You should look at the mass collection of plastic ‘disease pevention’ coffins in south GA on YouTube. They have millions of them just stacked down there.
Micheal
March 14th, 2012
10:42 am
I dont know, how you can really guess the reason why Georgia Professional teams sucks, they have their chances but I think this a good subject to bring up because its a problem to a point that this city lose two Hockey teams, cant get good attendents from the Hawks or Braves games, then you have to added that this area is dominated by college football.
But back to the Hawks, I know that ASG is WLOC mode but they know that if they keep losing like this, there is a high possibilty that they will have to face against the Heat or Bulls. So a move needs to be made.
vava74
March 14th, 2012
10:42 am
High-sider,
No, you are the fool.
You look a single tree, not at the forest.
Zaza missed a lay up and we lost the game. Fine, no one is contesting that.
But Zaza has been playing really well and he has been a factor in many wins since Al went down (including 2 wins against ORL and 1 against OKC where he beasted).
To overlook that and focus on a botched lay up is LAME.
The important thing to extract was = good play, better than ISO, so better luck next time.
You can identify a missed lay up as a crucial mistake but are not able to identify the hundreds (maybe thousands) of missed defensive assignments which Jamal has per season.
You are a fool indeed.
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
10:43 am
Makes me think that there will be a Walking Dead… Lol awesome. I would love a zombie apocalypse.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
10:46 am
Big Lou, gonna check it out…WTF?
Stretch, ESPN will eat that book up… “A Losers Mentality” Four Decades of Georgia Franchise Failures.. foreword: quotes from local sports bloggers…Hehe
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
10:48 am
Big Lou, TV programing and movies are putting out messages anyway? Hmmmmmmm
Hawks Fan
March 14th, 2012
10:51 am
Call me crazy…But I really like this squad and feel they can compete to come out the East. But several things must happen:
1. Must get healthy: Hopefully Al comes back at full strength in April. This will allow us to move ZaZa to the bench (Thanks God!) and become much more athletic at the 5. On a smaller scale, we need guys like Willie Green and TMAC to get healthy for the playoffs.
2. Marvin must contine to play aggresive as a 6th man. I like him in this role. Seems to be comfortable.
3. Need to get a 3 or 4 seed in the playoffs. Definitely possible. After the Clips game, our schedule become very favorable.
Thoughts?
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
10:56 am
Hawks Fan
You sound like the ownership. Lol
Al is not going to be back for the playoffs.
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
10:57 am
High-sider, if you think Grant Hill was mediocre, you must be too young to know. If Grant had not been injured he would have been a top 10 player for his career. Look back at his first 6 years in the league before his first major injury.
In his first 6 years, Grant Hill averaged 21.7 points, 7.7 reb. and 6.2 assists. As a small forward.
That’s Pippen / LeBron like numbers. Mediocre, my ass. Somebody wasn’t paying attention.
I contend that he’s the best pro to come out of Duke.
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
11:01 am
Melvin,
I think LD and Woody set the Hawks back by not playing Teague the last 2 years, because it led to us trading away 2 first round picks to get Hinrich, and Teague would have been further along in his development (imo).
However, LD is not going to come out and say “I didnt play Teague last year because he wasn’t good enough”. Coaches (even Woody) would say the right things in the media in a situation like this.
Ra’mon,
With the improved play of Zaza at center, I would explore the trade market for Al, but with him being healthy, I wonder what his trade value is.
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
11:08 am
I know Tebow isn’t that good, but it stinks he’s getting shafted by the Peyton fiasco.
ag
March 14th, 2012
11:09 am
I thought we played well last night. Remember, we cannot win them all.
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
11:19 am
*with him being hurt…
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
11:19 am
ag, you are correct. that game was a fantastic nail biter, one for the ages. I’m more upset about the owners and management attitudes and snarky comments, than anything else. I have no beef with the players from last noght whatsoever. Moreso than Kirk’s forgivable FT miss, I just wish zaza would have dunked that thing.
Even if the rim blocked his dunk, at least he tried. But a lay up man? That was soft in and of itself.
STRETCH
March 14th, 2012
11:20 am
Slimjr,
And on the show they should do interview with people like, Lonnie Smith, Otis Nixon and Dale Murphy or Mark Wohlers and Andruw Jones.
And for the Falcons, Jeff Van Note, Steve Bartkowski, Alfred Jenkins, William Andrews, Prime Time, Andre Rison (but not in the same room..LOL)
For the Hawks, John Drew, Dan Roundfield with Tree Rollins, Nique and Doc Rivers with cameo from Jon “Contract” Koncak and Spudd Webb.
For the Bulldogs, Herschel, David Green, Eric Zeir and a slew of running backs!
Great show!
Newbie
March 14th, 2012
11:21 am
I posted a trade on the blog last night that sent JJ and Rad to the Nicks for Melo and then sending Hinrich, Williams, and Horford to the Magic for Redrick and Howard. This trade works on the ESPN Trade Machine. Comments?
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
11:22 am
Big Lou,
Bledsoe gets hurt, and loses his job to Brady. Bulger gets hurt, and loses his job to Warner. That kind of stuff happens all the time. Ownership has no loyalty to players. All they want to do is win.
But how is Tebow getting shafted?
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
11:24 am
Sautee,
“High-sider, if you think Grant Hill was mediocre, you must be too young to know. If Grant had not been injured he would have been a top 10 player for his career. Look back at his first 6 years in the league before his first major injury.” – Sautee
FYI, I remember Grant Hill while he was at Duke when Duke went to the NCAA Tournament Finals in 3 out of his [Grant Hill's] 4 years there. My point is that Grant Hill was predicted to be a truly great player and HOFer but never lived up to his hype. Truly great players have long careers and avoid the tragedy of catastrophic, debilitating injuries or at least come back from those injuries. If truly great players have major injuries, they make great comebacks to play at their previous high levels or even better levels and do not decline/degenerate over time immediately after that injury occurred. [Examples : Michael Jordan with the broken foot in second year in the NBA, James Worthy with the broken leg in his first or second year in the NBA, Kobe Bryant with his multiple and numbers injuries, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with the detached retina [I think?], Joe Montana with his broken back and spinal surgery, Tom Brady with the ACL tear, Jerry Rice with his serious knee injury, etc.]
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
11:29 am
^Correction: “Kobe Bryant with his multiple and [numerous*] injuries,”
aytunstoppable
March 14th, 2012
11:31 am
games like this makes u say atlanta don’t trade for anybody and wait til the off season. That was a joy to watch last night. a real joy.
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
11:31 am
O’brien
Well, Tebow did win a playoff game and lead the team to the dance. I think he deserves a good offseason of getting coached up and an actual season starting. Instead of the Broncos landing Peyton to start over him. Kinda sucks. He’s a tough kid.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
11:43 am
Sautee,
“I contend that he’s [Grant Hill] the best pro to come out of Duke.” – Sautee
That doesn’t say very much to me since Duke has been such a storied collegiate basketball program under Coach K’s tenure/regime. How many NBA HOFers or projected NBA HOFers have come through the Duke Men’s Basketball program under Coach K? How many Duke players [coached by Coach K] have been major or significant contributors on NBA Championship teams or NBA teams that have made deep playoff runs? Hyped Duke Men’s Basketball players = NBA busts.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
11:47 am
Sautee dear, ignore that silliness. A dislocated ankle is like a decapitated head from your neck. Deadly injury to a basketball player. Grant Hill should have never seen the court again, but here he is still balling.
Grant Hill’s come back in and of itself is unbelievable! It is not human to come back from a weight bearing pivotal joint injury at all in the NBA. Most would have walked away.
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
11:49 am
O’Brien,
So did Teague became good enough to play after Hinrich was hurt? You can’t have it both ways.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
11:51 am
* injury like that one, repaired with pins, screws and plates.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
11:57 am
vava74,
“Zaza missed a lay up and we lost the game.” – vava74
My point going back to my post @9:09am is/was there is a “big difference” between missing a layup and a long-distance jump shot and that difference is the probability or the percentage of making/converting those two types of shots. A [wide open] layup should be made with the accuracy [being] in the high 90’s percentile while a long distance jump shot should be made [depending on distance, the shooter, time and situation] with the accuracy in the 35-42 percentile if that distance is from 20′ to 24′. In conclusion, Zaza should have made the damn layup especially since he [Zaza] is 6′11″. No excuses.
Ray
March 14th, 2012
12:01 pm
Got to admit about Tebow he’s got an X-factor that most players just don’t have that’s heart, pride, and faith on him.
We already got Matt Ryan, but if Tebow was here to start I wouldn’t mind it at all. That’s not to knock Matt like most people do just that there is a lot to be said about Tebow he’d put butts in those seats.
Back to the Hawks though telling ya’ll right now is the best time to get rid of two players that were in reality over-hyped that’s Joe and Al
hawksfancents95
March 14th, 2012
12:14 pm
someone comment on this
carmelo disfunction in new york has really heated up. i would be more than happy to trade joe johnson for carmelo straight up, they both make 18.4mil a year and reports are melo is basically tearing NYC apart and he wants out. it would make sense for both teams and if we had melo and josh we could get to the eastern conference finals.
ATL- teague hinrich anthony smith pachulia
NYC- Lin Fields Johnson Stoudemire Chandler
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
12:22 pm
Fab Melo has academic issues … Hmmmmmm. Just blow the whistle boy and enter the draft. You can always go back for that all elusive degree.
I bet he goes high in the lottery draft though. No luck Hawks.
Major de`Coverly
March 14th, 2012
12:22 pm
i heasrd connie hawkins was ina carweck an had his knee decapidaded.
and when the doc put his knee cap back in he was ok an able to go rifht along with his career.
connie hawkins was good backin the old days. they coudnt operate with modern operations
the way they do now. but i think his knee was fine after that. im sorry that im not a good typer.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
12:25 pm
If, I were Indy? I would take RG3 @ #1. Don’t know if I would bank on Luck, just a woman’s intuition from the gut.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
12:26 pm
Nice try Ray in a coy way you are knocking Matt Ryan….LMAO!!!!
Like more to come…Give him another year of failure in the playoffs..PLAYOFFS? Yep…
He will officially be declared a 72 million dollar BUST!
The Truth
March 14th, 2012
12:28 pm
LD: “But I told the guys it didn’t come down to that. That game was lost in the first half when we didn’t make a stand defensively and they basically had their way with us.”
So if you had knowledge of this during the first half, as a coach, why did you let this happen? Why didn’t you at least share this observation with your players and make some adjustment? At least let them know (in real time) that corrections need to be made.
As a fan, I witness the same thing: The Hawks were scoring but they had not answer for Denver attacking offense especially in the paint. The Nuggets had a block party and invited all their guests. Even perimeter jump-shooter Gallinari, who is not known for scoring by driving to the paint, decided to join the party with much success. If it wasn’t “paint scoring”, it was “downtown 3s” brought to you by Ty Lawson (Teague couldn’t fight through a pick, if his life depended on it and perhaps explain why he was benched late in the 4th). Their offense was made to order against the Hawks weak interior defense. Clear path lanes to the basket were buffet style (Thanks Zaza).
I observed this and so did LD. But LD is no fan, he’s the coach. His comments suggest he sat there and just let that happen in the 1st half.
Let’s just call him a reactive coach instead of a proactive coach. Enough said.
In fairness though, I can’t completely blame this loss on LD. These millionaire players must be accountable for their actions. Not just with sound-bite media apologies but with a commitment to excellence.
We Shall See (how they respond)
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
12:29 pm
Indy will kick themselves in the azz for passing up on RG3!!
RG3> Melt and hasn’t even played a down yet….You’ll see after he has his first couple of snaps from scrimmage….
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
12:31 pm
Melvin,
I think Teague only got his chance because Hinrich got hurt. But I think AJ’s counter will be that LD is not going to come out and say Teague wasnt good enough until this year. So it will be a standoff.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
12:34 pm
“Slimjr, your over-reacting to last night. Zaza has no vertical and Marvin can only jump off two feet. They are both athletic and coordinated enough, but clearly not really athletic”-Kwooden-
I’m over-reacting? Naw your just used to losing for 40 plus years..Your Franchise has set the bar so low some of you guys will eat the BullChit coming from perennial losers like Sund…
Nice try though…. BTW, those two you mentioned are coordinated enough for High School sports….lol
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
12:47 pm
“If, I were Indy? I would take RG3 @ #1. Don’t know if I would bank on Luck, just a woman’s intuition from the gut.” -drmaryb
Well, don’t let Redskins hear that. They traded the farm just to get the high pick to grab that guy. Yet, I do agree that RG3 looks like he will be a great QB.
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
12:49 pm
“RG3> Melt and hasn’t even played a down yet….You’ll see after he has his first couple of snaps from scrimmage….” Slimjr
Do you always have to find some way to hate on Matt Ryan? I know you don’t like the guy, but geez. Get a life, man.
I’m starting to think you have a closet infatuation of the guy. You’re like the kid on the airplane commercial who takes clips of his hair for your secret love shrine.
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
12:50 pm
High-sider,
about this: “How many Duke players [coached by Coach K] have been major or significant contributors on NBA Championship teams or NBA teams that have made deep playoff runs? Hyped Duke Men’s Basketball players = NBA busts.”
Two things here. First, you haven’t said anything about calling Grant Hill “mediocre”, when he clearly was NOT until he was injured.
Instead you want to call out the Duke program for not having HOF players. Doesn’t that say just that much more about Coach K’s coaching ability? To win that consistently WITHOUT players who go on to be great pros says a LOT more than if he had studs everywhere. The second thing it says is that Duke rarely recruits players who are not team oriented, therefore eschewing some of the “studs” who will later thrive in the NBA.
I guess that’s a failing in your eyes. It’s not in mine. No doubt Duke players are overhyped, but that’s because of Coach K’s success. But that’s not relative to whether or not Grant’s career was “mediocre”.
flash
March 14th, 2012
12:52 pm
No Carmelo for Joe. Nuggets were better after the trade to NY. NY was better when melo was hurt. Joe for Carmelo = trading iso joe with defense for iso melo with a bad attitude and no defense. Bad idea
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
12:53 pm
slimjr,
You seem to not like Georgia. Why are you here?
Why do you stay if it’s so onerous to you?
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
12:54 pm
D12 Purple Pills rings in my mind as the trade deadline comes closer. It’s just a big TRIP.
Grandad
March 14th, 2012
12:54 pm
I have been reading Yawl`s round & round; plus yore back & forth,
concerning Zaza;
I must say – 13 Rebounds – on a team with a dearth of Rebounders;
it is outre` in my opinion to chide Zaza for failing in a situtaion
in which he is *unaccustomed. The next time Zaza is in that *situation;
if he ever gets another chance I`m quite certain he will react differently.
*[having experience] *closing a game.
Zaza – being vertically challenged – has developed a finesse game at the rim.
We all know this.
Enough said on the topic:
Final Remark;
13 Rebounds; double figure rebs, 9 of last 11, 13 double doubles;
[since he assumed the starting *'`Center`'* pos] ** stats ** within range
CrαZy
March 14th, 2012
12:55 pm
Johnson and Williams
For
Melo and Chandler
or
Smith, Williams, Hinrick and Zaza
for
Melo, Chandler and Davis
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
12:58 pm
Sautee
I think he is just here to spit hot fire.
Yoga Flame!!!!!!! Yoga Fire!!!!!!
flash
March 14th, 2012
12:58 pm
Zaza is one of my favorite hawks. He does all the dirty work. Don’t forget he is the one who will get in Garnett’s (or anyone else’s) grill and stand up for his team. One of the only tough guys (which you need) on a team Charles Barkley called soft on a national broadcast
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
1:16 pm
Big Lou: missed his calling as a stand up comedian… Hehe….
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
1:18 pm
T minus 1 day, 1 hr, 42 mins Houston!
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
1:22 pm
Wild Wild West!
Bottom line is, we played their game of High Octane offence. Out of control fast breaks not converted well and NO defense!
Drew was out coached by Karl!
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
1:22 pm
Sautee, lets keep the focus on these sports franchise? Deep breath….
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
1:23 pm
Flacco 5
Melt 0
Playoff wins……..
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
1:25 pm
2 Live Stews are ROF & KTC about D12’s latest asinine statement. Trade his azz NOW to The Hornets for picks.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
1:35 pm
* offense
DNo
March 14th, 2012
1:36 pm
I wish Mr. N. Davenpoop was our Owner/GM.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
1:40 pm
That NAME Luck, alone, scares me off. This is the NFL man! This ain’t college. Although, I’m sure he is a fine player. I would pick him @ #2 though.
No facts, just an eerie feeling in my guts.
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
1:43 pm
Slimjr
You remind me of a small child that I cannot help but smile, while patting your head.
Flacco came to a team that had an established defense, offensive line, and organization.
Matt Ryan came to a team with a new coach, mediocre defense, and an organization in shambles after the unjust Vick fiasco.
The Falcons weren’t even expected to be in the playoffs for at least 3-4 years, yet they have made it the past three out of four. Flacco would have been destroyed here. Every year, Matt Ryan has put up better numbers than Flacco. They just haven’t been lucky in the playoffs. All I can say, is time will tell. You do need some help, though. May I recommend you stop drinking hateraid? I think it’s effecting your judgement.
Okay, I am done. Thanks for playing.
joeygt1
March 14th, 2012
1:52 pm
who cares about the falcons or the nfl..this is a hawk blog..lets talk about the hawks…what do yall think the hawks can do..which is realistic at the trade deadline that will improve the team???
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
1:54 pm
O’Brien,
I didn’t catch the sarcasm in your first reply but I’m on the same page as you now. I agree, Astro will probably find a way to put his spin on it…. LOL
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
2:12 pm
No spin needed. Some believe that MJ’s high school coach was stupid for cutting him when he first tried out for the team while others believe that MJ needed to get better to earn a spot on his HS team. I\ll let you guess which camp I fall in.
meanwhile, an immortal is being treated like a common employee:
SportsCenter SportsCenter
“Dwight’s dreaming if he thinks Orlando won’t trade him without a commitment.” — source tells @Chris_Broussard » http://es.pn/xvfUSQ
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
joeygt1
March 14th, 2012
2:15 pm
would a kirk hinrich/2nd round pick for chris kaman trade work????
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
2:18 pm
@joeygt1
It works, the problem is Sund won’t do it because he is an idiot and a bum
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
2:23 pm
It does NOT work because it would force Hawks to pay luxury tax and owners don’t want to pay the tax for low revenue team.
I expect a trade tomorrow, one that sheds at least $500k from current salary structure.
tyger
March 14th, 2012
2:24 pm
About last night…
A loss is a loss, but if there ever was a …
Game you should consider a win despite a loss…
Hawks specializing in 1 pt. losses.. statistically speaking…
It leads to the assumption that they cant close…
Or that they are not coached well down the stretch…
Last night, belies both theories…moreso, it says…
That’s why some players are not starters…
ZaZa cant play better than he has this season…
Ditto for Pargo and Hinrich finally starting to show up…
Even JJ earned his check…
Last night speaks more to the precision it takes every night…
To win with backups…hats off to LD for holding this thing together…
Zaza missed gimme, Hinrich missed F/T, Pargo fumbles ball….
All true, but they never shouldve been in the game in the 1st place…
They hit their ceiling last night…
How many 10 pt. 4th Qtr’s does Pargo have in him?
How many 10+ rebound nights does Zaza have?
How many 20pt nights does Hinrich have?
Not many…and Galinari wont hit that shot again this season…
Just unfortunate
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
2:24 pm
OB,
And there you have it. Astro with another spin cycle. Nevermind the Coach himself said it was increase PLAYING TIME that contribute to Teague’s improve play…. and the standoff continues. I wonder if we could get a quote from Van Exel, then again, it wouldnt matter..LOL
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
2:27 pm
I asked last night. When was the last time the Hawks had 2 players to score 30pts and 3 players to score 20pts in a game? Was it done in the Steve/Mookie era or was in it as far back as Nique/Rivers era?
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
2:28 pm
The funniest quote I read in reference to Howard so far:
“Dwight plays for the Magic but works for the Nets”……
jlewis
March 14th, 2012
2:29 pm
As usual, I am at a loss. JJ plays 53 minutes last night, 34 on 26 shots, played hard and many of you kill him. You want to trade a 6 time all-star for people he routinely kills and plays no “D”. I watched the game last night like many of you, he held the ball to long again, to many iso’s, the coach calls them. Also, one important thing MC failed to mention in his recap, Al Harrington abused Josh on offense last night. I think MC leads the charge against Joe on this site, i really do. We missed Josh, but we also missed a winning free throw, ball off leg, 7 footer missing a lay-up, and it’s JJ’s fault.
One other thing if you saw the game, why didnt the officials review JJ’s perceived air-ball when Hinrich rebounded and passed it, that ball look like it touched the bottom of the rim.
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
2:31 pm
Melvin, so we didn’t believe LD when he said Teague wasn’t ready (as demonstrated by his limited playing time) but we believe him now? How convenient (as the Church Lady used to say).
MattP
March 14th, 2012
2:33 pm
Haha! Woodson is now the Knicks coach.
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
2:33 pm
sheridanhoops Chris Sheridan
Big news: Mike D’Antoni has been fired by the #Knicks. Mike Woodson taking over. First reported by @WojYahooNBA.
3 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
2:34 pm
I’m telling y’all, Woodson will coach the by next week
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
2:36 pm
Never mind, HE IS THE COACH.
Totally called this like 6 hours ago
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
2:36 pm
D’Antoni resigned. You know what that means…
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/278329/x2_9287b2.jpg
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
2:37 pm
Jlewis,
I said the same thing about Joe shot. I thought it hit the rim. I didnt see any of the Hawks arguing the shot clock call. I thought Hinrich would have because he was the one that got the rebound and seem to have thought the shot clock was reset.
Also, Al scored most of his points in the 1st half. The Hawks came with a better defensive effort in the second half. I can’t call out Josh with the monster night he had. Remember it was his basket that put us in the lead in the 4th and the Hawks had the lead when he fouled out.
Big Ray
March 14th, 2012
2:43 pm
1) Bruce Levenson is a liar. Josh Smith does want out of the ATL. But he might stay if the Hawks continue to run the offense through him instead of Joe, for starters….
2) Joe had a good game. He might have more if his expensive butt can stay healthy and feed off of the Hawks running the game through Smith, who…as always…should do most of his work inside.
3) I see our old buddy Mike Woodson gets a shot at another HC job (for the moment, anyway) because “no defense” D’Antoni has decided to quit, since the players don’t respect him anymore.
4) Trade deadline will come and go. Hinrich might get sold down the river, but then maybe not – we seem to play better when he starts and Marvin comes off the bench. Besides, Willie Green is hurt, which shortens up the number of guys who can play SG for us.
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
2:46 pm
Astro,
It’s not the fact that we believe him, it’s his actions. When he could play someone in front of Teague he did (Bibby, Kirk) but when he had no other choice but to play, Teague he did. So by him saying it was playing time that made the improvement was the same thing many of us bloggers already knew. Sadly, it took an injury to prove our point and as OB (and some others) said, it cost us two 1st rd picks.
Ra'mon
March 14th, 2012
2:47 pm
O’B, there are only three NBA players who I wouldn’t trade no matter what in the NBA. And neither of them play for the Hawks (Lebron, Durant, and Rose). Anyone else (including Kobe and Dwight) I would trade for the right price tomorrow. Its healthy to listen to offers for ALL of your players. Especially if majority of your players have reached their prime years.
Big Ray
March 14th, 2012
2:49 pm
I could give a hair on a gnat’s balls about LD vs. Teague.
What I do know is that when Hinrich got injured and Teague played in the 2nd round of the playoffs, he was lights out. I find it odd that a guy who needed to get better in order to have a starting job, let alone consistent minutes, was suddenly that damn good in the playoffs….
That said, the true issue is that LD doesn’t have the ears of his players, and they still don’t believe in each other enough. Josh wants out, we’re still running ISO Joe (the minute he comes back!) too often, etc.
Section 303
March 14th, 2012
2:50 pm
Woody is back in the saddle again!! Good luck to him.
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
2:53 pm
4-4 since All-Star break. 4-4 in last 8 home games. 2-3 on current road trip. 4-3 in March. Never seen this much enthusiasm for a .500 squad since the Hawks were winning 26 games.
jlewis
March 14th, 2012
2:56 pm
You are correct Melvin. I didnt call out Josh, I was just saying everyone is quick to highlight JJ’s mistakes, Al was killing. Why is everyone concerned about how much money the guy makes, all of them are overpaid, and Rashard Lewis makes more I believe.
This ISO stuff drives me crazy, does anyone actually watch nba basketball, its an isolation league, always has been. Josh is on a roll, run the offense through him, its better to ride a player, but if anyone thinks this is going to continue all season, especially when the game slows down in the playoffs, you are delusional.
EmirS.
March 14th, 2012
2:57 pm
Woody goes from Iso Joe to…Iso Melo?
jlewis
March 14th, 2012
2:59 pm
Also, where are all these people that wanted Melo for JJ? Embrace the guy for what he is, a 6′8 smooth shooting guard, he’s not going to give you dunks or thump his chest. But there is one thing I love about this Hawks team and management, they have made mistakes, lol. There are no thugs or troublemakers on the team, they represent the City well in their behavior and its a team socially the City can be proud of.
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
3:03 pm
Melvin, let’s leave it alone beause I won’t change your mind and you won’t change my mind. Teague is getting plenty of time to show his current skill set and hopefully continue to develop (if it is okay to suggest that he still has room to grow, which may be insulting for some). His play this season has provided support for each camp, the one who suggests that he should have received time previously and for the very, very few who suggest that he is emotionally frail and was likely not ready for the bright lights at age 19 (or however old he was as a rookie).
With that said, I’d rather see him play the Lou Williams role off the bench and have someone like Sessions as the more traditional PG… but the jury is still out and there is no harm in continuing the Teague as PG experiment. Its not as if we are going to advance past the predetermined ceiling for this team.
bigdave
March 14th, 2012
3:05 pm
given how much our guys value the jump shot; i would think that when the game slows down, it would place even more priority on playing through the post. im enjoying the way Josh and Joe are playing right now with Josh being the 1st option.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
3:06 pm
Hey BLou,
We will agree to disagree in regards to Matt Ryan..
Matt may have better regular season #’s but he committed the ultimate QB sin in Football?
Put up a doughnut in a Nationally televised playoff game..(How rare? Extremely rare!), in his third try on the National stage…He doesn’t have it Grasshopper…………..
It will take sometime for some fanatics to come around but come around they will..Stay tuned to your local Falcons station…
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
3:10 pm
Man I hope the Hawks dont meet up with the Knicks in 7 game series..It will be a slaughter house…
jlewis
March 14th, 2012
3:11 pm
I can agree with that big dave. My point is you dont have to put down another guy because the other is playing well.
bigdave
March 14th, 2012
3:12 pm
however, it would be nice to see LD commit to it (Josh post up) in go time.
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
3:14 pm
I guess the Knicks will be running a bunch of Iso-Melo.
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
3:15 pm
Astro,
I never intended to change your mind, I was only poking fun at you. It’s not that serious with me.
SteveW
March 14th, 2012
3:15 pm
Ok, so we lost. A game we should have won. But this team is so much better than last years. I think we may have the “Hungry Vet” syndrome going for us.
A bunch of vets – Green, TMac, Hinrich, Vlad, Collins, JJ, Pargo – between the ages of 30-32 primarily, who would really like to win a Championship. Still young enough to contribute, but old enough to know most of them their time is about up.
Maybe we can be the Mavs this season.
I really like this team better than last years team. Tougher. Not in danger of a blowout every nite like the last 50% of last season.
And we’ve stilled played the toughest schedule in the last 25% of our games according to Hollinger. Nobody else is even close.
SteveW
March 14th, 2012
3:18 pm
Throw Stack in that Hungry vet conversation – but he’s not between 30-32, 33! But even ZaZa is aging and been in the League quite awhile. I like this team.
bigdave
March 14th, 2012
3:18 pm
jlewis..
people that dont like Joe.. will never like him, regardless of how productive he is. the reality is, though we havent come up w/ as many wins as we’d like, Joe has smoothly transitioned into playing off Josh. i’ll take his percentages of late any day of the week. many people want to label Joe and Josh selfish.. but their games just arent indicative of such a criticism.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
3:19 pm
BTW, hows that Kool-aid? lol
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
3:19 pm
Whoa Nellie!
Hey! Leave slimjr alone … That’s my baby. Appreciate the knowledge this man his, respect his opinion, passion and fire. Slimjr is a Hawks fan, just like us.
I fully endorse this man, slimjr. -Mamma Bear- (she winks)
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
3:20 pm
“Sautee, lets keep the focus on these sports franchise? Deep breath….”
LOL, it was YOU who brought up the anti GA crap. Now you don’t wanna talk about it?
OK, let’s keep the focus on the franchise: Didn’t you want to trade Josh for Derrick Williams?
I guess you don’t wanna talk about that either, LOL.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
3:22 pm
Hey Larry, I know you’ll never try this, but if you had ran that same play for Stack of T-mac..They finish or draw a foul and close out a win….
Naw too easy…..
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
3:24 pm
@SteveW
Cosign, We gotta believe as fans
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
3:25 pm
“4-4 since All-Star break. 4-4 in last 8 home games. 2-3 on current road trip. 4-3 in March. Never seen this much enthusiasm for a .500 squad since the Hawks were winning 26 games.”
In those last 8 games, they have faced a .531 strength of schedule and have a +2 scoring margin. Even with two bad losses mixed in, they have played better than that record. If you see enthusiasm, that’s the reason why. In that span they have gone up 7 spots in Hollinger’s automated power rankings, so it’s not like the enthusiasm is confined to this blog.
We have all seen them play well in spurts only to revert to their prior inconsistency too many times to say they have turned a corner at this point, but if they can sustain this level of play, the wins will come. Scoring margin is a pretty reliable indicator of future success or failure, and outscoring playoff caliber opponents by 2 ppg on average for an 8 game stretch is a good sign for a team that was getting blown out routinely by playoff caliber opponents as recently as a month and a half ago.
Melvin
March 14th, 2012
3:29 pm
Najeh,
Nice post at 3:25
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
3:43 pm
Snipety Snip!
Biggie Lou! A clip of Matty Ices hair? LOL … LMAO!
STRETCH
March 14th, 2012
3:43 pm
All this action in the sports world, NBA Trade deadline, NFL Free Agency, MLB Spring Training and NEITHER of our beloved franchises alarm clocks have gone off.
What an awful sports town. Even the city of Toronto, Canada has more championships than Atlanta. I remember when they used to be considered Atlanta North!
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
3:47 pm
Never seen this much enthusiasm for a .500 squad since the Hawks were winning 26 games..
According to Rick Sund, all we need is to get healthy. Isn’t that a reason for enthusiasm
Ironically, even when we were the healthiest team in the NBA, we still didn’t even get to a game 7 in the second round.
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
3:49 pm
I’m happy for Woody. Hopefully he learned from his experience coaching the Hawks. I wonder if he will switch everything to protect Carmelo?
And if Woody needs offensive ideas, he can call LD to get some tips on his never seen before motion offense.
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
3:50 pm
Najeh, SOS was a stat during the Woody days, too. A stat when Josh wasn’t taking so many shots in previous seasons. A stat when others were playing PG. IMO, polls are used by fan bases who prefer not to look at standings or need to justify why their favorite player should be lauded despite mediocre play. I’m sure I’ve been guilty of doing the same.
It all points to “losing better” as the consolation prize for yet another season destined for the same ending despite some different players & roles.
I’ll admit, it is much harder for me not to focus on LD’s coaching (and his hiring), when I see the fan base so excited by .500 ball (and statistcally-derived polls).
ntrigue
March 14th, 2012
3:52 pm
Woody will bench Lin and run ISO carmelo to death!
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 14th, 2012
3:53 pm
FIRE WOODY
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 14th, 2012
3:56 pm
“2 Live Stews are ROF & KTC about D12’s latest asinine statement. Trade his azz NOW to The Hornets for picks.”
Dwight and staying in New Orleans, just like Chris Paul didn’t.
NOH can trade a million picks + players for Dwight, he will leave town, and they will be left with a horrid roster and no picks. That would set them back about 12 years
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 14th, 2012
3:57 pm
FYI, a TV station is reporting Dwight has told Magic he will stay through 12-13, but that runs counter to everything else we’re hearing.
-RealGM
Spyro
March 14th, 2012
3:57 pm
Just an observation: People are saying that the Knicks have no defense with D’Antoni…. y’all know they have a top 10 defense this year, right? (Mainly because of Chandler)
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
3:58 pm
Wasnt Georgia just rated the #1 most miserable SPORTS TOWN by Forbes Magazine last week? wow…..
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
3:59 pm
Sautee,
“Instead you want to call out the Duke program for not having HOF players. Doesn’t that say just that much more about Coach K’s coaching ability? To win that consistently WITHOUT players who go on to be great pros says a LOT more than if he had studs everywhere. The second thing it says is that Duke rarely recruits players who are not team oriented, therefore eschewing some of the “studs” who will later thrive in the NBA.
I guess that’s a failing in your eyes. It’s not in mine. No doubt Duke players are overhyped, but that’s because of Coach K’s success. But that’s not relative to whether or not Grant’s career was “mediocre”.” – Sautee
No. It says that men’s college basketball games as well as all other big revenue-generating college games [athletics] are all about college favoritism, hyping up certain college programs and coaches, the referees giving certain teams calls, hypocrisy [star college players can't get paid [legally] for playing, but the college coaches at big name, big time programs can get paid millions of dollars], focusing too much on the players’ athletic skills while rarely promoting the idea or ideal of [the] student-athlete[s], and secretly loving the set-up [organizational structure] of not having to pay college athletes especially black male athletes, in particular, while reaping in millions of dollars for its supposedly not-for-profit institutions – a modern-day version of slavery or the U.S. slave system. These college male athletes, and, in particular, the black male athletes, are, for the most part, nothing but glorified pieces of meat and most college coaches don’t really care about those players attaining/obtaining a valuable college degree of substance or their future. These [male] college athletes are akin to [thoroughbred] race horses and, once their eligibility expires, these athletes are sent “out to [the] pasture” or the “glue factory.” College athletics is nothing but a sham and is one of the biggest “con games” going [on] in sports.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 14th, 2012
4:00 pm
Since we all know Woody only cares about defense, yet Melo doesn’t really play any, what will Woody do?
Bibby got all those minutes but he sucks. he was never a superstar
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
4:01 pm
slimjr,
As they say up here in the hills…Delta is ready when you are.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 14th, 2012
4:03 pm
If D’Antoni leaving was mutual, how does it work out financially? Obviously there are huge differences financially between resigning and being fired. Didn’t D’Antoni make 6M a year?
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
4:07 pm
^Correction: “The system of college athletics is nothing but a sham and is one of the biggest “con games” going [on] in sports.”
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 14th, 2012
4:07 pm
If we do jack!@#$ in the Playoffs, the most important game the rest of the season is March 30 vs. Knicks. I know Woody has had that game circled for ages.
FIRE WOODY
Joe
March 14th, 2012
4:07 pm
Dont worry Hinrich, you are not going anywhere, that requires work and Rick Sund doesnt work! Free money must be nice, yes we have one of the highest payrolls in the NBA, could take be because of “JJ” over-valued contract? ASG please hire me, I work very hard and dont nearly make the $$$ that your GM is receiving, I will do the job for less money…doing nothing but making statements, I can do that. I have a PhD.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 14th, 2012
4:08 pm
APRIL 22ND TOO BUT TEAMS MAY BE RESTING BY THEN
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
4:11 pm
Sautee like BLou missed his calling as a Stand up Comic! hehehe
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
4:11 pm
Jon Barry on 790. He thinks LD is doing a good job, and the team is overachieving. However, he thinks the team has peaked, and a change is needed.
He mentioned Josh + Kirk for Gasol, which made me wonder if he has been reading these blogs.
Big Daddy
March 14th, 2012
4:11 pm
My guess is Woody was brought in for a “just in case” situation. Maybe he will do better with guys who are already established than team where people need development. It will be interesting what he does with Lin.
Meanwhile, our guys have their work cut out for them to night with this back to back. The matchup I am really looking forward to is Josh and Blake. There will be some posters made tonight. GO HAWKS!!!
northcyde
March 14th, 2012
4:12 pm
Congrats to Woody. Carmelo will be grateful to you.
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
4:13 pm
“College athletics is nothing but a sham and is one of the biggest “con games” going [on] in sports.”
I agree. What does that have to do with your thinking that 21.6, 7.8, and 6.2 over 6 seasons is somehow mediocre? I’ll say it again:
If Grant Hill never suffered his horrific ankle injury, he would have been a HOF player. Dukie or no, you can’t take those six excellent seasons away. Hill was first or second team All-NBA for 5 straight years before his injury. Don’t get it twisted. He was NOT mediocre.
And don’t make me list the greats who DID lessen their careers with horrific injuries. You can list all the wonderful comebacks you want, but unless the injuries were exactly the same as Hill’s then you are comparing oranges and apples.
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
4:14 pm
IMO, the story in NYC will be about Amare. I think it is fair to assume that his previous relationship with D’Antoni influenced his decision to sign with the knicks (other teams would have paid him as much). Now D’Antoni is gone and he maybe stuck playing in a halfcourt style that favors Melo.
Read recently that Lin refused to pass the ball to Melo if he wasn’t executing the play that was called (e.g. play A calls for Melo to go right but he decided to go left and asked for the pass and Lin wouldn’t give him the ball). That takes some stones, to stay true to the play against the wishes of the alpha dog on the team. Now that D’Antoni won’t be able to protect Lin from Melo… let’s see what happens next between those two. I suspect that Melo will play better when Baron is on the floor and try to force Woody’s hand. But Woody has a better chance of sticking if he can figure out a way to revive Linsanity AND get Melo back to being a true offensive force who actually helps his team win games. And again, I suspect that Amare will be on the outside looking in.
cdog
March 14th, 2012
4:16 pm
larry drew, rick sund, za za pachulia, kirk hinrich radmonovich, and jeff teague are losers. can’t blame josh smith for wanting out. pachulia and hinrich especially are losers.a 6′11 man missing a layup and a so -called pro guard missing a free throw in a crucial moment equals losers.
tatty
March 14th, 2012
4:17 pm
WORST COACH EVER…. SIGN MIKE DANTONI PLEASEEEEEE.. WHY DO YOU START KIRK HINRICH AND JEFF TEAGUE WHEN YOU HAVE TMAC A WASTED TALENT ROTTING ON THE BENCH????
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
4:19 pm
And yes Sautee when Josh was screwing up I was ready to ship his butt out of here for a #3 scorer..I was sailing that liner last year too.. But it looks like his game has come together so that move is unnecessary at this time… Cool…..
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
4:21 pm
Wish Woody well just not against the HAWKS!
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
4:25 pm
Slimjr
It’s all good, man. You are my fellow ‘tin foil’ brother in arms. Eminem — My Darling is the anthem. Down with Satan!
Just leave the Matt Ryan bashing for the Falcons forums, where I never go unless it’s the cage. I try to avoid the nonsense. I don’t want to see it on here.
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
4:25 pm
Props to slimjr for his mea culpa. bravo!
Now stop slamming your homeplace. Everywhere you go there is ignorance. There’s also a lot of good folks.
As a friend of mine says “don’t sh!t where you eat”.
Ray
March 14th, 2012
4:25 pm
Well Big time news today.
Dwight says he’ll stay, D’Antoni flutters away, and Melo is looking more like Jello through this entire process. Say it ain’t so.
I’m sorry, but to all my blog sphere people out there we don’t want anything to do with Dwight or Melo sh!t I don’t want anything to do with supposed superstars or DIVAS at all anymore I’d rather be the Denver Nuggets or the Spurs right now.
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
4:25 pm
And Woody MUST know he is keeping the seat warm while the Knicks go hard after Phil Jackson or try for an iconic college coach. I wouldn’t be shocked to read some Calipari rumors in the coming weeks.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
4:25 pm
Sautee,
In order for great players to be considered truly great, those players need to play at a high level for an extended period of time [8 to 10 years]. A great player can’t be considered great based off [of] great potential. Grant Hill had great potential but never lived up to being a great player in the NBA. Grant Hill is/was a bust in my opinion because he didn’t play up to his potential [or hype] whether that shortcoming was due to a lack of talent, a lack of heart/drive, an injury, inappropriate behavior [civil or criminal], etc.
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
4:28 pm
WOODY WILL BRING THE DEATH OF JEREMY LIN!
NO MORE BALL FOR YOU LIN BOY!!!
ISO MELO TIME!!!
Finally I can watch ESPN without hearing Jeremy Lin.
vava74
March 14th, 2012
4:30 pm
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
3:25 pm
Co-sign. Let us not forget, however, that this “good” stretch has happened with Josh as the #1 guy in this ball club.
4-3 in March so far with a compounded 5 points differential on the 3 losses is, to the very least, encouraging.
Ray
March 14th, 2012
4:31 pm
I’d rather watch the Denver Nuggets and Spurs right now.
This new era of let’s create a super team NBA is going to kill them in the long run when you look at the past National champs in history there has never really been a All-Superstar team that has won it all. For good reason it’s already been proven when you put too many let me take the shot people on the same team it never works out.
Houston Rockets during the lockout season last time, Clippers now, Miami Heat, NY Knicks, and the list could go on.
Every time you look back every team had the IT guy or that 1 superstar player and 1 other exceptional good player and another player that had heart and pride to fight and get it done.
Chicago bulls during that last run had MJ(Superstar), Scottie(Exceptional good), and Dennis Rodman(Heart and pride to get it done).
Same thing with the Pistons and etc etc.
Astro Joe
March 14th, 2012
4:34 pm
I wonder if a team can steal way another team’s head coach without giving up any compensation. Like could the knicks simply steal Mark Jackson away from Golden State?
D’Antoni’s next gig will likely be in LA, either with Clips or Lakers.
Ray
March 14th, 2012
4:35 pm
@ High-sider
That’s not really true especailly since the guy was injuried if he’d never had that we know what happens just like with T-mac. Those two would have been the next big thing.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
4:36 pm
Sautee,
In summary, Grant Hill didn’t play long enough at a high level to be considered a great player in the NBA. After reviewing his statistics, I will, however, concede the point that Grant Hill has had a very, very good NBA career. Damn, I didn’t realize his career has been that good. My bad.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hillgr01.html
vava74
March 14th, 2012
4:37 pm
make a push:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=7fu8s9h
Horford MAY BE redundant (as I said before, I would need to hear from him a firm commitment to play C and be Boss Horford again before removing him from my trade list).
Hinrich seems to be improving as a starting SG – although he should be getting less minutes IMO at the SG slot – AND he is healthy.
Kaman could be a rental, however, I am very confident that he would re-sign for substantially less than the 14 million (probably on the 10 million mark) so we would have a bit more cap space to re-sign Josh for more money.
I am not entirely sold on Kaman, but Kaman, Josh, Zaza and Ivan seems a pretty decent rotation on the front court.
I also don’t particularly like Ariza, but my dislike for Marvin trumps it easily.
UGA
March 14th, 2012
4:37 pm
So Howard is staying in Orlando, being reported on Hoopsworld.
Also, speculation of an ATL, MIN and ORL 3 way deal involving Smoove.
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
4:39 pm
“Grant Hill is/was a bust in my opinion because he didn’t play up to his potential [or hype] whether that shortcoming was due to a lack of talent, a lack of heart/drive, an injury, inappropriate behavior [civil or criminal], etc.”
I think that is flat loony, but you are welcome to your opinion. He MORE than played up to his potential up until he got injured.
I guess you’d think Gale Sayers was a bust as well. Didn’t get in those requisite 8-10 years. Luckily, the NFL Hall of Fame disagreed. How about Bill Walton? I guess he is a bust as well.
Loony.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
4:42 pm
Ray,
See my post @4:36pm and I’m sure you already have. I will concede the point to a degree. My bad.
vava74
March 14th, 2012
4:42 pm
Add a first round pick coming our way from NO and I would do that trade in an heartbeat.
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
4:43 pm
High-sider,
Obviously my last post was before I read your 4:36.
Thanks for taking a look at Grant’s career. We can disagree about whether injury is fair game when judging a “bust” career. I think it’s not the player’s fault. You seem to blame them for getting injured.
Ray
March 14th, 2012
4:45 pm
@ UGA
That speculation better be about Al Horford and Not J-smoove.
Ray
March 14th, 2012
4:46 pm
@ High Sider
Sorry I just saw it ok.
We don’t want J-smoove gone from ATL give them Joe Johnson and Al Horford plus Marvin Willaims
Basically give them the 3 stooges plus a bag of chips.
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
4:46 pm
If J-smoove goes to Orlando, I will officially become a Magic fan. lol
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
4:47 pm
Points taken Sautee and Big Lou! High TENS to both of you great bloggers!
Peace out…
See you guys on the Game Thread tonight?
UGA
March 14th, 2012
4:47 pm
The trade does not involve Howard. Rumor is he is staying there next year too. Will become FA in 2013.
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
4:48 pm
UGA,
Can you link us please?
Ray
March 14th, 2012
4:48 pm
Yeah which means D-will is gone out of the Nets, but to whom…………..Lakers more than likely.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
4:49 pm
Sautee,
Ok, I will concede the point to a degree, however, I never said Grant Hill was mediocre. I said Grant Hill did not live up to his potential/hype and I gave you my variation of the definition of the word “bust.” Okay, Grant Hill wasn’t a bust per se but most Duke [men's] basketball players are/were “busts.”
Big Lou
March 14th, 2012
4:49 pm
Slimjr
No. I rather go to the gym and get tired there, instead of emotionally drained by watching a Hawks blowout versus the Clippers. Be easy, man.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
4:52 pm
Sautee,
Grant Hill was not a bust per se but most Duke men’s basketball players that are/were hyped have become NBA busts.
Ray
March 14th, 2012
4:55 pm
@ High-sider
no choice but to agree, but the problem is most Duke players end up in the wrong systems I bet if more of the duke players played with a team out west depending on who it is they wouldn’t be this bad.
UGA
March 14th, 2012
5:00 pm
http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-pm-dwight-howard-opting-in-for-one-more-year
Wabe
March 14th, 2012
5:04 pm
Nothing about “Michael Beasley or Ryan Anderson” would make me wanna trade J.Smith…
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
5:07 pm
“Grant Hill was not a bust per se but most Duke men’s basketball players that are/were hyped have become NBA busts.”
Thanks for the admission. LOL, my kids went to UNC, so you won’t see me defending Duke very much, though I have a great deal of respect for Coach K.
But to my remembrence, the only over-hyped Dookies were Maggette, Brand, Laetner, Jay Williams, and Trajon Langdon. To me, all but Langdon proved themselves to be decent pros that I personally wouldn’t call busts, though Williams, of course got an incomplete.
MANY lesser Dookies failed spectacularly though, including Cherokee Parks, our own Shelden Williams and Roshown McLeod. But to me they were never hyped as much (other than The Landlord, LOL)
SteveW
March 14th, 2012
5:11 pm
Beasley and Anderson for Smoove? HaHaHaHa – that is hilarious.
Derrick Williams, Anderson and a lottery pick or 2 may interest me – Put Smith has absolutely been beasting it lately. He finally gets it after all these years.
You don’t wait 7 years for a guy to develop – and once the light pops on, ditch him, do you?
But he does want to go maybe – but maybe not – but Beasley and Anderson is a non-starter for me. Not even close to what Smoove is worth.
SteveW
March 14th, 2012
5:12 pm
“But” not “Put” in my previous post…
SteveW
March 14th, 2012
5:18 pm
Deng, Boozer, Hill, Magette, Brand (who’s average a 20 and 9 eight different seasons) have all been pretty good from Duke.
Wasn’t Boozer a 2nd round pick? I don’t think he’s under performed. Kyrie Irving’s not to shabby either.
Wabe
March 14th, 2012
5:19 pm
Jay Williams had skills. Dude could ball…
Just unfortunate he never really got his shot in the NBA…
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
5:26 pm
Vava,
What motivation does N.O. have to make that deal (especially if they (not Hawks) are giving up a pick)? They would be stuck with Al’s contract, and Okafor’s contract, and lose a high first round pick. No way they make that deal.
Also, I would hate for the Hawks to give up Al, and end up losing Kaman to free agency (this is the ASG we are talking about). Another guy I like is Dalembert, who has a team option with Houston for next year at $7 mil. I think him and Zaza could handle the center position.
As for the Howard staying rumor, until he lets the Magic know in writing, I don’t believe it.
prison mike
March 14th, 2012
5:27 pm
Josh is due a subpar game soon and this one may be it. Blake is going to force him to shoot jumpers and Jordan is a good weakside defender.
Teague has to have the mindset he brought into the playoffs. Their interior D is going to give Joe alot of incentive to avoid the paint especially after the fools gold shooting game in Denver.
Larry T
March 14th, 2012
5:29 pm
Wow, All this talk about Al horford and Jeff teague being sent to LA for Gasol, who is then sent to Orlando has my antennas up.
I knew the owner was serious when he came out publicly on ESPN Yesterday saying How much he values josh and what a great player he is. He also responded to the statement about not supporting Josh on his AllStar guest, by saying,” there are a whole lot of Allstars he would not trade Josh for.”
So Unless you are getting a super star higher than Josh it aint happening. The owner when on to say that there is “Zero” chance that Josh is going to be traded.
They also made it clear that the press and MC the infamous Al Horford lover, was behind the lies about Josh wishing to be traded. Both parties were clear that it was a lie.
Its nice to know that this team is being built around Josh and he is Untouchable.
When asked if he was in negotiations to trade Al Horford he responded. ” we are all pros, we are going to do whats best for the team, if there is a trade we can make to improve our team then we will, we are all about getting better.”
I thought that was cool. Getting better for the Hawks means moving Al, and I dont mean to the 4 position to repeat the same no defense, 12pt 8rb playoff Houdini hes notorious for.
The owner is on the right track if he pulls this trade off and gets D12 to pair with Josh who the owner call the ” home town kid”. Then wed have 2 home town kids.
This is encouraging, No more obsession with mediocrity! Yes!
vava74
March 14th, 2012
5:31 pm
interesting read:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1195981/1/index.htm
Walker could/should be in europe where he could play 4 or 5 years earning decent money and far away from his creditors.
Samuel
March 14th, 2012
5:35 pm
Finally, my Woody is back.
tatty
March 14th, 2012
5:36 pm
Hopefully Woody doesn’t shave his eyebrows from all the stress that nyk is gonna put him in
Grandad
March 14th, 2012
5:37 pm
High-sider
‘`No. It says that men’s college basketball games as well as all other big revenue-generating college games [athletics] are all about college favoritism, hyping up certain college programs and coaches, the referees giving certain teams calls, hypocrisy [star college players can't get paid [legally] for playing, but the college coaches at big name, big time programs can get paid millions of dollars], focusing too much on the players’ athletic skills while rarely promoting the idea or ideal of [the] student-athlete[s], and secretly loving the set-up [organizational structure] of not having to pay college athletes especially black male athletes, in particular, while reaping in millions of dollars for its supposedly not-for-profit institutions – a modern-day version of slavery or the U.S. slave system. These college male athletes, and, in particular, the black male athletes, are, for the most part, nothing but glorified pieces of meat`’
Alright – here goes – ‘`Grandad the Cracker`’
1st;
‘`referees giving certain teams calls, hypocrisy`’
You were referring to collegiate basketball but I figured
you were talkin about stern and his association at first.
2nd;
c`mon, ‘`slaves`’ – ‘`slave mentality`’;
that tired ol` bromide has about run it`s course.
For any who have studied history;
slavery has been around since the beginning of time.
The Jews can tell Africans a few things about slavery.
The young black men who enjoy Div I atletics;
many times at the expense of real student athletes;
alot of times abuse the privilege by:
* running afoul of the law
* ignoring NCAA bylaws
* failing to obtain a degree
* failing to attend class nor work toward a degree
* using the system you condemn
* note – they get an opportunity for a $1 to $2 hundred K education
* note – they do not have to pay back student loans [like many of us]
* note – they receive many many benefits normal students [don`t get]
* noteriety; internship for pros; travel & life skills; dietician; training; etc.
* Something tells me that real slave would love these types of platations !
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
5:38 pm
Josh Smith is going to posterize Blake Griffin today.
prison mike
March 14th, 2012
5:40 pm
Hope so Tmac, it would make my season.
Larry T
March 14th, 2012
5:43 pm
Finally, my Woody is back.?
Actually that did not take long at all. He is well respected out side this ” Mediocracy Movement ” Blog-O-Sphere. Where bloggers are enchanted with the mediocre. So Woody went from the great job he did here to assistant coach back to full time NBA coach in less than 3 years. Thats actually not bad at All. He had the longest reigning tenure when he was let go by Atlanta to make room for the Bubba Crew favorite Larry Drew.
Congrats Woodson. You are a top notch coach. Way to go.
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
5:45 pm
Beckley Mason @BeckleyMason Close
Woodson’s system isn’t good, but at least the team will be on the same page (the playbook’s only got one). I expect improvement.
2:10 PM – 14 Mar 12 via TweetDeck · Details
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
5:46 pm
“Congrats Woodson. You are a top notch coach. Way to go.” – Larry T
Will be looking for you on this blog when the Knicks miss the playoffs.
derrick
March 14th, 2012
5:49 pm
that racist SOB talking about Jews can teach African Americans about slavery.. I DONT THINK SO you racist Jerk.
We are talking 250 years about as opposed to 6000 years ago. So Shut the F up you racist idiot and mind your own business. Youre family is probably former slave owners., redneck.
Some of us know
March 14th, 2012
5:50 pm
Woodson’s Top Notch statistics:
W-L: 206-286 .419%
Playoffs: 11-18 .379%
Let all Hawk fans wish the Knicks this kind of success.
Larry T
March 14th, 2012
5:51 pm
Buddy Grizzard thats fine, Id look for you when they do, but like the Josh haters you’ll be doing your Crickets…crickets…crickets… thingy at the moment……
jase
March 14th, 2012
5:52 pm
Are we trade for pau gasol.
The rest of us know
March 14th, 2012
5:53 pm
Sure took a 13 win team to a 53 win team and to the ployoffs with out a legit center… GREAAAAT8
Some of us know
March 14th, 2012
5:55 pm
His record is undeniable. It is what it is.
Barry
March 14th, 2012
5:57 pm
Typical Redneck, trying to divide the races. Sir, please stop the hate.
Dept. Of Unintended Irony
March 14th, 2012
6:02 pm
“Finally, my Woody is back.?”
Been a little flaccid there, LarryT?
Larry T
March 14th, 2012
6:07 pm
There were Quotations there.
Larry T
March 14th, 2012
6:09 pm
I dont know if we can pull that out tonight with out Marvin… that may be a little tough. Marvin is not as easy to replace as Al.
Dept. Of Unintended Irony
March 14th, 2012
6:10 pm
You are correct Larry T, it was Samuel who had been a little flaccid. Pardon me.
Ray
March 14th, 2012
6:18 pm
So we really going to bring in a race card or make this a racist convo. Seriously I thought you guys were bigger than this cause that mostly happens on ESPN and Facebook or Twitter C’mon Man!
@ Both Grandad and High-sider
That issue in of itself is a double edged sword at the end of the day both NCAA and College Athlete’s screw themselves over. When all that recruiting is going on at face value the coaches will say they care about how a recruit handles himself and what not, but the reality is it’s not true.
The ugly reality is most of these college athlete’s mostly black some might be other races probably wouldn’t get into these institutions. Talking about your UGA, Duke, GA Tech, Florida, Ohio St. etc etc.
What’s even worse is the reason why this had to happen “Winning” as mad as I get at Nick Saban for his over signing I know why it happens because everyone wants to win.
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
6:29 pm
WE NEED TO MAKE A MOVE NOW!
http://www.csnne.com/blog/celtics-talk/post/Source-Kaman-interested-in-joining-Celti?blockID=669798&feedID=10424
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
6:40 pm
“Buddy Grizzard thats fine, Id look for you when they do, but like the Josh haters you’ll be doing your Crickets…crickets…crickets… thingy at the moment……” – LarryT
Not to worry Larry… you can always hit me up here:
http://www.hoopinionblog.com/
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
6:49 pm
Grandad,
“The Jews can tell Africans a few things about slavery.
The young black men who enjoy Div I atletics [sic];
many times at the expense of real student athletes;
alot of times abuse the privilege by:
* running afoul of the law
* ignoring NCAA bylaws
* failing to obtain a degree
* failing to attend class nor work toward a degree
* using the system you condemn
* note – they get an opportunity for a $1 to $2 hundred K education
* note – they do not have to pay back student loans [like many of us]
* note – they receive many many benefits normal students [don`t get]
* noteriety; internship for pros; travel & life skills; dietician; training; etc.
* Something tells me that real slave would love these types of platations [sic]!” – Grandad
Grandad, “normal” students don’t generate tens to hundreds of millions of dollars for these supposedly not-for-profit institutions [colleges and universities] but the college-student athletes of big revenue-generating sports do. I’m sure that these major big-time collegiate athletic programs generate far more revenue than what they spend on athletic scholarships and other student-athlete expenses. A lot of these collegiate athletic programs have the right to take away a student-athlete’s athletic scholarship for reasons other than substandard academic performance. Do you really feel these [black] male athletes were recruited with the thought in my mind to at least partially help these young men realize some academic achievement especially if they performed at substandard level while in high school? How many head and assistant coaches have “looked the other way” when these young men as you say “ran afoul of the law”? How many of these young men were tempted with money and women by boosters, wealthy alumni, and rich fan[atic]s of these major collegiate athletic programs while coaches acted as if they were oblivious to the matter? How many of these young men were advised to take college courses and pursue college degrees with little to no job market value such as the proverbial “underwater basket weaving” courses and the therapeutic recreation degrees so as to not [to] interfere with their athletic commitments and demands? How many “normal” students break their bodies down to generate millions of dollars for their colleges/universities and their coaches’ salaries? There were a lot of black slaves in the old [American] south that lived a lot better than free poor whites but those slaves worked like hell to live better – in many cases “sun up to sun down.” Many farmers have animals that are well fed while there are many people in America and around the world who suffer from malnutrition and famine. How many college coaches have cheated or broken the rules in order to get these athletes admitted into college when these athletes had not met the qualifications/prerequisites? What types of examples are these college coaches giving these athletes when they see their coaches violating NCAA rules and regulations? Please, re-think about your observations, Grandad.
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
6:57 pm
Dept. strikes again… lol
Burt
March 14th, 2012
7:16 pm
According to ESPN, the Hornets are willing to take a second round pick in a trade for Chris Kaman. Sund should make it happen, (doubt he will, but he should), because of our need for front court depth at the moment. Plus Kaman’s contract is expiring so we could stay under the cap by letting him walk in July. Even more convincing is that I don’t think I can remember a player that Sund drafted with a second round pick that wasn’t either cut in camp or buried deep on the bench.
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
7:20 pm
Awe man, this is one late @ss game
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
7:22 pm
High-sider,
While I DO think Collegiate Athletics is a sewer, Brandon Jennings showed that there ARE other choices. If there are other choices than college, then how “slave-like” is it? Aren’t these young men and women lining up several deep to go to college? And, as the commercial tells us, most of them have careers in something other than sports.
My point is, it’s very easy to paint the system with a broad brush, but not every institution of higher ed is the same, nor are MOST profiting from their athletes at the level you describe.
Buddy Grizzard
March 14th, 2012
7:22 pm
Mike Bianchi: #LeBron had The Decision; Dwight has #TheIndecision about 5 minutes ago
Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz1p8WiBdxE
LMAO
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
7:23 pm
“The talk was talk. Nothing but rumors. All rumors,” Smith said. “Unless you heard it coming from my mouth, you knew it was a rumor. I was always going to be a part of this program.”
Smith is averaging 22.3 points and 9.3 boards over his last four road meetings with the Clippers.
-NBA.com
ntrigue
March 14th, 2012
7:32 pm
We definitly should get Kaman if all they want is a 2nd round pick that’s a steal especially with recent draft history!
Larry T
March 14th, 2012
7:38 pm
Looks like MC or the AJC or somebody is up in new york planting lies again….
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-knicks-anthony
Larry T
March 14th, 2012
7:40 pm
Kaman is not much of an up grade over Al, if he is. They are both lazy. I thought we’d agreed not to take on any more project cases?
Lets just hold out deal with whatever, trade Al by the summer and address the Center position at that point.
Larry T
March 14th, 2012
7:46 pm
Well Looks like Atlanta would not extendz my Woody, so he Popped up in New York.
Larry T
March 14th, 2012
7:49 pm
Im wondering if New York is a Major Market team, consequently this is really an acknowledgement of woodson’s abilities.
Is that Job an improvement, or a higher profile than ATL? I see that Josh is keeping the Hawks in the limelight lately, but I think Woody just got promoted….
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
8:01 pm
I just heard of a 3-team trade involving the Blazers’, T-wolves, and the Lakers. Just found out Jamal is a late game scratch for the Blazers
Portland gets Steve Blake.
Minnesota gets Jamal Crawford.
Los Angeles [LAL] gets Michael Beasley.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
8:07 pm
I don’t know how many South Park fans post here, but Dwight is starting to remind me of the kindergarten girl in the Trapper Keeper episode who can’t decide who to vote for in the class president election. Dude reminds me of a 5 year old. Make a damn decision and move on.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
8:08 pm
T-S, if the Hawks trade Al and Teague to the Knicks for Woody, what will you post about?
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
8:10 pm
^3-team trade is supposedly in the works and has yet to be finalized. [POR, MINN, LAL]
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
8:12 pm
Fire Sarge aka Nate McMillan!
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
8:16 pm
“Im wondering if New York is a Major Market team, consequently this is really an acknowledgement of woodson’s abilities”.
The acknowledgement of his abilities will IF he is re-hired on a permanent basis, IMHO.
If they were so sure he was the one they could have fired D’Antoni in the fall. They did not.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 14th, 2012
8:17 pm
I just got off from work, what happened? Is Mr. Woodson the new HC of The Knicks? My cohorts saw that coming a mile away … I didn’t see it though.
Congrats to my man Mike Woodson! Here comes The Switch on D! LOL … I know Bibby is smiling. Bromance there.
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
8:19 pm
Sautee,
In response to your post @7:22pm, the college athletes are being exploited in that the revenue the athletes generate far exceeds the value of the athletic scholarships and other benefits they receive. I am speaking of those college athletes in high revenue generating sports such as college football and college basketball.
I know it’s early but it looks like Mike Woodson will get his first win as a NY Knick head coach tonight.
James
March 14th, 2012
8:22 pm
“I don’t know how many South Park fans post here, but Dwight is starting to remind me of the kindergarten girl in the Trapper Keeper episode who can’t decide who to vote for in the class president election. Dude reminds me of a 5 year old. Make a damn decision and move on.”
Personally, I think he has already made his decision and has known what he wants to do for a while now. He just doesn’t want to say it publicly for fear of rubbing some people the wrong way. He doesn’t want to hurt his image. The irony is that this indecisive front that he’s putting up is hurting his public image more than just coming out and saying what he wants to do.
Maybe I’m wrong about him already knowing, but it sure seems that way to me.
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
8:26 pm
“I am speaking of those college athletes in high revenue generating sports such as college football and college basketball.”
Thanks for using a finer brush. I’m in favor of a stipend for ANY scholarship holder, regardless of the sport. If they are going to use their time and energy for the team, and therefore not have time for a part time job, at least reward them something. If that were done, I could more easily stomach some of the excesses of the bigger sports.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
8:26 pm
Leaving aside the racial and financial angles, the idea that the NCAA does college athletes some great service by giving them scholarships is a bunch of BS. Giving a scholarship to some kid like Derrick Rose who can barely crack 500 on the SAT is just a waste of money. You might as well buy a vegan a steak dinner. If the NCAA really cares about educating its athletes, it should stop allowing colleges to lower admission standards for them. Compensating someone with something they can’t use is no compensation at all.
northcyde
March 14th, 2012
8:41 pm
Hawks aren’t going into the Luxury Tax to get Kaman.
O'Brien
March 14th, 2012
8:42 pm
From espn.com;
In a Wednesday night conference call with Orlando Magic officials before the team’s game in San Antonio, Dwight Howard told the Magic that he is not prepared to surrender the option to become a free agent at season’s end, according to sources with knowledge of the discussion..
No surprise, Dwight is wavering again.
ntrigue
March 14th, 2012
8:42 pm
Hawks trade Horford, Hinrich, 2013 1st round pick, and 2014 1st round pick for Dwight Howard. I would come on Sund get dwight and josh back on the same team again!
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
March 14th, 2012
8:44 pm
Mike Bibby is going to be the starter for the Knicks in 2 weeks.
terrell
March 14th, 2012
8:46 pm
Congrats Woody. Bibby and Baron time now Jeremy. lol. Btw, Knicks ballin tonight vs Portland.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:51 pm
Miss Georgia 2012: Jasmin Wilkins aka Nique’s Niece! Nice!
http://www.voy.com/163355/2/
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
8:52 pm
Knicks are destroying Portland 55-29! wow….
terrell
March 14th, 2012
8:53 pm
Dantoni will NEVER coach in the NBA again. Man just doesnt care about defense. Cant outscore everybody. lol
northcyde
March 14th, 2012
8:53 pm
By the way…….Knicks up by 27 over the Jamal Crawford-less Portland Trailblazers.
Both Melo and Amare have 15 points. Lin only has 3 shots, but 6 assists.
terrell
March 14th, 2012
8:55 pm
nate gonna be the next one out the door.
northcyde
March 14th, 2012
8:55 pm
That’s a halftime score. 55 – 29.
They’re up 26, not 27.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 14th, 2012
8:56 pm
Woody is the Herman Edwards of the NBA.
terrell
March 14th, 2012
8:57 pm
Lin better not take too many shots. His azz will get pulled. lol
Luke Cage
March 14th, 2012
8:59 pm
Woody will introduce ISO-MELO
terrell
March 14th, 2012
9:00 pm
Is that Gerald’s daughter Slim?
Luke Cage
March 14th, 2012
9:00 pm
Just wondering, what makes Horford “Lazy”??
terrell
March 14th, 2012
9:02 pm
Wouldnt it be something if he knicks went on a roll and made it to the Finals. They’ve got the talent to do it. Perfect opportunity for Woody to fool the GM into thinking he’s a good coach. lol
terrell
March 14th, 2012
9:04 pm
Wonder how much Woody paid Dantoni to resign? lol
James
March 14th, 2012
9:08 pm
Portland is not doing very well these days, which is a mystery considering all of the talent that they have. Either the pieces just don’t fit, the coaching doesn’t fit, or the players just aren’t buying in. At any rate, Portland has a lot of trade chips that many teams would want, I’d be surprised if they didn’t make some sort of move by the trade deadline.
The Knicks have a lot of talent, but Portland shouldn’t be getting dominated by any team the way they are being dominated tonight.
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
9:13 pm
terrell
March 14th, 2012
9:00 pm
“Is that Gerald’s daughter Slim?”
Yes, I believe so Sir..
Sautee
March 14th, 2012
9:17 pm
Lin with 5 turnovers in 19 min. Woody is pulling his eyebrows out if they ever grew back.
terrell
March 14th, 2012
9:19 pm
Woody knows if he pulls lin, the fans will turn on him. lol
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
9:23 pm
Knicks are cruzin tonight up 28 in the 3rd quarter…
Mac-Town (#maconchevyrider)
March 14th, 2012
9:24 pm
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/s720×720/424874_374400892584896_197915573566763_1283476_1057103816_n.jpg
Damien’s sister is on point….better not try nothing with her though, ‘Nique will bust your head like he did that Suit Salesman #HeatCheck
Slimjr
March 14th, 2012
9:26 pm
Nicer picture…..Yep…
Ray
March 14th, 2012
9:40 pm
Why are we talking about Nique Niece or Damien’s sister take that mess somewhere else man it’s a sports blog for crying out loud. Lol
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
9:50 pm
Yup… this is def the Hawks blog lol
TMACfan
March 14th, 2012
9:53 pm
Linsanity = 6 points, 6 assists, 6 turnovers
High-sider
March 14th, 2012
9:56 pm
Fire MCM aka Nate McMillan. Knicks have been up on the Blazers by as much as 42 points.
BIG DOG
March 14th, 2012
10:04 pm
Mike Bibby will starte the next game for the Knicks.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
Michael Cunningham
March 14th, 2012
10:17 pm
new blog posted. shutting down this thread.