Updated: Pachulia out versus Celtics

Grandad,

I was not commenting on Fab Melo’s worth. Never seen him play, not even on youtube clips.

My comment was about how high 7′ with perceived talent/skill are picked and that he would not fall so far in the draft order.

Thabeet is an example that actually goes in favor of my argument: the list of crappy 7′ picked high in the first round is big enough to make a human belt around the globe.

Unless Fab Melo completely sucks in his try outs, there will be certainly a GM on #5 to #10 which will take a flier on him.

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” A bench player who by and large didn’t do sh-t for the last two seasons shouldn’t come in and be an upgrade over an All NBA player in any respect.”

Totally Agree.

“Night in and night out, no other Hawks player has to contend with anywhere close to the number of disadvantages that Horford does. He usually goes up against centers that are taller, bigger, stronger, or all of the above, on a routine basis. Even with all of these consistent disadvanges, he has still managed to not only hold his own, but perform at an ALLSTAR and ALLPRO level. I don’t know of any soft asses, especially at OC, that can function at that level.”

No one on this team deals with more defensive responsibility, or mismatches than Josh Smith. Josh has guarded everything from top notch 2 guards to centers. Al is scared of Dwight Howard, and wants nothing to do with him, Josh is not. Al is a good man to man defender, but his help defense is not good at all. Even though a lot of centers are bigger than Al, he has the quickness and agility qualities that balance the size difference out. Simply put, he has just become soft.

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Everyone does realize LD won’t have Orlando to kick around this playoff season and make them look like they are contenders?
If we can’t get by Boston this year, we will never get past them….where is Slim to remind me how many years its been?

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Fab Melo was the reason why Syracuse didn’t win the National Title this year. He was the defensive rock that completed that team. The only game the Cuse lost this year, was when he did not play. If you’re looking for a backup center, especially with the impending loss of Zaza looming over this franchise after next season, Melo may be the way to go.

Grandad is right that Festus Ezeli may be the better prospect. He’s not as good defensively, but he’s much more polished offensively. The only drawback to both guys is that neither is what you’d consider a very good rebounder.

If I were to give an NBA comparison, Fab Melo would be more along the lines of a Theo Ratliff . . while Festus Ezeli would be closer to Nazr Mohammed. Take your pick.

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Hawks have to jump on the Celtics hard tonight. No Rondo or Allen…..Hawks have to take advantage of this. Getting homecourt for the first round is essential.

KevinM, I’ve heard Rick Sund speak on a few occasions at season ticket holder events. He is not a bad public speaker. I’ve never gotten the feeling that he was being overly guarded with his words.

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“Boston is going to be a division champion. A non-division championship team with a record better than a division champion (or champions, plural) can be seeded higher — but just the single winningest non-division champion can do that under NBA rules. The Hawks are three games behind the No. 3 Pacers (40-22), who have won six straight but cannot catch their division-leading Bulls.”

Hawks have to pass Pacers to get home court. not gonna happen.

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There’s the news that Doc might be sitting Garnett and Pierce too:

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/20/both-garnett-pierce-to-sit-out-friday-celtics-game-vs-hawks/

They really don’t care where they play us. which is scary, but if I was in their shoes I wouldn’t care either. They are 2-0 against us already. Anyway, I hope this just adds fuel to the fire and does not rattle us. This is gonna be an epic series if/when it goes down no matter who has home court. I expect both teams to take at least one on the other teams court anyway.

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If Doc sits Garnett and Pierce, he is playing mind games with the Hawks and avoiding at all cost that a win by the Hawks might give us a psychological lift.

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“The Knicks game on Sunday is the game I’m looking forward to anyway. They’re playing for much more than what Boston is playing for right now.”

Why? They are already garunteed in the playoffs and they have a better chance against the Bulls.

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I missed the Heat/Bulls game last night. Unfortunately, I also missed Shaq’s half-time commentary about “farting on the bench”. For any of you who are as immature as I am, here it is:

http://www.schnittshow.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104673&article=10067015

I can’t wait for my ten year old son to come home from school today. We’ll enjoy watching it together to my wife’s great consternation.

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If Woody was still coaching the Hawks, I would feel better about the Hawks defending home court. But under LD, we have been better on the road and worse at home. And if there is one team that can win anywhere, it’s Boston (plus they will have lots of fans in Phillips).

Therefore, I don’t think it matters that much whether or not the Hawks have home court advantage. We can lose either way.

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I wonder when/if LD will shut Josh, JJ, and maybe Teague down to rest them for the playoffs? After tonite? If we win maybe – won’t we be 1.5 games up – so we could still lose a game and have HC, unless Snackbar is correct.

MC says Snackbar is incorrect – but the rule looked pretty open and shut to me – unless I’m misinterpreting the rule.

Anyway – Good job Snackbar for bringing another perspective in here.

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Truth,

In a perfect world, that is what you want their responsibilities to be. But just like how some PGs are scoring PGs, and not facilitating PGs, not all centers are defend the paint, block shots and rebound type centers. For example, Bargnani is the starting center for the Raptors. I don’t think his main responsibility is defending the paint, blocking shots and rebound.

AJ,

Co-sign. Has Al gotten soft? yes. but the way some bloggers talk about him makes him sound like he has already maxed out his potential, and is best suited as a bench guy. And so many people are loving Josh right now, whereas a couple years ago, they wanted him out of town.

If the Hawks continue to feature Josh, and he flames out in the playoffs (dude is 10-63 from 3 in the playoffs…16%), it will be interesting to see what the fan reaction is. Plus Josh has his issues against Boston too.

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Funny, McHale and Bird didn’t get along at ALL off-the-court.

OB, at some point, this team needs to get to the point where home court in the first round is irrelevant. And after winning 3 consecutive first round playoff series, I think the time is now. Being healthy needs to take priority over home court. Or course, the ASG likely feels differently.

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And all this Teague has to defer to JJ and Josh at crunch time stuff – JJ needs to realize that already Teague is not that far behind him. Teague loved crunch time and to be the man at Wake. But he, like JJ, is a quiet leader. But his game has inner dog in it, if he’s not too bludgeoned by JJ and Josh.

At Wake, he was the man clearly on the team. He just took over, and that’s what was expected. Here, he’s tried that and been beat down, and he didn’t know how to respond.

Good to see JJ and Paul Pierce on the front page of ESPN.com. National TV tonite folks. Same Sunday with the Knicks.

Back to Teague deferring to JJ in crunch time. I think Teague, if he’s got a favourable matchup, just needs to do it. Statistically:

Teague shooting 47.1%
JJ 44.3%

Teague 4.9 assists per game
JJ 3.9 assists per game

JJ a better FT shooter, at 86% to 75%

Teague is already a better guy grabbing steals – 1.6 per game to .82 for JJ. Teague is Top 10 last I checked

And Teague hilariously enough averages over twice as many blocks per game as JJ.

TO’s are about the same at 1.9 for JJ, and 2.0 for Teague.

Teague is quietly in his 1st first full season starting, become our 3rd leading scorer, and mr. durability – neither he or Josh have missed a game.

JJ is a better player. But the gulf is not as wide as it may seem to some. And I think Teague is a viable option to close out games, just like JJ and Josh.

Airball whiff against Boston notwithstanding.

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Congrats to everyone who thought signing Dampier was a good move… you got what you wanted. Complete crap! And thats when hes healthy enough to play!

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I cut and pasted that from the preview write up to the Detroit game from the NBA website. either the NBA doesn’t know what the rule is or that is the rule.

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Getting home court will be tough. Indiana has a decent lead and even if our record is better than Boston they get home court for winning their division. Lots of substitutions would be good against Boston. Even play Stackhouse. Boston won’t know what to do when we throw our playoff lineup against them. LD should say let’s just have fun tonight! Need to beat knicks to knock them down in the standings a little…would be nice to get 40 wins in short season but let’s focus on 5 spot for playoffs unless Indiana can lose out!

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Vivlamore: “While he said both teams want to win tonight’s matchup, Drew said neither wants to show too much as they will very likely meet in the first round of the playoffs.”

Drew: “With us and not knowing who they are going to have here tonight as far as guys who are going to play or not going to play, we have to keep that in mind,” Drew said. “We certainly have to keep that in mind because the last thing we want to do is to tip our hand totally. We want to go out and play well. We want to keep doing what we do. But at the same time if this is a team we are going to see in the first round we have to be mindful of that and not tip our hand too much.”
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Oh great. Here come the excuses already. I can hear it from Drew now, following yet another Celtics victory: “We didn’t want to tip our hand too much so we laid down.” Coward!

JUST GO OUT AND WIN THE DAMN GAME, Creampuff!!! In case you didn’t know, it’s HUGE. It’s a statement game and a credibility game. Stop with the wimpy excuses already. That’s what ATL’s been doing for damn near 50 years, and guess what? IT HASN’T WORKED.

This is what makes me sick about this town and its sports teams–always whining about something.

They’re missing players, we’re missing players–big deal. Tonight offers a vitally important opportunity to send a message to the league that the Hawks can beat pedigreed team on national TV. Now quit mealy-mouthing and go out and do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Just rechecked standings. Best we can do is tie Indiana…not sure who has tiebreaker. Worst we can do is tie Knicks and if they lose 1 or we win 1 then this won’t happen. Just have to stay ahead of Orlando.

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Maybe we should sign Rasheed.

SteveW, slow down on the Teague-Joe talk.

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Good job snackbar? Dude thought we had to get the 3 seed to get homecourt. Sounds like a typical hardcore college football fan that knows nothing about real sports and how playoffs work.

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no pirece or garnett tonight can u say rout.

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SteveW,

If the Hawks beat the Celtics in a 7 game series by winnning all of their home games, do round 2 or round 1 goes to the LD?

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vava

‘` My comment was about how high 7′ with perceived talent/skill
are picked and that he would not fall so far in the draft order.`’

‘` Thabeet is an example that actually goes in favor of my argument `’

‘` certainly a GM on #5 to #10 which will take a flier on him `’
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Comment # 1:
This is a deep and talent laden draft.
Your comments are certainly true in most yrs.
However, not this yr.
Per Draft Xpress he is the 28th ranked eligble draftee.
he is dropping.
DX has five Centers/ Pwr Frwrd combos listed ahead of him.
Personally I see 6 going ahead of him with possibly as many as 9.

Comment # 2:
The Thabeet comparison is working against him.
Too many similarities.

Comment # 3:
I agree when workouts start – he could move up.
I think when workouts start – he is going to fall even further.
My opinion only.
I have seen him play.

notes:
Thabeet is / was better.
Thatbeet taller & longer.
Melo ill measure out @ slightly below 7 ft w/o shoes.
his wing-span is below most of the other Centers in this draft.
*[including those listed as combo C / F ]
Thabeet had a monstrous w-span compared to Melo
Melo is fairly slow and unathletic.
Melo is about to turn 22 yrs old already even though only a soph
Also he only avg 7.8 pts & 5.8 rebs per

AND;;; yes I saw him play more than a few times.

One other item;
he played a zone his whole life … not just at Syracuse;
but always a zone.
He will have to start from scratch learning defense.

Anyone who drafts him in the 1st round is *’`NUTS`’*
-S0-
Look for Sund to draft Fab Melo with our 1st pick !!!!!

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* Although, I think when workouts start – he is going to fall even further.

* Although

* I left out although !

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I don’t care if Boston is worried about having home court or not. I know that I care. And, the Hawks care, too, I think. So, Hawks have to take advantage of this and rail those guys tonight.

Can’t help to worry about tonight, though. I remember the Heat game earlier in the year (the one where Barkley made his dipsh#t comments). No Wade, no LeBron and Hawks still lose. Also, remember playing the Celtics late in the ‘08 season. Hawks tie the game heading into the fourth quarter, Boston takes out their starters, Hawks lose to the Boston 2nd string in the 4th.

I think the other team’s stars not playing does not lock the Hawks into win. Sometimes it is such a downer that the guys just do not perform well. Can’t be the case tonight. Got to have this one.

By the way, I fully expect the Hawks to drop a game at home and then win one on the road in this upcoming series with the Celtics. So, that makes home court important.

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“In a perfect world, that is what you want their responsibilities to be. But just like how some PGs are scoring PGs, and not facilitating PGs, not all centers are defend the paint, block shots and rebound type centers. For example, Bargnani is the starting center for the Raptors. I don’t think his main responsibility is defending the paint, blocking shots and rebound.” – OB

Lol, Maybe that perfectly explain why the Raptors are going fishing in a few weeks

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SteveW. good for the Hawks if they do get the home court. lets retire the beaneaters once and for all!

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Due to the mental makeup of the team, Hawks need a win tonight. If we lose to the Boston reserves, JJ will come out with his “players don’t know their roles”, or some other excuse. And we don’t need the Hawks to be making excuses this late in the season.

Looking ahead to next year, could a starting 5 of Teague-JJ-Josh-Horford-Zaza work?

Truth,

That could be

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sorry to burst the bubble, tmac who can only play every other game is not worth the expense along with his head. he hasnt learned to be the type of player that stack is at this stage of the career and may never as his ego is probably too great to handle that role. he is reminiscent of a i in that regard.

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Imma’ have to side with my Grand-Daddy on Fab Melo. My Grand-Daddy ois rarely wrong and has watched over a 1000 hours of college film. During March Madness, he watched games for almost 12 hours straight one weekend.

So yeah, if GDaddy says pass … I say we should pass.

LOL!

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If you think Tmac is re-signing here after the LD fiasco then you are delusional.

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OB

“Looking ahead to next year, could a starting 5 of Teague-JJ-Josh-Horford-Zaza work?”
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I posted this line up a month ago pre-dawn one morning and, zaza said that line up was too small. I called it the twin towers.

Go figure.

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I would re-sign Ivan, Green and Pargo. get rid of Valad, Dampier, Stack, and the rest of the excess baggage.

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It wont be an issue since he aint coming back.

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I also think that if we got the 60 Minutes team to investigate the rumor about Marvin wanting to be traded, we’d find TMac’s fingerprints all over that one.

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LOL SteveW.

Teague isn’t having an entire team trying to stop him. JJ is the reason why Teague is shooting so well, because it keeps Teague in one on one situations, or wide open for jumpshots.

That’s like saying that Teague is close to Derrick Rose, because Teague shoots .471 while Rose shoots .436

You’re talking about 2 different players who have totally different focuses on offense.

The problem with Teague is that he does NOT have an inner dog in him. He’s simply not wired like that.

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If TMac won’t come back, maybe we can sign Iverson, Marbury or Stevie Franchise.

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Are you a Hawks fan or just a bitter ex rockets fan here to bash tmac?

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Oops also forgot Henry Sims. intriguing IQ on both sides, high post passing and low post looks solid.

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* Andrew Nicholson – C / F; St Bonnie
* Tony Wroten Jr. – combo guard; U of Washington
* Kevin Murphy – [2] guard; Tn Tech
* Henry Sims – C; Georgrtown
* Kyle 0`Quinn – C / F; Norfolk St
* Tomas Satoranski – International
* Scott Machado – pg; Iona

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I hope Rick Sund does not draft a big like Fab Melo. We could not develop a sentence much less a player. We have Collins who can play 10 minutes and get 1 rebound as well as anyone.

I have no confidence that Rick and Larry will do anything of use during the season. If we had not sold our extra round pick, perhaps we could have packaged the 2nd rounders in order to move up in the 2nd a few picks where some like Fab could be selected and developed.

I hope that the cash was used to help build a toward a championship. NOT.

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Will Bulls be able to re-sign Asik? Would we have enough to maybe bring him over here?

As far as draft day, I think Tony Wroten a supreme slasher with underrated playmaking ability is a solid choice, he has red flags but so does everyone.

Fab Melo is another solid pick as a 7 footer with a defensive mindset which is what we need. Could easily develop into another Tyson Chandler over the years, and could come in next year and put up Chandler rookie numbers easy.

2nd rounders who are intriguing – Darius Miller, Kim English, Will Barton, Henry Sims, Quincy Acy

Not going to list them all, but those guys are all hardworkers with winning mindsets and they could all contribute to this team.

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No C-Viv, we need our own game thread. Sending us to Schultz is not good enough.

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Section 303
April 20th, 2012
2:54 pm

Can’t help to worry about tonight, though. I remember the Heat game earlier in the year (the one where Barkley made his dipsh#t comments). No Wade, no LeBron and Hawks still lose. Also, remember playing the Celtics late in the ‘08 season. Hawks tie the game heading into the fourth quarter, Boston takes out their starters, Hawks lose to the Boston 2nd string in the 4th.
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Yeah, that’s the kind of stuff that weighs heavily on this team in games like tonight’s.

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Najeh Davenpoop
April 20th, 2012
3:10 pm

I’d rather have home court. I realize these aren’t Woody’s Hawks — which is a good thing — but the Hawks are still a .667 team at home and a .500 team on the road. The odds still favor them at home more than on the road.
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The Hawks’ “homecourt advantage” isn’t like that of other teams because of the empty seats and preponderance of opponents’ followers at Phillips. But strictly from a numbers standpoint, you’re correct; we sorely need that edge–however small it may be. Little if any chance to survive Round 1 w/o it.

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Najeh Davenpoop
April 20th, 2012
3:11 pm

Regarding tonight’s game, I predict that the Hawks squeak out a 4 point win, Avery Bradley gets a triple double, and we all complain on this blog after the game because the Hawks didn’t blow them out.
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There you go again, predicting victory for the Hawks. What are you–some kind of optimist?

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Astro Joe
April 20th, 2012
3:17 pm

And we want TMac back because of those great 4 games he played out of 60????
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That would have some validity except that he didn’t play close to 60 games–thanks to LD’s incompetence/childishness.

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doc
April 20th, 2012
5:44 pm

dawgnole only a series against the pacers would give us the home court advantage. btw, can i just call you DN for short? heh heh
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I was simply echoing Najeh’s preference for home court. The Hawks need every edge they can get–and then some.

DN for short? Sounds better than some of the stuff my wife calls me.

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Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
April 20th, 2012
5:37 pm

CAN SOMEONE AT AJC PLZ UPDATE THE AJC HAWKS PAGE SO THE MOST RECENT BLOG IS AT THE TOP OF THE FREAKING PAGE
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How many times have you had to ask that–only to be ignored? For all the fun these blogs are, they could be so much better if the AJC would staff appropriately to accommodate such requests. And to dislodge perfectly appropriate and civil comments from that brain-dead filter!

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Hawk-Celtics Blog……..

This should be a blow out for the Hawks. With all of the Starters for the Celts resting?

C’mon Hakws blow this team out by 30!

Iso needs to go for 25-30 tonight!

Same with Josh!

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“Strange girls knocking on your door.”

That’s the best part about traveling.

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“This should be a blow out for the Hawks. With all of the Starters for the Celts resting?”

No. It won’t be a blowout, but they should win by 10. That team is too well coached for them to lay down and die.

Oh, and I have some good news… Amare will be back for the Hawks game. Let’s see how much he ‘helps’ the Knicks.

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Doc playing mind games with the Hawks. Hawks win, no big deal. We sat our starters. Hawks lose(which is still a very good possibility), and we beat you in your house with our scrubs, so theres no way you can win in the Playoffs. Brilliant. If i was LD, Id play my bench guys too. Throw him a real curb ball. lol

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Slimjr
April 20th, 2012
6:42 pm

This should be a blow out for the Hawks. With all of the Starters for the Celts resting?
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“SHOULD.” A mighty big word in this context.

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Big Lou
April 20th, 2012
6:49 pm

If the Hawks cannot beat the Celtics without Rondo(arguably their best player past Pierce), they don’t deserve to be in the playoffs. Period.
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DITTO!

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Dont have to hear, “Hawks have taken control of this game” tonight, thank goodness.

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This is a must blowout. Celts aren’t even trying to win this game.

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Hope this isn’t a repeat of the depleted Heat game

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Big Lou
April 20th, 2012
7:03 pm

Awesome. I get to watch it on ESPN. I don’t have to listen to the homer announcers.

terrell
April 20th, 2012
7:08 pm

Dont have to hear, “Hawks have taken control of this game” tonight, thank goodness.
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Truly an oasis in the desert.

Funny thing is that after enduring Bob & Nique for so long, neutral announcers actual souund like they’re sleeping with the enemy.

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Luke Cage
April 20th, 2012
7:13 pm

Guess you guys don’t have League Pass, all team announcers are homers.
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You’re correct, but ours are particularly disgusting in their blind homerism–as evidenced by the fact that many dedicated Hawks fans on this very blog are repulsed by our bush leage pretenders.

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oh everyone is using this blog and not the live one

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Again, all team announcers are the same to me, just IMO.

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Twin looking pretty good so far.

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DawgNole

April 20th, 2012
7:17 pm

Luke Cage
April 20th, 2012
7:16 pm

Hawks will blow these clowns out
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Arrogance? Ignorance? Confidence?

Just Opinion, like most comments I make, entertainment purposes.

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Collins is contributin’ like a “big dog” on a “national stage.”

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Collins with 7pts, thats a big bonus.

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WTF was that SMOOVE??

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I can’t wait ’til Ivan goes upside Josh’s head.

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Can Joe dunk?

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Ivan [Johnson] is the only Hawks’ player not afraid to challenge and chastise Josh Smith. Ivan has more “stones” than LD. Go Ivan.

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Kirk at PG = travesty

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Why is sh!tty Kirk playing point?

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One of these days, when Kirk stands on the Hawk’s wing dribbling for 20 seconds, someone is going to poke it away from him for an easy fast break dunk and he is going to look like a dumbass. I predict this will happen in Game 2 of the playoffs.

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i swear Josh’s jumpshots always come at the worst possible times

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Najeh Davenpoop
April 20th, 2012
7:32 pm

One of these days, when Kirk stands on the Hawk’s wing dribbling for 20 seconds, someone is going to poke it away from him for an easy fast break dunk and he is going to look like a dumbass. I predict this will happen in Game 2 of the playoffs.
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If not Game 1.

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if kirk would sop dribbling the ball for 18 secs them shots wouldnt come from josh

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Kirk with the useless dribbles. Kirk Hinrich does dribble [the ball] aimlessly too much for a guard with no blow-by speed.

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Down goes Marvin AGAIN. lol

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T-Mac is a good player and deserves more minutes, but these free throws are starting to become a problem

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Collins going for double digits??? I gotta play the lotto.

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They still haven’t said anything about the Hawks. You would think the Celtics were playing an intra-squad scrimmage.

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Najeh Davenpoop
April 20th, 2012
7:39 pm

I flipped over to ESPN for the start of the quarter, and they haven’t mentioned the Hawks yet. They are, however, talking about Derrick Rose, who does not play for either the Celtics or the Hawks.
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It’s called disrespect by the national media. Respect will come only with championships. Even one title after 44 years would get us on the path toward national respect. Any chance it’ll happen this year? NOT (again)!

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DN my point was that the pacers ate about the only team thalt dies not bring their own fans to take the hoke court advatage away.

kinda quiet down here

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Hawks should be blowing out the Celtics like they did the Pistons in the previous game.

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“It’s called disrespect by the national media. Respect will come only with championships. Even one title after 44 years would get us on the path toward national respect. Any chance it’ll happen this year? NOT (again)!”

I don’t even mind if the ESPN people were talking sh-t about the Hawks like Charles Barkley did in that early season Hawks-Heat game. But when there are two teams playing in front of you, try to talk about both teams. I don’t think that’s asking for too much. They manage to talk about the sorry, hopeless Warriors with their friend Mark Jackson coaching when they show them on TV (way too often). But just ignoring the Hawks for a half a quarter when they are playing in the game? That is Tim McCarver-esque.

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T-Mac makes one bad turnover and LD brings in Vlad for him. SMH

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The carriage has turned into a pumpkin; it’s time to take Collins [-jc100,000] out.

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That b!tch announcer doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

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jc1 = Jamal Crawford
jc2 = Jordan Crawford
-jc100,000 = Jason Collins

Josh Smith = “Chief Cog” or “Chief In-COG-nito”

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Big Lou
April 20th, 2012
7:52 pm

That b!tch announcer doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
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It’s not PC, I know, but I never feel good about my team in any sport when a female is one of the lead announcers.

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Teague needs to start going under some of these screens and make Bradley try to shoot or make plays for teammates. When he goes over the screen, Bradley goes to the rim without thinking twice, and Bradley is quick enough to where Teague can’t recover in time.

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lmao vlad

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Wow, horrible call

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woooooooooooooooooooooooooow how is thata foul

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That was all ball…

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Larry trying to keep it close..He does not want to reveal her secrets..

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Josh Smith = “Chief Ball Hog”

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Josh said they where going to run a basic offense tonight and see what happens..

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wheres the blowout?

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Joe has had his way with Bradley in the post in this half. That is a good sign for the playoffs, if the Hawks are smart and make Bradley guard Joe.

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What a brain cramp by Joe there. He could’ve stuffed that one.

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A lot of these NBA players refer to the female ESPN interviewers as “Man.” LOL

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Why Joe no longer dunks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5F75fvHshM

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Hawks-Celtics halftime, and the ESPN studio is spending most of their time talking about the Knicks.

I know Bob and Nique are biased and give no insight whatsoever but give me them any day over the ESPN clowns. At least Kenny and Charles will talk about the game they are showing.

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High-sider
April 20th, 2012
8:08 pm

A lot of these NBA players refer to the female ESPN interviewers as “Man.” LOL
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They might have something there.

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Najeh Davenpoop
April 20th, 2012
8:13 pm

Hawks-Celtics halftime, and the ESPN studio is spending most of their time talking about the Knicks.

I know Bob and Nique are biased and give no insight whatsoever but give me them any day over the ESPN clowns. At least Kenny and Charles will talk about the game they are showing.
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They’re polar opposites (espn and Bob/Nique). A shame we can’t have “real” announcers.

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That Krayzie bone and Joe falling down had me rolling in here

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29pts a game playoff avg.. He’s earned the love for sure…

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Until the Hawks win something meaningful, the National Media should not care one bit about this unfriutful franchise…

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What have the Bricks won that everyone keep saying they are so dangerous. Yeah we have no banners but why always talk about the NY Bricks

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“Teague go clubbing last night?

Dude is way off.”

It is 4/20.

He does have 5 assists, though.

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As drmary puts it, Drew mind f’cks his players especially his starting point guard who it appears he has no love for.. Just going through the motions…

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WTF JOSH?

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W

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Josh was WIDE OPEN rolling to the hoop coming off the slip screen and Kirk didn’t see him. Possession ends with a Josh brick.

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“It is 4/20.”

lol

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That’s why I don’t watch the ESPN feed. They talk about everything else but the Hawks games.

Hawks gotta be careful.

Josh gotta stop giving the ball away.

Maybe that jam will get Jeff going with his first two points.

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Josh decided to put da team on his back doe after the lead got cut to 4. Great defensive sequence from him.

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“Josh was WIDE OPEN rolling to the hoop coming off the slip screen and Kirk didn’t see him. Possession ends with a Josh brick.”

Probably because of those cool shades he’s wearing. Lol

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ESPN?? Joe has avg more than 14pts a game as a Hawk!!

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good pass teague ivan would have dunked that

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I hope the Hawks don’t lose in double OT.

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I don’t want to go too overboard, since he’s only guarding Brandon Bass, but Josh is playing a great defensive game.

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Teague is doing horrible on D tonight.

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is Bibby out there playing D? sheesh..

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Well, at least the refs are making their big-market bias obvious now.

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Marvin’s corpse cold.

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Marvin with the invisible cloaking device…Cant make a open jumpshot but once in a while…Yawn…

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Man I’ll take Bradley over Teague right about now.. He is pretty good..

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marvin you know they not going to give you a foul call

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This maybe a quick 1st round series.. Oh boy!

Can #24 post anybody up with confidence?

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Bradley is very good – but he’s a SG, while we make Teague a PG.

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embarrassing

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AH # Zero can play the point and he is owning JT…..Yep…

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KIRK HINRICH SUCKS

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Where is Jeff Teague?

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For real I wish they had plus/minus broken down by position. I swear to God Kirk’s plus/minus at PG today is like -25 and for the season is probably like -10 per game.

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I thought Kirk’s overdribbling would result in a terrible turnover in the playoffs. Didn’t take that long.

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Pargo should be at PG, but LD has his BFF Kirk playing the point.

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Espn is acting like the hawks are trying to give it their “A” game.

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Kirk is the 5th best guard on this team. It is flat out suolocidir that he gets this much playing time.

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wow the hawks suck

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Hawks better win this game. They have no alternative. A loss will be too demoralizing and embarrasing

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Celts shooting 51%? Thats freaking unacceptable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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All this Doris Burke criticism of the Hawks is fine with me, but what annoys me is when they then turn around and criticize the fans for not showing up to see this team which, by their own admission, is embarrassing themselves.

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Embarrasing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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atlchris77
April 20th, 2012
8:53 pm

Espn is acting like the hawks are trying to give it their “A”game.
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I’m afraid they are giving it their A game. And if they’re not, they damn sure should be.

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She’s blasting tha Hawks cause they are screwing up and bout to lose to the scrubs who aint scrubs!

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Celts fouling at will and refs letting them get away with it, even though the Celts are only playing their subs.

Sigh. Hawks will never get respect unless they win something big.

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Wow that doc Rivers is an amazing coach! Wish we had him…..sigh……

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LOL, why is no one using Jeffs column as a live blog. I wondered why it only had 97 responses

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Calm down, The Great Thunder team lost to the Hawks minus Joe, Al & Willie. It happens to all teams. And they were completely healthy.

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lol LD not putting the starters back in

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atlchris77
April 20th, 2012
9:02 pm

Big minutes for our subs. That is when this game gets so close.
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What’s that got to do with anything? Celtics have had their subs in the entire game.

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“Calm down, The Great Thunder team lost to the Hawks minus Joe, Al & Willie. It happens to all teams. And they were completely healthy.”

It happens to the Hawks more frequently, though. And this game is vital for determining home court in the first round, which clearly matters more to the Hawks than the Celtics.

The difference between the Hawks and Thunder is that Thunder fans would be genuinely surprised if they lost a game to a depleted team, whereas we pretty much expect it. Losing (or squeaking by) in games like this is the Hawks’ identity, and it needs to change.

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Hawks have to win this game. I don’t care by how many points. Doc is trying to make a statement, and Hawks cannot let him. Only way they can do that is win tonight.

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Look, this has been a pathetic game by the Hawks. We know that. But this game is no indication of what the series with the Celtics will be like. The Hawks are a good defensive team and the Celtics have had trouble scoring against them when they were at “full strength.” The Hawks just don’t have the motivation tonight, Avery Bradley’s had a career night, and they’ve had way more turnovers than they typically have, which has led to a lot of points. The guards other than JJ have done nothing, and neither has the bench. They are fortunate if the win this one.

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Willie B. Strokin’

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Najeh Davenpoop
April 20th, 2012
9:07 pm

“Calm down, The Great Thunder team lost to the Hawks minus Joe, Al & Willie. It happens to all teams. And they were completely healthy.”

It happens to the Hawks more frequently, though. And this game is vital for determining home court in the first round, which clearly matters more to the Hawks than the Celtics.

The difference between the Hawks and Thunder is that Thunder fans would be genuinely surprised if they lost a game to a depleted team, whereas we pretty much expect it. Losing (or squeaking by) in games like this is the Hawks’ identity, and it needs to change.
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You said a mouthful there.

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Dawg. Pointis our subs are beating their subs.

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A win is a win Doris, sometimes it ain’t pretty

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Hawks aren’t trying. Lol

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lmao celtics fans booing that loud wow

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why are you asking for teague he hasnt done nothing all game

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Why is Teague on the bench Drew come on bet kirk come back in before Teague!

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Shouldve just sat Joe and Josh. Lose now and ESPN is gonna trash the Hawks, like we tried our hardest. Sad, but true.

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teague couldnt couldnt stop a 2 year old from running by him plus he cant hit a shor he can roll bring in marcus teague

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“man if were struggling with tier 2nd string imagine how bad we wil look against their starters”

Have you watched the last two games? What an idiotic statement.

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Shouldve just sat Joe and Josh for the remainder of the game I meant.

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Big shot by Joe.

Najeh,

Josh is making plays on defense, but he has SEVEN of the Hawks 18 turnovers.

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“The Hawks are not really trying?! You’re kidding, right? Geez, just when I think you’re on top of it, you let loose a fa*t bomb like that. Cmon, BL. You can do better.”

Come on, man. I’ve watched enough games to know when they are. They have been half azzing it all night. That’s why they have so many turnovers.

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“At least LD is playing Pargo at PG, and not Kirk. If you’re going to bench your best PG, better to play your 2nd best PG instead of your 4th best PG.”

Really, you would put him ahead of T-Mac?

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yea i watched us lose the lead in both games and lose

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“Josh is making plays on defense, but he has SEVEN of the Hawks 18 turnovers.”

True. Great defensive game, subpar offensive game. Doesn’t help that they haven’t ran very many post ups for him.

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“A team that has gone a half-century w/o a championship is hardly in a postion to “not try” for a win. Then again, maybe that’s why they’ve gone a half-century w/o a championship.”

All NBA teams do this. You haven’t watch basketball enough if you think that makes a difference.

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“Really, you would put him ahead of T-Mac?”

I think T-Mac is better playing one of the wing positions, but you’re right, he’s probably better at PG than Kirk too. I’d rather see Teague, Pargo, T-Mac, and Joe in some order over Kirk at PG.

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Najeh Davenpoop
April 20th, 2012
9:19 pm

Could be worse, I guess. At least the Hawks are not struggling to beat Charlotte or getting blown out by Cleveland, like the Grizzlies and Knicks respectively.
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No, they’re just struggling to beat the Celtics’ subs.

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Hawks are in a public relations “no win sit uation”. If we win they say it is only against the second tier. If the lost they say usual hawks, even though we barely played our starterrs.

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“So how do YOU think we’ll do against their starters in the playoffs, BL?”

Same as it was during the regular season. It will be an ugly, defensive duel that will be determined by the last shot.

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This game has not been typical for the Hawks. The turnovers had nothing to do with great Boston D, but they were careless. Usually the Hawks don’t turn the ball over like this. Why have they been so careless with the ball? They don’t have enough respect for the Celtics players on the court. That’s their fault, but it won’t be a problem in the playoffs.
This clunker is probably the best thing that could happen for the Hawks, provided they hang on for the win.

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amare is a bum hes a team killer just look at the knicks record with and with out him

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co-sign Big Lou. There’s no need to hit the panic button. We’ve already played the Celtics well at full strength. It will be a totally different kind of game than tonight in the playoffs.

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Melo would avg 40 a game….

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Big Lou
April 20th, 2012
9:19 pm

Come on, man. I’ve watched enough games to know when they are. They have been half azzing it all night. That’s why they have so many turnovers.
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The bottom line is that they struggled against a depleted Boston team that has even less to gain with a victory.

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smh I really hate this lady

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Bricks getting beat by cavs by double digits, but they get much media love and are supposedly a team nobody wants to play in the playoffs??

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Love this blog still though, great entertainment for me while here at the job, love the “Sky is falling” mantra

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DawgNole,
How do the Celtics have less to play for? Home court advantage is equally important to both teams. If you don’t believe that, check out the playoff records for teams playing on their home court.

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“I guess all that Woodsanity evaporated as soon as Amare got healthy.”

I told you that Amare was a cancer to that Knick’s team, but users like Slimjr don’t know basketball. He is -12 in the game. His defense is atrocious. You might want to jump off the bandwagon.

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Y’all remember though, those two losses by Hawks to Boston was only by 3 points or less. Hawks could have won them if they played smarter. So starters or not, this was a great win, especially if it gives us home court.

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Najeh,

I had a feeling Knicks would struggle. Woody has historically been a better coach with less options (as in fewer players). With Amare and Melo both available, he has to figure out a way to get them to play well together. Plus no Lin, and Baron Davis is hurt too.

Big Lou,

Before the Knicks got Melo, Amare was carrying that team, averaging 20+ ppg.

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*help^^^^

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Najeh Davenpoop
April 20th, 2012
9:28 pm

I don’t congratulate myself very often, but…

Najeh Davenpoop
April 20th, 2012
3:11 pm

Regarding tonight’s game, I predict that the Hawks squeak out a 4 point win, Avery Bradley gets a triple double, and we all complain on this blog after the game because t
__________________

Aw, yeah you do–especially when I’m on here moaning about you predicting a Hawks victory.

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See you guys next week, prefer to log on this blog at work instead of at home, peace.

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Yes, this was a clunker for the Hawks. But they won it, got it out of the way, and will probably have home court advantage in the playoffs. The sky is not falling everybody.

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Good win considering another no show by Teague and some struggles offensively in the second half. Needed this one bad

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Hawks stink. Easy out in 1st round. Maybe Josh Smith will learn to respect the Celtics 3rd string players that just gave the Hawks a fight

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Josh Smith = “Chief [Village] Idiot”

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Let’s be straight. Teague will not play this bad again and Avery Bradley will never have a game like this in the playoffs.

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Sad just sad..D-u-d-e? Give yourself a hug…

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On the cool, Doris Burke wishes she could pee standing up, if she doesn’t already.

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Slimjr

If you can come on here and s!ck on the Knocks everyone you can. Then I can make you look like an idiot when I’m right.

Your the one who said the Knicks would be better with Amare.

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Knicks*
every time*

Stupid iPhone.

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Bradley will never have a game like this in the playoffs because he will never get that much court time, but dude is awfully goood though.

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Lol

Knicks lost to the Cavs.

Hilarious.

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How the heck am I the troll?

You’re the one constantly on here praising the Knicks.

At least I’m a Hawks fan.

Are you?

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Big Lou
April 20th, 2012
9:33 pm

“The bottom line is that they struggled against a depleted Boston team that has even less to gain with a victory.”

Struggle would imply that they’re trying. Also, they could gain home court easier if they won.

Anyways, I’m done arguing a moot point. They won. They will demolish the Knicks on Sunday.
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Trying or not, they struggled–against bench warmers.

If they demolish the Knicks on Sunday, they’ll be on a pretty good roll. Again, I hope you’re right.

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Big Lou
April 20th, 2012
9:39 pm

“So you see it as a close series–like it was in ‘08? Hope you’re right. ATL’s never beaten them in a series, if I’m not mistaken.

Home court will change that. I expect it to go 6-7 games though. I’m not a homer, yet they have a good chance of winning it. I say about 50-50.
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History’s working against you. Hopefully it won’t repeat itself.

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cp
April 20th, 2012
9:40 pm

They won but this was ugly. I dont know if they can beat the Celtics even with the homecourt. They should have put this team away but struggled to win.
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Agreed.

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From the sounds of the crowd at Philips, I’m not sure that the Celtics haven’t won home court advantage.

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“What makes him a cancer?”

His horrible defense. I’ve said that three times already, man.

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This should have been a blowout tonight not a struggle…

12-20

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Better yet, Ivan [Johnson] should change his jersey number to 96 [four times better than Marvin Williams (No.24)].

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LOOOOOOW self esteem fans……

Doc Rivers is hoping the Hawks players think like some of you “FANS”…

The Hawks sometimes play down to their competition, so why are surprised.

Doc is resting his team for the Hawks, because he in NERVOUS…..He watched the previous 2 games and knows this will be a WAR…..This is just a MENTAL TRICK he is trying to play and some of you got pulled in..

If Zaza is healthy the Hawks will win the WAR OF ATTRITION in 7 games.

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BTW Biggie smalls no one expects the Knicks to elimate Miami! What will be the Hawks excuse..This time…

12-20 45

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