Atlanta Hawks: Clippers 96, Hawks 82
Los Angeles--At the end of a long road trip and with a roster depleted by injuries, the Hawks gave a pretty-good-if-sloppy effort against the Clippers but couldn’t make plays at winning times and finished the trip 2-4.
- “We clearly just ran out of steam,” Larry Drew said.
- Whether you see that as an excuse or a legitimate explanation probably depends on your mood. My guess is it’s not charitable because of the sting of close Ls at Miami, Detroit and, especially, Denver.
- “We can’t hang our heads, but you have got to be a little disappointed,” Josh Smith said. “We had an opportunity to win in Miami. We definitely had an opportunity to win in Detroit. And the game last night was definitely our game and we gave it away. This is our last long away trip. We’ve got to take care of the home games and worry about these Eastern Conference teams and try to climb up.”
- “We have just got to fine tune these last 20-something odd games,” Joe Johnson said. “The trip is definitely not as successful as we wanted. Nowhere near. We have just go to get back home and try to string some wins together and move up the ladder board.”
- The Hawks already were down Al Horford and Ivan Johnson in the frontcourt and another option, Marvin Williams, was out too. Then Vladimir Radmanovic (back) was a late scratch and Josh was in early foul trouble.
- “I’ve got to take my hat off to my guys,” Drew said. “We knew coming in this would be a physical game and, big-man wise, we were limited. Then we got word right before the game Vladimir couldn’t go because of his back. That left us with one big guy coming off the bench, [Erick] Dampier. So basically we were left with figuring out how to stay in the game and manage the game.”
- It turned out the Clips guards Mo Williams and Eric Bledsoe hurt the Hawks more than their bigs. But a good deal of that could be contributed to Atlanta playing zone and the guards sagging to help with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Also, Reggie Evans bulled his way 10 rebounds, four of them on offense.
- “We paid so much attention to their inside presence and Chris Paul running the pick-and-roll that [Mo Williams] basically went out there shooting darts,” Joe said.
- “It looked like they were moving a lot faster than we were,” Drew said of Mo Williams and Bledsoe.
- You can see the Hawks’ offense slowly start to evolve to the point where it needs Josh on the court to function effectively. As soon as he entered the game in the second quarter after sitting with two fouls, he scored four straight baskets. As soon as he left after picking up his third, scoring became a struggle again.
- “We didn’t have anybody to go to in the post to go to to pressure their guys,” Joe said. “We basically shot a lot of jump shots and we kind of lost rhythm.”
- The Hawks managed to stay in striking position. Josh scored five points on one trip when he made two free throws after a clear path foul and then sank a 3-pointer. But that’s when it looked like the Hawks lost their legs at the same time Mo and Bledsoe were hitting everything.
- Here’s how their next eight possessions went: Josh missed on a drive, Jerry Stackhouse had his layup blocked on the break, Jannero Pargo turned it over, Tracy McGrady turned it over, McGrady made a 3, McGrady turned it over again, Kirk Hinrich shot an airball, and Joe turned it over.
- Joe: “No excuses. Everyone’s schedule has been pretty tough. We wanted to give ourselves a chance to win but we just kept turning the ball over and couldn’t really close the gap.”
- Ivan Johnson is expected to return to play Friday against the Wizards. Marvin, Vladimir and Willie Green are up in the air. The Hawks just can’t ever seem to get their full complement of players dressed.
- Drew: “It feels a little bit like ’snakebit.’ But it is something we are going to have to work through and push through and face. We can’t make any excuses because a lot of teams go through injuries. We will lick our wounds on this trip and we will go home and be OK.”
- Joe: “We keep mixing and matching lineups. You don’t know who is going to play or not play. It’s a little tough and mind-boggling but, at the same time, the way the schedule is, we have just got to deal with it.”
- Josh: “We are not worried about it. We have just got to stay positive and not worry about anybody catching up to us and just put a strong of games together and not worry about the pressure of dropping a seed.”
The Hawks have to get it together because Boston is creeping up from behind in the East.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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271 comments Add your comment
JJ
March 15th, 2012
3:11 pm
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:04 pm
This team has a great deal of UPSIDE and we didn’t feel making a move would be in the BEST INTEREST of the team. Once we are HEALTHY we will be alright. We were CLOSE to making some deals but we LIKE OUR TEAM. Hope to see you all against the Wizards in a few days.
=============================================================================
Sad thing is it sounds alot like something he or the asg would say. And that’s the problem. You like the TEAM? Upside? What a sad, sad, commentary….
Ray
March 15th, 2012
3:11 pm
@ SteveW
So they end up with a Jordan Hill and Ramon Sessions let go of D-Fisher plus got another younger player.
Yeah they at least won’t be swept at best, but championship bound no I’ll give that to OKC still at this moment.
JaeEvolution
March 15th, 2012
3:12 pm
TMAC was it the Suns pick or ours?
ryan
March 15th, 2012
3:12 pm
Man what a crappy week the Falcons don’t do anything and now the Hawks .
The Truth
March 15th, 2012
3:12 pm
Rhyme of Today
When the trading deadline has come and pass
Sund will publicly speak about the deal he almost had
He will say during the final hour how the deal got nick
But by then, Hawksville won’t really give a sh!t
As always, he will march to his positive beat
But this year, we will witness an even earlier Hawks playoff sweep
Astro Joe
March 15th, 2012
3:12 pm
Zach Klein @ZachKleinWSB Reply RetweetedRetweet
Delete
FavoritedFavorite · Close Open Details Here is your #hawks move folks: They trade ‘12 2nd round pick to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for cash considerations
Retweeted by Lang Whitaker
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 15th, 2012
3:13 pm
AJ – I agree re: Marvin. He should be tired of the Atlanta, Ga hate media by now. Kirk really wants to stay put though.
Maybe these Hawks can stop faking injuries now. The pacers just put a dagger behind the arc to equalize the Hawks tie breaker.
Somebody just called Sund’s phone and “the white lady” at bell south is answering:
“doo doo doo doo … the number you have dialed has been temporarily disconnected … There is no further information about 1-800-Hawks.”
Big Lou
March 15th, 2012
3:13 pm
That Rick Sund dude has got to be a troll.
Don’t feed the troll!
Also, they won’t make the second round if they make a bottom seeding. Book it.
CrαZy
March 15th, 2012
3:13 pm
STRETCH…
I can’t stand the ASG or Rick the Dick… but, I’d never stop being a Hawks fan and become a bandwagon fan of another team. I’ll just stop paying for tickets and merchandise until the team gets sold or starts making better decisions.
TMACfan
March 15th, 2012
3:13 pm
ATTENTION ALL LEGIT HAWKS FANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE MUST MEET UP TO BLOWUP RICK SUNDS HOUSE!
WHEN AND WHAT TIME?
TMACfan
March 15th, 2012
3:14 pm
@JaeEvolution I think it was ours.
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:14 pm
@TMACfan and joeygt1
For the record we are a CONTENDER and have ALL THE PIECES WHEN HEALTHY to win a CHAMPIONSHIP. Larry is becoming a great IN GAME MANAGER. When we get HORFORD back, we will be better. Many of you fans are UNGRATEFUL. As my boss said we are 1 of 3 teams to advance past the 1ST ROUND the past three years. That shows PROGRESS. Elite teams are made during the REGULAR SEASON not the PLAYOFFS.
Micheal
March 15th, 2012
3:15 pm
That is the reason why the Hawks isnt like in this city. Stuff like this.
Astro Joe
March 15th, 2012
3:16 pm
Ken Berger @KBergCBS Reply RetweetedRetweet
Delete
FavoritedFavorite · Close Open Details Indeed, Hawks send second-round pick — lesser of theirs or Phoenix’s — to Golden State for cash. Luxury tax move for Atlanta
Melvin
March 15th, 2012
3:16 pm
LOL, this team owners are broke. Trading another pick for cash. Why the heck would you give Joe Johnson the riches contract in the league if you cant afford to build a team around him…
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:16 pm
Big Lou, you should appreciate the fact that we will MAKE THE SECOND ROUND. TMACfan why would you want to do such a thing to me. I have built this town a WINNER. Look at our record over past 4 years.
Micheal
March 15th, 2012
3:18 pm
@Rick Sund
Elite team isnt 4 over .500 with a losing record on the road, against +.500 teams and current 7 other teams in the playoff hunt right now. Go and retired Rick Sund
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:18 pm
We gave him the contract Melvin because he is SUPERSTAR. He has made 6 straight ALLSTAR GAMES.
CrαZy
March 15th, 2012
3:19 pm
We will not make the 2nd round!!
Slimjr
March 15th, 2012
3:19 pm
Stretch I’m with you..Looking to follow another team would not be a bad idea…
T plus 19 mins Houston…We are experiencing engine failure switch to backups? Backups? Yep…
Knicks, San Antonio, Chicago…Nice Backups basketball fans
Lacsho
March 15th, 2012
3:19 pm
We made a move, from Realgm:
Warriors Buy Second Round Pick From Hawks
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:20 pm
Michael maybe you should look at our INJURIES and for the record we are 5 games over .500 for the season. Every season has PEAKS AND VALLEYS. Rome wasn’t built overnight.
Lacsho
March 15th, 2012
3:20 pm
Wow we might when the second round of the playoffs….LMAO….BASG sucks!!!!
Slimjr
March 15th, 2012
3:21 pm
Chicago in 5, Miami in 4, Philly in 6…
1st rd exit this year…..try to spin that one Gearon Jr.
Wabe
March 15th, 2012
3:22 pm
Man, if the Lakers can find a way to dump Derrick Fisher…
There’s gotta be some dumbarse out there that’ll take Marvin Williams…
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:23 pm
@Slimjr
Why can’t you be SATISFIED with this team the way it is constructed. We are the most SUCCESSFUL MEN”S PLAYOFF TEAM in Atlanta. You will see a difference when we get MARVIN and VLAD RAD back. Drew has done a PHENOMENAL job with this team this year. They have shown much PHYSICALITY against bigger teams.
Ray
March 15th, 2012
3:23 pm
WOW HOORAY WE JUST GAVE A DRAFT PICK FOR CASH ASKG IS A FRAUD AND JUST PLAIN IDIOTS!
Never mind @ TMACfan I’m going Saturday at around 5:00 a.m. best time no one is ever up at that time
Micheal
March 15th, 2012
3:24 pm
But we been at this for almost 6 years now, and dont give me that injury crap either. If Derrick Rose is injured and Bulls is still trucking on with the best record in the East. I think its time to invest in a new team. Because this isnt worth it anymore.
bigdave
March 15th, 2012
3:24 pm
lol.
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:24 pm
If my bosses are so cheap, how is it that we have the 8th highest payroll. Remember only ONE TEAM can win the championship. We like to keep our team IN THE HUNT.
CrαZy
March 15th, 2012
3:25 pm
Some of you act like you really expected something big to happen? Did you forget that Rick Sund is the GM and ASG are the owners? Nothing good will happen here until the ASG finally sells the team. This is an NBA town with a NBA team with Minor league owners. We need someone who wants to own the team as his hobby… a pure love for basketball and drive to win at all costs. Chiat, I forgot we’re ATL fans we don’t get lucky enough to have more than 1 owner in town like that!!
O'Brien
March 15th, 2012
3:26 pm
dmb,
I remember when Marvin had his surgery, LD (and MC too, I think) was very complimentary about how Marvin looked better and was playing better. But as some of us predicted, his surgery would not stop him from being clumsy. And being clumsy leads to his stumbling, bumbling, fumbling, and getting knocked around (and blocked) by other players. So no surprise, he is banged up again.
Rick has not done a good job of asset management, so the Hawks will be left out of trade deadline deals (imo).
Is anyone surprised by the ASG selling another pick for cash to help pay LT bill (assuming the rumor is true)? LD and the players all have their faults, but the problem starts at the top. ASG.
Selling a second round pick isnt a big deal to us anyway, because Hawks dont know how to choose and develop good second round picks SMH.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 15th, 2012
3:26 pm
Its all about the Benjamins baby!
Ray
March 15th, 2012
3:26 pm
@ RICK SUND
STFU AND GTFO You’ve never been a good GM wherever you’ve been just got lucky with some draft picks.
STRETCH
March 15th, 2012
3:26 pm
Ok, somebody tell me something.
They made luxury tax move…but for what? Im clueless.
tyger
March 15th, 2012
3:27 pm
Hawks blockbuster:
Hawks trade 2012 2nd rd. pick to Warriors for cash…
you cant make this stuff up…
Sautee
March 15th, 2012
3:27 pm
Ka-Boom just went Ka-fizzle. Typical ASKG.
Standing pat on three deuces, like it’s a Royal Flush. SMGDH
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:27 pm
Michael it took Mark Cuban longer than that to win a championship with Dallas. Remember the goal is to IMPROVE each year. Losing HORFORD has really hurt us. We have been TRUCKING ALONG without Al and Joe. Now the schedule will be in our FAVOR the next few weeks. Joe has done a good job stepping up. This team is at a level that WOODY COULD HAVE EVER DREAMED.
Slimjr
March 15th, 2012
3:30 pm
Micheal, do you realize the Hawks have never part took in an ECF in almost 4.5 decades..That is beyond RETARDED….
No words can express that this has to be the or one of the most dysfunctional organizations in All of pro-sports…
It cant be an accident… Chit on this Franchise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I dont live down there so CHIT on them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Micheal
March 15th, 2012
3:30 pm
Somebody please start up a perition or something like that for a new owners to come to save the Hawks (Keep the Hawks in Atlanta) and Braves. We fans cant do this any more.
hawkfan
March 15th, 2012
3:30 pm
wow lakers finally trade away derek fisher to rockets, at least they are trying to get better, hawks take some notes
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:31 pm
Well Ray we have need to stand pat because we didn’t want to TWEAK THE CHEMISTRY with this team. We made a deal that will help us IN THE FUTURE when it comes to getting some more players. By getting CASH we will be able to save money so we can perhaps KEEP THE CORE INTACT. Marvin will be unrestricted in a few years and with his UPSIDE and ATHLETICISM we will be able to sign him to an EXTENSION./
tyger
March 15th, 2012
3:31 pm
And you wonder why Billy Knight walked away…
City Of Atlanta Still Recovering From William Tecumseh Sherman
March 15th, 2012
3:32 pm
lol they waste draft picks anyways
Rick Sund
March 15th, 2012
3:33 pm
You fans have to UNDERSTAND that it TAKES TIME to build a CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. Hopefully as TEAGUE IMPROVES and we keep our DEEP BENCH, you will see this team FLOURISH. We just have to get HEALTHY.
Slimjr
March 15th, 2012
3:33 pm
Braves have not won a playoff series in 11 years! They suck worse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And they are paying a 40 year old 14 million? He’d be lucky to play in 40 games the way his body is breaking down…
tyger
March 15th, 2012
3:33 pm
My favorite Hawks game activity…
…counting the empty seats!!!
ryan
March 15th, 2012
3:34 pm
Why do we even have sports teams in Atlanta pathetic .
Ray
March 15th, 2012
3:34 pm
Regardless of anything
We now know that Atlanta Hawks aren’t in to win a championship if all they do is send a 2nd round pick to GS for some Cash.
Even if Hawks win a championship or just get to the East Finals I still might hang it up on them because this team won’t be healthy, and Josh Smith is leaving come the next offseason not his one, but the next one.
Sautee
March 15th, 2012
3:34 pm
Facts for Rick Sund:
Second round record since 2000: 2-12. That’s a winning % of.143
That’s not elite. Spin it however you want. That’s NOT elite.