Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 116, Pistons 84
Vivlamore reporting from Philips Arena. Here is my updated game story, with quotes, for those who would like to comment.
No letdown, only a smackdown.
The Hawks erased any concern they would fall to an inferior opponent minutes into a 116-84 utter dismantling of the Pistons at Philips Arena Wednesday night. They set season-highs for points in a quarter (39) and points in a half (72) in building an early lead the Pistons had no hope of overcoming.
Consider:
- The Hawks led 39-20 after the first quarter as nine different players scored.
- They led 72-42 at the half as all 12 available players entered the scoring column. The .622 shooting percentage was the best of the first half all season. The Hawks led by as many as 37 points in the second quarter. The lead eventually reached 41 in the fourth quarter.
- Joe Johnson logged the most first-half minutes of any starter with just 12. Many starters jumped to their feet and waved towels as the reserves continued to pour it on.
- The Pistons made only 15 of 44 shots (.341) in the first half. The Pistons ended the first half with 42 points, a total the Hawks had reached with 11:28 remaining in the second quarter.
- The Philips Arena crowd even attempted the wave in the third quarter.
The Hawks (37-25) were guarding against a letdown similar to the one suffered against the Raptors on Sunday, a loss they rebounded from the following night in Toronto. They led by 10 points with 7:33 remaining in the first quarter, by 20 with 11:44 left in the second quarter and by 30 with 4:42 left in the first half.
“That’s two games in a row we came out with a lot of energy,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “After a poor start against Toronto as far as our energy was concerned, we came out tonight and we got off to a good start really getting up and down the floor, moving the ball well and once we started going to the bench they energy was there as well.”
The Hawks kept pace with the Celtics (37-26), Friday night’s opponent, who defeated the Magic Wednesday. On the line over the final four games is the right to host a first-round playoff series. The Hawks, currently fifth in the Eastern Conference, will try to avenge two earlier season losses to the Celtics, who currently would be their first-round playoff opponent.
“I’m not sure what happened Sunday, but we are ahead now,” Joe Johnson said. “We control our own destiny. We just have to win out and everything else will take care of itself. Every game from here on out is important. We knew we let one get away our last home game so we wanted to come out and really set the tone.”
With four home games remaining in the regular season, the Hawks are searching for consistency and momentum going into the postseason.
The Hawks have won two consecutive and six of their past eight. They won the season series with the Pistons, 3-1, and ran their home winning streak against them to eight games.
The Hawks had six players in double-figures scoring, led by Tracy McGrady with a season-high 17 points. The others were Ivan Johnson (16), Joe Johnson (13), Josh Smith (12), Marvin Williams (10) and Willie Green (10). The team also recorded a season-high 72 bench points.
“With the guys we have coming off the bench, some of them could be starters on other teams, we’ve got veteran guys that know how to play and we provide great energy on both ends,” McGrady said.
The Pistons (23-39) lost for the sixth time in eight games. They were led by Greg Monroe with 17 points. They closed the game on an 11-2 run, as they Hawks went on a stretch of 4:21 without scoring, and still lost by 32 points. They prevented the Hawks from surpassing their largest margin of victory of the season (36 points versus the Nets on Dec. 27).
“It was very important considering these last few ball games we are still playing for something,” Joe Johnson said of the fast start. “The starters came out and set the tone and the bench came in and maintained and went a little higher. That meant a lot. That means everybody was very focused and aware of what we need to accomplish.”
Mission accomplished on this night.
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121 comments Add your comment
drmaryb.(*_*).
April 19th, 2012
2:18 am
Swimming Pool!
I would alson put zaza in a swimming pool, on his belly, hands on the side walls and, let him paddle his feet three sessions per day for about 300 total reps @ 100 ea.
Warm dead sea salts foot soaks. Bio-Freeze analgesic rubbing gel for pain. Anti-InflammatorY (NSAIDS) for pain after pool work, RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevate).
Mommy hugs and, Ben & Jerry’s (Chunkey Monkey) Ice Cream. LOL. I’m sure SlimJr would throw in a couple of “shoe models” to add to that.
Better yet, just send zaza to the Phoenix Suns training room, they got a 50K cryotherapy chamber. They’ll just freese his azz and use some rubber bands. LOL!
________
Nique’s “ole girl” works for The Dream front office, she gave me her card and has the hook up on “Hawks Tickets” I’ll check on the play offs tickets availability and, let yawl know wassup for premium seating options.
Peace Out.
Grandad
April 19th, 2012
3:06 am
T-Mac
Low post Scorer
Secret Weapon for the play-offs
High-sider
April 19th, 2012
3:08 am
The Atlanta Hawks Franchise and its fans should push/lobby for Jeff Teague to be [voted as] MIP [Most Improved Player] of the Year. FU [Forget you] Ryan Anderson.
BTW, the Hawks are [currently] last in attendance. [smh]
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ATL/2012.html
clay
April 19th, 2012
3:39 am
These guys are looking pretty deep. All of the injuries over the season might be a blessing in disguise, since it gave the bench guys a lot of minutes.
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
5:06 am
If LD had half a brain for the game against Boston, this would be the starting lineup(the could be a test lineup in case they don’t have Zaza for the playoffs):
Teague
JJ
Tmac
Marvin(Gaurds Pierce very well)
Josh
Have Kirk come off the bench to gaurd Ray Allen. The rest is plug in play. Since Doc likes to take out KG at the five minute mark, LD can put Ivan on him off the bench.
Josh can handle KG on the outside to prevent that long jumper, and since KG isn’t that big, can handle him on the post. He just has to be physical on him off the ball to prevent a post under the basket. Zaza is a horrible option on him anyways, since he doesn’t like to gaurd the outside shot. Collins is too slow, as well.
I know I can hear the collective grunts with Marvin starting, but he would add length and defense to the starting unit.
That would be my ‘plan B’ without Zaza.
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
5:06 am
this could be*
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
5:34 am
“To be honest, the way Zaza has played this year, I would have framed that question by saying Teague/Joe/Josh/Zaza gives you 4 quality players on the floor, so look for a 5th guy to join them. At this point I really have no idea how much of T-Mac’s sporadic playing time is related to injuries, how much is related to poor practice habits, and how much is related to LD’s incompetence. But if he is capable of playing every game like he played this one — and he has generally played well when given more than spot minutes — then there’s no reason why he can’t be that 5th guy.”
I agree Tmac should start over Kirk, especially since he can gaurd Ray Allen off the bench; but is Zaza truly the answer to KG? Zaza is horrible guarding the outside shot, so maybe having Marvin on Pierce/Josh on KG would be better. They had to switch to that the previous game because Zaza was getting owned, remember? That’s how they stopped the Celtics a ton of times in a row.
“The problem is that he is so instrumental in the bench’s ability to score that moving him into the starting 5 might not benefit the team as a whole.”
In the playoffs(thinking ahead here) the rotations are small, anyways. So, I don’t think the bench scoring would be an issue without Tmac. The main priority is to prevent the main five from scoring.
“There is no perfect solution to this problem, because this roster is unbalanced with respect to positions (too many guards, not enough big men). At least in the playoffs, though, I would start Ivan, bring T-Mac off the bench, and let T-Mac finish games with the starters (like he did in the early season road win at Miami). Against Boston, going with this bigger lineup allows the Hawks to dictate matchups rather than vice versa. Joe will be matched up on someone he can post up, the Celtics will pay on the glass if they put KG on Josh, and since Ray Allen comes off the bench now, the Hawks should bring Kirk off the bench since he is the Hawks player most comfortable chasing players around screens.”
Is there really a problem? Maybe the C position issue the Hawks are having is a blessing in disguise. Look at my starting line up and tell me that wouldn’t work. You still have length to rebound, plus defense that can shut down their starters.
“Starters Teague-Joe-Josh-Ivan-Zaza
Bench Pargo-Green-Kirk-TMac-Marvin (not all playing at the same time)
Finishers Teague-Joe-TMac-Josh-(whoever between Ivan and Zaza has played better or matches up better in any given game)
Spectators Collins, Dampier, Vlad”
Starters: Teague, JJ, Tmac, Marvin, Josh
Bench: Kirk, Ivan, Zaza, Green, Pargo
If it’s an eight man rotation, it shouldn’t be an issue. The starting five are what truly matters.
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
5:35 am
Of course, this lineup will only work against the Celts.
drmaryb.(*_*).
April 19th, 2012
5:50 am
Najeh and Biggie Lou!
I love Najeh’s game plan A and the reasons for it.
I love Biggie Lou’s comments to that and his rationale too for plan B.
Great posts. The caveat is a healthy Zaza, my fingers are crossed. I’m just concerned because no one elaborate on the details and level of severity.
Did anyone see what happened to him? That concerns m$e most, because something could have just popped loose in that foot without any contact ore MOI.
Sort of like saying, I was chewing gum and my disc blew out in my back when I went to spit it out. Oh well.
drmaryb.(*_*).
April 19th, 2012
5:53 am
* because no one has elaborated on …
Big Daddy
April 19th, 2012
6:11 am
Great win for the guys over an inferior opponent. They did a good job of passing the ball and attacking the rim.
Dr. Mary B, on Zaza. Marvin fell down as Zaza had turned to run down court and fell on his lower leg twisting his ankle. Bizarre, unfortunate incident.
brigadierjerry
April 19th, 2012
6:22 am
Well barring anything crazy, it will be Celtics Hawks in the playoff series only thing is to determine who gets homecourt. I actually like the Hawks bench better than the Celtics bench. It is interesting to see the extent of zaza injury.
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
6:31 am
I think Zaza is just being held out for the playoffs. I doubt the injury is THAT serious. Yet, it does give an opportunity for LD to use the bench more, which can help in the long run.
Buddy Grizzard
April 19th, 2012
6:37 am
Has anybody heard any follow up since I posted about the Toronto color analyst revealing the reason behind Ivan’s suspension? Has anyone with the Hawks or the AJC addressed it?
BIG DOG
April 19th, 2012
6:50 am
Great win by the Hawks.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
BIG DOG
April 19th, 2012
6:57 am
LD has the best bench in the NBA, don’t change up come playoffs keep the same 10man rotation.
For all you Collins hater’s him in middle on defense making it more difficult for teams to score so easy in the paint as he become more healthy, who care’s about his offense.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
drmaryb.(*_*).
April 19th, 2012
6:58 am
Big Daddy
Thank you so much. Well that about sums up Marvin’s carrer …. Falling down in the paint and taking out something so valuable to his team.
I feel better about the fact that there was a MOI. Shall we say: friendly fire? So, like I was thinking, his foot was planted and, a force was applied as zaza was making a basketball move.
This is bad because it is a closed kinetic chain. Had the foot been in space, (an open kinetic chain) there would have been no injury here.
Ship that clumsy Marvin outa’ here. Both he and zaza are so uncoordinated, sort of like the three stooges:
There is always enough blame to go around, in this case however, at least Zaza never falls down. Boy! This makes me dislike Marvin’s game in the paint even more.
The NBA Draft has Hawks taking Terrwnce Jones and, the negative that stood out to me was his awkward gait and loss of explosion with any contact in the paint. We sure don’t want to see that again.
When will we stop drafting tweener forwards and, go get that big man project? Or, is it gonna be zaza and Al at center as twin towers and go get those two a back up center, like Kaman off the bench while we keep trying to get that big man scoring small forward?
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
April 19th, 2012
7:18 am
Even with those guys possibly out for BOS, it’ll still be tough.
And MAN, Willie needs to hit those shots
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
7:42 am
“Even with those guys possibly out for BOS, it’ll still be tough.”
I say the Hawks win by ten without those players in the lineup. No Rondo = No chance for Boston against ATL. Rondo was the only reason why they won last time(20 dimes). Marvin locks down Pierce very well.
drmaryb.(*_*).
April 19th, 2012
7:45 am
Shooting Blanks!
GM-JeJe .. Ha Ha, Willie ain’t shooting no blanks back at the crib. 6LB baby boy need shoes, he better find his pea shooter quick if, he wants a return gig next season.
Conversely, Ivan playing like “baby debo” is hungry. His kid was probably born with a full set of teeth, cause (9 to 5) iS ballin’!
_________
So, wassup with Rondo and Allen? They hurt or, just resting? Looks like Dwight has shut it down till next year, he’ll be back when SVG is gone looks like. Those two have never gotten along, SVG is intense and serious minded and Howard loves to do his “Get Silly” thang.
Meanwhile, give Drew credit for having his team chemistry on point and even keel.
Grandad
April 19th, 2012
7:54 am
Buddy G
‘` Has anybody heard any follow up
since I posted about the Toronto color analyst
revealing the reason behind Ivan’s suspension?
Has anyone with the Hawks or the AJC addressed it? `’
I missed your post.
What was said ?
Please repost or give the date & time of original
-&-
I`ll go back and read what you had to say.
doc
April 19th, 2012
7:57 am
a bit on bibby:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/sports/basketball/knicks-mike-bibby-makes-contribution-at-point-guard.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120419
Mike is Back
April 19th, 2012
8:04 am
TREMENDOUS EFFORT by the Hawks!
WOW, what can U say about the way the bench turn it on in the second quarter. I know it was the Pistons…BUT it was still a thing of beauty.
GO HAWK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
doc
April 19th, 2012
8:07 am
bg, their actins speakswords for them. let the menbe ken and handle it like a manshould one ione not like a gssipy old woman. od has been slmost fwaturing him with zaza out and ivan has delivered at an even highee level. your motives are disngenuous at best and mire about “repoirting” andnot about cohesin of the team. if ivan is barking while a coach is caching and out of order then it needed to be done as both men that lived through it have shown by their behavior. do what they did and move on as they say it is irrelevant.
doc
April 19th, 2012
8:09 am
wow mike is back is back.
DawgNole
April 19th, 2012
9:20 am
HUGE credibility game Friday night–and on national TV (espn).
Yeah, we go to the playoffs win or lose, but need to start RIGHT NOW shaking that rep of not being able to take The Big One.
EARN that playoff berth, Hawks. Earn it by showing up tomorrow night!
Astro Joe
April 19th, 2012
9:42 am
Al’s comments during the game telecast last night didn’t inspire much confidence that he will be back for the first playoff game. he talked about not being comfortable with his shoulder. I took it as meaning that he is still learning his body after the injury. it reminded me of how sometimes a player overcompensates another set of muscles while trying to avoid doing something that doesn’t feel right. I’m sure all of this will come across to some as Al being soft. All I know is that dude is still a young and very good player and I don;t want him to do more damage in hopes that the Hawks can lose better. I hope that it all comes together (especially since Zaza’s return is not known), but I’m not convinced that a one-armed Horford would provide much value to the squad.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 19th, 2012
9:48 am
Dwight Howard may be out for the playoffs. That 3 seed sure would have been nice.
O'brien
April 19th, 2012
9:49 am
Good win for the Hawks.
Steve W,
One thing that makes Pierce so tough despite his age is he knows to get to the FT line. That has never been part of JJ’s game. And nobody wants Marvin, Kirk and a 1st round pick that will be well outside the lottery.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 19th, 2012
9:52 am
“I’m very concerned about zaza’s return najeh. I can not pencil him in as of yet. What is your plan B, because I loved your plan A. should we waive Eric and pick up a D-leaguer to back up Ivan and Collins?”
First of all I love how we get inside medical information from you and doc every time someone gets hurt.
If Zaza is out and Al isn’t ready to go (I am assuming he won’t be) there really isn’t a good plan B. I guess they could go get someone like Keith Benson, but at this point in the season, any big man who can play would have been picked up by someone on a 10 day contract. Also, it is too late to sign players to add to the postseason roster (although there may be some kind of injury exception, who knows).
I think Ivan has to start at C in that situation (Teague-Kirk-Joe-Josh-Ivan), the bench has to go small (possibly Josh or even Marvin at C from time to time) and we will have to hold our noses and put up with Collins or Dampier whenever the small lineup isn’t getting it done. I don’t think they can beat Boston with that lineup, though.
O'brien
April 19th, 2012
9:53 am
FTPB,
Najeh,
I don’t understand how Dumars still has a job. He spent all the cap space on Ben Gordon and Villanueva, and has made some bad draft picks.
As for Dwight being out, I never understood why he picked up his 1 year option. I think he should have kept his mouth shut like Lebron did (during the season), and then make his decision over the summer.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 19th, 2012
9:58 am
“BTW, the Hawks are [currently] last in attendance. [smh]”
That link shows aggregate attendance. The Hawks have played the fewest home games in the league, so they are being compared to other teams that have played more home games.
With that said they are still not going to finish higher than, say, 22nd, even though they have at least 2 more sellouts coming (I’d be surprised if the Knicks and Clippers games didn’t sell out).
Najeh Davenpoop
April 19th, 2012
10:00 am
“but is Zaza truly the answer to KG? Zaza is horrible guarding the outside shot, so maybe having Marvin on Pierce/Josh on KG would be better. ”
That may work, but Marvin is so much better off the bench that I was trying to keep him there.
If Zaza is not available, they may have no choice but to start Marvin at SF and Josh at C, which may not be so bad since Josh guards KG anyway.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 19th, 2012
10:04 am
“I don’t understand how Dumars still has a job. He spent all the cap space on Ben Gordon and Villanueva, and has made some bad draft picks.
As for Dwight being out, I never understood why he picked up his 1 year option. I think he should have kept his mouth shut like Lebron did (during the season), and then make his decision over the summer.”
Winning a championship evidently gets you a really long leash up in Detroit.
The thing is, one impact move can completely change a GM’s fortunes around. If Dumars gets the #1 pick and drafts Davis this summer, he’ll probably get an extension in a couple of years.
Dwight reminds me of a kindergartener in the candy aisle who has to decide what candy he likes most. I don’t think he has a clue what he wants to do.
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
10:27 am
“That may work, but Marvin is so much better off the bench that I was trying to keep him there.”
NBA is about matchups. I think he would be more useful guarding Pierce than guarding scrubs off the bench. He did close the game out last time they played on him. Pierce missed a lot of contested shots at first, but ATL couldn’t close it out and eventually Pierce made an attempt.
Rod from College Park
April 19th, 2012
10:42 am
“MEMO TO LARRY DREW, PLAY THE MAN!!!!!! PUT YOUR ISH aside and play T-Mac 25-30 mins per game in the Playoffs..ISO will be targeted to be neutralized..He will need help offensively big time!!”
Could not have said it better myself. TMac is the only way we advance out of the first round (unless we play Orlando), particularly if we play Boston.
Slimjr
April 19th, 2012
11:30 am
Figures Marvin took out his own man…
Greyhound is ready!
it was a “turrible” pick……wow
Slimjr
April 19th, 2012
11:32 am
Pierce will absolutely destroy Marvin…
Slimjr
April 19th, 2012
11:35 am
Paul is in a zone right now in case you haven’t been watching. Heck he posted 43 pts. against the Knicks and everything he put up was contested!
Slimjr
April 19th, 2012
11:44 am
Pierce looks for contact, ISO does not..Big difference. Its just the way they are wired..
That is what makes Paul’s game so dangerous in the playoffs and why at times Joe struggles in the big games when his jumper is off because he is under constant stress being harassed out on the perimeter by superior playoff defenders..
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
11:48 am
Slimjr
Instead of talking out of your @ss, how about you back it up with true stats.
Paul Pierce was 6-19 with Marvin gaurding him last game. He was 4-14 the first game we played them. He didn’t even break 18 points both times they played.
That’s called backing up what I am saying with proof. Marvin locks down Pierce VERY well.
Marvin might be offensively challenged, but he has always been a good defender against bigger(not as quick) gaurds like Pierce.
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
11:52 am
“Heck he posted 43 pts. against the Knicks and everything he put up was contested!”
He had 18 FT attempts. You better score 43 with that many shots.
TMACfan
April 19th, 2012
11:53 am
Give credit where credit is due.
Marvin has played Peirce well.
Slimjr
April 19th, 2012
11:54 am
Celtics 2-0, Hawks 0-2. Here’s a stat azz talker….
Slimjr
April 19th, 2012
11:55 am
Thats why Pierce will eat Marvin alive in the playoffs…He will generate contact and get the calls Genius..
TMACfan
April 19th, 2012
11:56 am
The most previous game had terrible refs… so that doesn’t count.
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
11:56 am
Both games the Hawks and Celts played didn’t even break 90 points. That’s because the Hawks play better defense than the Knicks. That’s why the Hawks beat NY last game. And now with Amare coming back, I garuntee that the Hawks will have an easier chance beating them.
The old azz Celtics put up 110 points in four quarters against the Knicks. That’s pretty sh!tty defense.
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
12:00 pm
Slimjr
So you are going by what ifs? Why didn’t he generate calls the past two games?
Also, I’m not talking about wins and losses. I’m talking about putting Marvin in the starting lineup to gaurd Pierce to give the Hawks a better chance to win.
By the way, they’ve only won by one shot both games, and the Hawks gave the second game away from the poor play of JJ.
Big Lou
April 19th, 2012
12:02 pm
TMACfan
You can’t please trolls. They don’t look at things objectively. I’m out. The ignorance is outstanding.
PS
I know you are happy to see Tmac lighting it up. I hope you saw my previous post where I want him to start.
northcyde
April 19th, 2012
12:20 pm
Playoff rotation ( with Zaza )
PG: Teague ( 36 ) – Pargo ( 12 )
G: Hinrich ( 20 ) – Johnson ( 18 ) – McGrady ( 10 )
F: Johnson ( 22 ) – Marvin ( 16 ) – McGrady ( 10 )
PF: Smith ( 32 ) – Ivan ( 8 ) – Marvin ( 8 )
C: Zaza ( 28 ) – Ivan ( 12 ) – Smith ( 8 )
Total minutes
Johnson – 40
Smith – 40
Teague – 36
Zaza – 28
Marvin – 24
Ivan – 20
McGrady – 20
Hinrich – 20
Pargo – 12
Willie Green only plays if Hinrich and/or Pargo are struggling . . or if the team needs an offensive boost because no one can hit a shot. Green and/or Marvin’s time may increase, depending on how McGrady plays. Vlad, Collins dress out . . Dampier in street clothes
******************
Playoff rotation ( without Zaza )
PG: Teague ( 36 ) – Pargo ( 12 )
G: Hinrich ( 22 ) – Johnson ( 16 ) – McGrady ( 10 )
F: Johnson ( 24 ) – McGrady ( 16 ) – Marvin ( 8 )
PF: Smith ( 28 ) – Marvin ( 20 )
C: Collins ( 10 ) – Ivan ( 26 ) – Smith ( 12 )
Total minutes
Johnson – 40
Smith – 40
Teague – 36
Ivan – 28
Marvin – 28
McGrady – 26
Hinrich – 22
Pargo – 12
Collins – 10
Green plays if Hinrich or Pargo are struggling. Dampier plays under emergency ( since he’s not in shape ) . Vlad plays if the frontline is in foul trouble. Vlad, Green, and Marvin may get extended minutes depending on how McGrady plays