Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 100, Knicks 90
- Willie Green provided what’s been missing lately: Some real scoring punch off the bench. With the Knicks swarming Josh Smith and Joe Johnson someone else had to convert chances. Marvin Williams did it in the first half and Green (15 points, 6/7 FG in fourth quarter) did it late.
- “Me and Joe have been doing so much, fatigue sets in a little bit,” Josh said. “Whenever you can get the energy off the bench, especially the offensive power like Willie did tonight, it’s definitely needed for this ball club. For us to have the momentum and confidence flowing into the postseason we need our bench to keep consistent like all year long.”
- Green stretches the floor and his pace and purpose complement Josh and (especially) Joe’s more deliberate styles. Maybe that’s not so great Green is not making shots but it’s just what the Hawks need when he’s hot. “I was trying to stay aggressive,” he said. By me staying aggressive, they started to go down. Then another one goes down and another one goes down and the next thing you know you have got it going.”
- Green sat with the back and hamstring injuries for so long you might have forgotten he’s having a career year. He can be a real asset for the Hawks in the postseason, especially if he’s on the floor to benefit from the double teams against Josh and Joe. “I’m learning more and more,” he said. “Teams are going to try to double team those guys. We have just got to be ready to knock down a shot or get to the basket, get to the free-throw line or whatever it takes.”
- Drew: “We’ve certainly been looking for [bench production]. Willie played well before he got hurt, though. He was in a good rhythm, particularly shooting the basketball, and tonight he caught fire. You know teams are going to double team Joe and now they are starting to come on Josh. It’s important that we have good spacing and that we make the right plays out of the double team.”
- Through three quarters Carmelo Anthony had 31 points on 19 shots. In the fourth quarter he had five points on five shots. The Hawks can live with a night when he gets 14 of his 36 points from the line (with a couple suspect calls) and is quiet at the finish while Iman Shumpert (25 points on 14 shots) was the only other Knick helping out.
- Drew: “Melo’s a great player. He’s been playing well for them, Once he gets into a groove, a rhythm they are tough to defend. They are going to give him enough touches. You have got to make him work. He’s going to make shots. I told the guys don’t get discouraged. My concern was putting the ball on the deck and getting to the basket and drawing fouls.”
- Melo did that a few times against Josh and Marvin. When they played the drive, he pulled up for Js. These things happen. “Trying to keep a body on him, stay physical,” Josh said. “He’s definitely an offensive player that likes to create the contact. I was trying to be there throughout game and wear him down. I think me and Marvin did a solid job.”
- Josh defended Melo solo for the most part. Melo had trouble with Josh, too, and so in the fourth quarter Mike Woodson decided to come with early doubles against Josh, who didn’t handle them well. “They were real aggressive on the catch,” Josh said. “They came down before I could even whip my head around and try to find the other guy. They were real persistent with it and I kind of got careless with the basketball. But Willie came in that fourth quarter and made some big shots and made some big plays to get us over the hump.”
- Drew: “You could see their focus was to take it out of Josh’s hands. We’ve been posting him more as of late and we will continue. The thing I’ve emphasized with him is to make the easy play out of the two-time. If they don’t two-time then you back him in and go to your move. If they do come on the two-time just make the right play. A couple times he tried to skip the ball across the court and a guy stole it. He came to the huddle, he knew exactly what I was going to say to him. That’s a good sign for us with him in the post. He’s a guy at times he looks a little clumsy. The thing is he is so long and athletic, a bounce or two away from the basket and you almost have to come [double] him.”
- Josh is 2 for 24 on 3-pointers over his past eight games.
- Joe (28 points on 20 shots) was too much for Landry Fields to handle and was better than Josh against the double teams (he certainly has more experience with them). He continues to shoot well from the 3-point and free-throw lines. It was also ironic (?) that Woody got burned by some familiar Iso-Joe fadeaways.
- Zaza Pachulia missed a couple open jumpers and didn’t get to the line but had four of Atlanta’s nine offensive rebounds and helped prevent Tyson Chandler from using his athleticism around the basket.
- Jeff Teague had a brain freeze late in the third quarter. Chandler was switched on him but he settled for a 3-pointer. He ended up with the ball again but just stood at the top of the key for 14 seconds before passing to Josh posted up 18 feet away from the basket. Josh tried a skip pass and turned it over, and Teague had a touch foul on Shumpert on the break.
- Drew summoned Kirk Hinrich for Teague after that sequence. To Teague’s credit, he was solid in the fourth quarter and had a key steal and blocked shot. “He knows when he comes out and I put him back in it’s never a situation where I’m losing faith in him or confidence in him,” Drew said.
- Very nice line for Marvin: 13 points on seven shots, seven rebounds, two steals, two blocks, one assist and no turnovers. And, as Josh noted, he took some reps against Melo and competed hard. The bench thing is working our for Marvin.
- It wasn’t long ago that it looked like Hinrich was rounding into shape. But he’s looked slow on defensive lately and he’s got to be a factor offensively if he’s going to be on the court with Josh and Joe.
- This didn’t seem to be a Jason Collins kind of game but Collins made a 1:30 cameo. It did seem to be an Ivan Johnson kind of game but he had little impact in nine minutes.
- In the end, the Hawks shredded Woody’s D and smothered Iso-Melo. “I think we all wanted to win this one for coach,” Chandler said. “I think we played hard enough but they made shots and we didn’t. We also turned the ball over [18 times]. I didn’t play particularly well, either. They kept us off the glass tonight.”
- Drew, as you might expect, downplayed the Woody angle. Josh did, too: “We just wanted to get a win. It’s nothing personal.”
- “It was great to see him again,” Joe said. “I’m glad he’s gotten another opportunity to be a head coach and sure he will do everything in his power to finish up strong and give himself a chance to be the coach next year. I think he’s been doing a good job so far. They’ve got some people out but they are working hard.”
- Tracy McGrady came out for pregame warmups and then mysteriously headed back to the locker room just before tip. The Hawks said he was ill but he looked fine before the game. He wasn’t in the locker room by the time media were let in.
- With 12 games to go, the Hawks are a half game behind Indiana for fifth place in the East. “There are some people on our heels trying to catch up and we are trying to do the same to others,” Josh said.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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178 comments Add your comment
Buddy Grizzard
March 31st, 2012
6:21 am
T-Mac won’t be back. He’s not healthy enough to be worth the distraction. Kirk won’t be back… he’s already said he wouldn’t be opposed to a return to CHI. Somebody will offer him exception money and it won’t be the Hawks. He won’t play for the veteran’s minimum to stay here.
I hope to see Green and Pargo back. I hope to never see Collins, Vlad or Damp touch a basketball again.
Buddy Grizzard
March 31st, 2012
6:30 am
So by my calculations, the following players will not be back next season:
Collins
Damp
Hinrich
McGrady
Stack
Vlad they will probably keep, God knows why. So even if they carry 13 players instead of 15, they still have to fill 3 roster spots. Two draft picks could fill two of those. What are some good minimum salary veteran options, looking forward to next year?
Rev in Tampa
March 31st, 2012
6:57 am
“You rarely lose your composure like that, even on posts where you swear there seems to be a “rev limitator”… but not tonight!”
That’s funny. I didn’t consider I have this role on the blog.
I wish my church secretary had a “rev limitator”. She is 75 years old but was the US East Coast Supply Manager Siemens (one of the world’s largest companies) in a day when the ‘glass ceiling’ was a lot thicker than it is today. She is able to do the work of three people. She makes me look a whole lot better than I really am. And she loves me like her own son.
Some of the retired men come into the office just to sit with her, drink coffee and tell stories. They all get to cussing and laughing, but since they can’t hear real well they tend to be quite loud. I worry that visitors will come in while all this is going on and be offended.
She took me to the Hard Rock Casino for my birthday. I know nothing about gambling so she thought it was funny to corrupt me. She won me $450.
Ken Strickland
March 31st, 2012
7:13 am
What in the devil makes LD so doggone sold on the idea that JCollins is better than Dampier? When Collins is in the gm, we get killed on the OFF boards. He lacks the lateral movement, lift, and footspeed to be an effective rebounder or help defender. Dampier, in his limited opportunities, has shown a much greater ability to do all of those things, but LD refuses to take heed.
This is the same BS that both Woody and LD have suffered from in the past when it came to Bibby and Teague. I wonder how Woody felt watching Teague block shots, get steals, and blow by his players to score and dish assists? In other words, do all of the things Woody wouldn’t allow him to do. Why would a so called DEF MINDED HC keep a slow, unathletic, total DEF liability of a PG on his team, let alone play him, when he’s no longer able to score or even get off enough shots to be an OFF factor? THE LOVE AFFAIR CONTINUES!!
Josh did have trouble defending Carmelo, but who doesn’t. However, Carmelo had just as much trouble defending Josh. When they gave him help with Josh, that’s when JJ, Teague and WGreen took advantage. If not for us having so many turnovers, especially unforced turnovers, this would have been a blowout. Too many careless passes
Buddy Grizzard
March 31st, 2012
7:23 am
“If not for us having so many turnovers, especially unforced turnovers, this would have been a blowout.”
Beat me to it.
Rev in Tampa
March 31st, 2012
7:30 am
Ken,
Jason Collins has been to the finals, just like Josh Powell. They bring a winning attitude.
Dawg
March 31st, 2012
8:18 am
If we could get one more energetic wing player like Green was last night, we would be tough.
Next year, we need one more real center (tough, with defense and rebounding) and an energetic wing.
Whether Hortford is a part is this or is used to get the players is a huge question.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 31st, 2012
9:07 am
Marvin is okay at everything BESIDES:
Dribbling
Hitting open jumpshots
SteveW
March 31st, 2012
9:08 am
ATL plays Boston in Boston on April 11th.
After tonite, our schedule until then:
3 days off
H – Charlotte
off day
H – Detroit
off day
@ Charlotte
3 days off
Then Boston
Boston’s schedule until they meet the Hawks:
Miami
2 days off
San Antonio
@ Chicago
day off
@ Indy
Philly
day off
@ Miami
Hawks
If Boston catches the Hawks, they deserve to. We should have 3 W’s, no matter how bad we play against Detroit sometimes.
And the C’s run the gauntlet – the Sixers may recatch them.
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 31st, 2012
9:09 am
Meanwhile the Magic lose a 1 point game to Dallsd 10-99. Anderson misses a point blank layup, (see zaza?). J. Richardson stat line: 6 5 3 2 1. What happened to J.Rich? (he has disappeared). Lamar scores 2 points off the bench, what happened to Lamar’s game?
Great loss to help my Hawks move closer to that #3 spot. Yeah!
SteveW
March 31st, 2012
9:10 am
Knicks – Missing Amare, Lin
Hawks – Missing Al, TMac, Pargo
I thought there were supposed to be know excuses?
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 31st, 2012
9:12 am
I love Marvin’s role off the bench, awesome game for Marvin.
SteveW
March 31st, 2012
9:15 am
So the Celts play: Miami, San Antonio, @Chicago, @Indy, Philly, @Miami before they play us on April 11th.
We play, starting tomorrow: Charlotte, Detroit, @Charlotte before we play Boston on the 11th of April.
Now let’s just go beat the Sixers tonite and get some rest. The Wiz pummeled the Sixers last nite.
doc
March 31st, 2012
9:17 am
Enter your comments heredrmaryb.[*_*].
March 31st, 2012
2:09 am
The reason Horford tore his chest muscle is because he showed up in camp out of shape and, to play himself into shape. Tragic! (Mr. Omar’s voice) Just Tragic!
LinkReport this comment
sadly dmb you are sooooo wrong here as only the fittest and strongest usually get this injury or people tyat have terrible falls with an out reached arm and the tendon of tye pec ruptures. it is a devastating and painful injury that can take years to recover from completely. here is something to read up on:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/407371-torn-pectoral-muscles-from-basketball/
again aa a healer and body worker you should not be making false sratementsxas they carry more weight and you should be the most responsible here to getting tyese things right. no foundation for the accusation.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 31st, 2012
9:28 am
Go ahead and write off tonight’s 88-82 loss as “We were too tired”
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 31st, 2012
9:29 am
“Now let’s just go beat the Sixers tonite”
LOL
SteveW
March 31st, 2012
9:30 am
The Hawks next season? As it stands now:
C – ZaZa, plus two wide loads to back him up
PF – Al, Ivan, and I wish Keith Benson, who could also play some athletic C in spots.
SF – Josh, Marvin
SG – JJ, Green
PG – Teague
That’s 11 if you count the Kito deal, who GSW has now. Need a couple of backup PG’s. Hinrich, Pargo, Sloan (who the Cavs have now)? Draft pick? I know we need 3 PG’s on this team.
DraftExpress has us getting a SF from Vandy – sounds good. If he’s available, take him.
Take a flyer on Fab Melo if he drops to you in the 2nd round?
And Hawks radio has made Josh “the man”. In ads, it’s all about Josh. They really are trying to keep him it looks like.
And yeh, I could see Coach TT wanting Kirk.
Will stelten
March 31st, 2012
9:32 am
Michael Cunningham……read your last bullet point again. It makes no sense. You should always read what you write before you post it
SteveW
March 31st, 2012
9:33 am
“no” excuses, not “know” excuses – my bad
`
March 31st, 2012
9:52 am
Enter your comments here
Ken Strickland
March 31st, 2012
9:54 am
REV IN TAMPA-I know you were just kidding, but he can bring that same winning attitude while sitting on the bench watching Dampier do a better job of what he should be doing. I’d love to see us bring this same bench back, minus Stackhouse, TMac, and Collins, and draft a more athletic big.
Scooby
March 31st, 2012
9:55 am
Joe Johnson’s MVP run continued tonight?
EXCUSE ME?
THIS TEAMS MVP THIS YEAR IS CLEARLY JOSH SMITH, EASILY.
This years burst is Al Horford. easily.
darrell starks
March 31st, 2012
10:04 am
Josh 41 min
Joe 39 min
LD is not doing a good job with his rotation.
9 or 10 man rotation is a must.
look how Bulls coach rotate his players and keep everyone fresh so they can play non stop top defense, when will this guy lear. SMH
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
doc
March 31st, 2012
10:34 am
i know there are some that question my ability to reed and right but i do take the time to read the new york times every day for interesting obs on the world. i certainly dont write about them heh heh only share the ones that are somewhat on point for the blog.
here is the ny take on the game, talk about excuses for getting whipped:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/31/sports/basketball/new-york-knicks-versus-atlanta-hawks.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120331
enjoy as the new york times is going to require payment now after ten articles per month read from their site. talk about arrogance and taking something away free? oh the humanity!
Snoop Dogg
March 31st, 2012
10:39 am
ONLY A FOOL WOULD PUT AL AT THE POWER FORWARD OVER JOSH….
SMOKE WEED EVERY DAY. JOSH IS OUR TEAMS STARTING POWER FORWARD WHY START THE LOCKER ROOM FIGHTING ALL OVER AGAIN?
This bull about putting low scoring no defensive al at the Josh’s position is idiotic. The object is to put you best team forward… not to find a position for your favorite player.
Who cares whether Houdini Al makes it back for the play offs. He disappears in the playoffs and is injury prone. We get his 12pts and 8 rebounds from ZaZa and Ivan. So Al is not needed and will never be the power forward that Josh is.
He was lazy in the off season and his Injury was because he speed rushed his self into shape. His game is 1 dimensional and he is the Hawks laziest defender in the post by far. Ivan proved that. There is no why this jerk should even be on the team next year.
Al is trade bait. The team plays better without him and he no longer fits. He is not going to play Josh’s position so forget that
Snoop Dogg
March 31st, 2012
10:41 am
There is no way this jerk al should even be on the team next year.
Snoop Dogg
March 31st, 2012
10:46 am
Ill take Amare over Al and Lin Over Tmac and Pargo….
Didnt Amare Punk Al last year… call him out and then Punked him?
But then Al Doesnt like playing defense anyway
drmaryb.[*_*].
March 31st, 2012
10:52 am
The Tea Party!
Hey Rev in Tampa, great story about the tea party At the church. Better turn those hearing aids up – heh! LOL
__________
Hawks win a great game, I’m happy. Hey Al my friend, get it shape and get well soon. We miss you on the hard court. See ya next year – buddy.
brigadierjerry
March 31st, 2012
10:54 am
najeh,northclyde or whoever does anyone know the hawks attendance the year after they took the celtics to seven games and where they ranked?
also was somewhat suprised there were more empty seats for a game like that. was the game sold out. although it wont happen, hawks knicks would be a pretty good series if they meet in playoffs.
i think outside of celtics,heat,bulls hawks can beat anyone else in the playoffs in the east
Rufus1
March 31st, 2012
10:58 am
Woody the fake defensive coach…and NO-OFFENSIVE COACH
Toney Douglass is sitting on his bench and he plays 2 of the oldest and slowest PG’s in the LAND….
That only proves that Teague would never receive any real playing with him as the coach….And BIBBY would still be on this roster.
When the playoffs come the KNICKS will get destroyed, because they don’t have the kind of offense to win against good teams…….
YOU CAN’T WIN IN THE PLAYOFFS WITH AN AAU OFFENSE.
Rufus1
March 31st, 2012
11:01 am
Woody as a defensive coach….HA
We ran the same play for Willie and he made no adjustment…..
brigadierjerry
March 31st, 2012
11:04 am
rufus woody said last night he is going to play toney douglas bu to be fair dantoni dint play douglass after lin came into the picture.
rufus who is expecting the knicks to do anything in the playoffs?only chance they have if they get the sixth seed or 4th to avoid bulls or heat
brigadierjerry
March 31st, 2012
11:11 am
the knicks play better defense this year because they have better defensive players such as shumpert and chandler. even melo has played better d. they wont do much this year lot of banged up players but next year they will probably better with full season
shumpert looks like a solid player. ny has some decent young players shmpert, fields lin even harrelson novack can shoot
BIG DOG
March 31st, 2012
11:12 am
Snoop Dogg- Don’t you no weed is a curse and have the brain malfunction upon imprecating of evil spirits.
STOP SMOKING WEED BRO.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slimjr
March 31st, 2012
11:13 am
Fire Buddy…………….
BIG DOG
March 31st, 2012
11:16 am
Hawks have a chance when Horford come back, plus going back two a bigger line up with Josh at the 3 and Joe playing the 2 will give the Hawks a better chance in the playoffs.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
BIG DOG
March 31st, 2012
11:20 am
Teague, Joe, Josh, Horford, Zaza
is a better lineup.
Teague, Hinrich, Joe, Josh, Zaza.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
Rufus1
March 31st, 2012
11:27 am
brigadierjerry,
Woody is a “defensive” coach…Dantoni isn’t. He benched Douglass because he couldn’t run his offense, Woodson doesn’t have an offense. Also, Douglass is a better offensive and defensive player than BDavis or Bibby, they are better PG’s….Woody doesn’t need a real PG, he runs ISO 80% of the time.
PS. Davis, Bibby and Shumpert ran the point last night(71min, ONLY 6 ast)….2 defensive liabilities and Douglass= Shumpert as a PG…..Asking BDavis or Bibby to Guard Teague, looks like DEJA VU.
phil
March 31st, 2012
11:35 am
Back a winner – support Mercer.
DawgNole
March 31st, 2012
11:39 am
doc
March 30th, 2012
11:55 pm
dawgnole and others, the atlanta fan is a dying breed, especially in big games like tonight. the fan is almost extinct from where i was standing. there were 4 to 5 knick fans there to the 1 atlanta fan. 2 minutes left a stream of orange and blue was heading to the exit. yes, i was childish enough to ride them and wave them home. the atl fans there at the end were not enough to give these guys credit for a very well played and hard fought game.
jeff teague was almost flawless, marvin working, green playing his best impersonation of flip and jamal but under control and smart, jj dealing and josh pretty much doing his thang and only getting frustrated minimally. but yes, i am fed up with the atlanta sports fan as i dont see them there when they should be.
now about those “loose thumbs” and it relates to my first tirade. man, if my thumbs got loose in there i would have had my phone easily knocked from my hands. those fans were streaming everywhere and not paying attention to me as big as i am. they were in throngs buying and supporting the basg at the concession stands moving in huge masses through the concourse which were thriving tonight as no other night i can remember this year. this is what it used to be like for big games only there were morw atl fans there. now, not so much.
go hawks! 0-45!
______________________
Take another look at your last statement: “0-45!” That’s the reason I can’t blame ATL fans for their apathy. And that’s just the Hawks. Remember, 154 seasons w/ONE championship (’95 Braves). UNacceptable.
I was just “joshing” you about those loose thumbs.
Guido
March 31st, 2012
11:41 am
Great lineup and great win
DawgNole
March 31st, 2012
11:43 am
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 30th, 2012
11:51 pm
“Half game behind Indiana, 1.5 games behind Orlando, and two games ahead of 7 seed Philly. Tomorrow’s game is huge. Win tomorrow and you can almost ensure that you won’t be playing Miami or Chicago in the first round.”
Not really. We still have to play Dallas, LAC, Boston (twice I believe), the Knicks again. Nothing is a sure bet, especially with this team
_________________
“Nothing is a sure bet, especially with this team.”
Very, very true.
Slimjr
March 31st, 2012
11:48 am
Rematch: 4-22-12 @ Phillips! Amare’ and Lin should be back by then…
Al should not play this year..Besides he said he’s going to play down in some Dominican pickup league this Summer.. Good luck…
Guido
March 31st, 2012
12:00 pm
Atlanta needs to believe and support this team there are worst franchises in the NBA. Atlanta fans don’t know when they have something good. When it becomes really bad like the Braves Falcons and Hawks were until this point in recent history fans cry just to make the playoffs. Stop being so fair weather and wishy and washy. I get the impression Atlanta fans want to be bandwagon and front runners like the Knicks and Heat fans. Atlanta should be more like OKC, San Antonio, Golden State and even Portland. The latter are 2 franchises who have had worst luck than Atlanta in recent years. Their fans still come out and support.
Hawks are a pretty damn good team!
Indiana has 0 rings, Orlando 0, NJ 0 rings, Toronto 0, Memphis 0, Utah 0
Guido
March 31st, 2012
12:03 pm
We are going to need everyone for the postseason Hawks fans. Horford included! This team if they want to win will figure out how to play together.
BIG DOG
March 31st, 2012
12:05 pm
Slimjr- I have bad news for you if Horford not return this year look for and early first round exit.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 31st, 2012
12:06 pm
“Rematch: 4-22-12 @ Phillips! Amare’ and Lin should be back by then…”
Amazing that game is on National TV and they couldn’t get this one on (although we are allergic to winning games that are on National TV).
Hopefully by then we have solidified a playoff seed (we play the Clipps and Mavs after that game…ouch) and can just rest guys. Let Amar’e and Melo showboat. That team is going nowhere.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 31st, 2012
12:07 pm
Nobody on this blog has any idea how this team plays tonight.
We could win (extremely unlikely), we could lose by 6 (88-82 is my prediction), or we could lose 109-80. Who knows?
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
March 31st, 2012
12:08 pm
All I’m saying is this team picks certain nights where it blatantly does not show up.
hawkville
March 31st, 2012
12:10 pm
good game, need this game tonight