Atlanta Hawks: Video: Hawks finish strong
Here is my video report following Atlanta’s 106-89 victory over the Mavs in the regular-season finale.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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293 comments Add your comment
brigadier
April 27th, 2012
5:21 pm
josh biggest flaws are cannot create his shot to create space and make a jump shot and cannot overpower other 4’s people playing the four spot. if the hawks had another player preferably a wing that could create their own shot like joe johnson hwks could poentally beat anyone
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
5:34 pm
Big Lou
April 27th, 2012
9:23 am
No offense, but the regular season doesn’t mean sh!t. LD needs to preform in the playoffs against one of the best coaches in the league, Doc Rivers. I think we’ll see how ‘good’ LD is during a seven game series against them. If the Hawks lose to the old azz Celtics(even with the injuries), they failed this season.
________________________
Your last sentence says it all.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 27th, 2012
5:35 pm
“Rod .. if Josh Smith boxed out, he could average 12+ rebounds a game. He could easily be a souped-up version of Shawn Marion, a guy who was 2 inches smaller than Josh.”
Josh’s rebound rate this year is 15.9%. Shawn Marion beat that number in only two seasons in his career. I agree that Josh can box out better than he currently does, but he is still doing a very good job on the boards. Marion cracked 11 boards a game in Phoenix because they played at one of the league’s fastest paces, while the Hawks generally play at one of the league’s slowest paces.
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
5:35 pm
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
9:47 am
If the Hawks win this series would it be considered an upset so to speak even with the Home Court Advantage?
________________________
DEFINITELY an upset given the Hawks’ playoff history–and the Celtics’.
drmaryb.(*_*).
April 27th, 2012
5:36 pm
Briggy Bear!
Yes Sirrr … I was just saying earlier in the week that we should look for a versatile SF in this draft. A swiss army knife, you never know when you need to open a can of camp beans along with a fine bottle of wine?
IDK who’s out there, but we need another Josh Smith at the SF spot who can come in behind him and defend, score, rebound on the second unit, or better yet start at SF to take Marvin’s spot up front. Also, if Josh does walk, we will have someone who can step right in and play Josh’s role to a certain degree.
That Josh, he good. Gonna’ be hard to replace that.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 27th, 2012
5:39 pm
“I don’t see why people are so blind about this. Let Joe walk and this team (which had Bibby starting) was done”
Depends on your definition of “done”. Yeah, they would have taken a step back, probably from a second round team to a first round team, but they would have so much more flexibility going forward to build a deeper and better roster. Joe is a very good player but he isn’t Kobe. It’s not like his scoring and defense would have been irreplaceable, and it’s not like a team built around Teague, Josh, and Al would have been in the lottery.
Smart move would have been to sign and trade him. I understood the reasoning behind re-signing him — it was the safe move for a franchise that didn’t want to be perceived as being cheap — but the higher risk move of letting him go would have brought a higher reward if they played their cards right.
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
5:41 pm
Astro Joe
April 27th, 2012
11:07 am
Anytime the Hawks win any game, it is an upset. Consider that we have the worse owners, a history of poor GMs, incompetent coaches, the worse draft picks in NBA history, players with dumb contracts and a roster full of under-achieving players.
Yet and still, 5 playoff appearances in a row and 4 playoff appearances in a row where the team finished 5 or better. So either the franchise is a little better than the ongoing b!tching suggests or the Hawks continue to find ways to be lucky year-after-year. My opinion, the Hawks aren’t lucky.
______________________
They might be better than the ongoing b!tching suggests, but until they get past Round 2, they are no better than their 44 years of predecessors.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 27th, 2012
5:43 pm
A really good video preview of the Hawks-Celtics series. One highlight:
Avery Bradley’s defense has been a large part of the Celtics’ second half resurgence, but against Joe Johnson and the Hawks, he may be a liability because of post play. Johnson is one of the best post-up players in the league, ranking eighth in the NBA in points per possession in the post. Furthermore, while Bradley is an excellent perimeter defender, he is below average as a post defender. When they’ve met up this season, Johnson has been getting whatever he wants in the post against Bradley. The clips below show what happens when a great post player is guarded by someone at a four-inch and 40-pound disadvantage. Check out how easily Johnson gets where he wants to go.
According to that, Joe is one of the top ten post up players in the league. Who would you rather have him posting up against, Avery Bradley or Paul Pierce?
LD needs to go back to a bigger lineup for this series. Get Joe and Josh better matchups. With Zaza out, it may not be possible to move Josh to SF considering the lack of big man depth, but move Joe to SG so he can match up against Bradley.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 27th, 2012
5:45 pm
More from that link:
In the other backcourt matchup, Jeff Teague will be facing off against Rajon Rondo. Many would consider this to be a big advantage for Boston, but Teague may be able to hold his own in some situations. Although Rondo is a good defender, Teague has been very good on offense in isolation this, ranking 34th in the league in points per isolation possession. Much of his effectiveness is due to his ability to get to the hoop. According to Synergy Sports, Teague is shooting layups on 43 percent 46/105 of his shots in isolation; he doesn’t settle for jumpers. Teague’s ability to get into the paint versus a set defense has the potential to create foul trouble for Boston and open three pointers for Atlanta’s wing players.
May need to pull out more Joe post-ups and iso-Teague to combat Josh’s inability to post up KG.
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
5:45 pm
Yes, I hope Sund will retire and let somebody else rebuild this franchise..
Najeh Davenpoop
April 27th, 2012
5:48 pm
Another link from the same site previewing the Hawks-Celtics series.
This season, when Garnett has been on the court, Smith has only attempted a total of four shots from inside the restricted area and two in the paint, going 1-6. Meanwhile while Garnett has been off the floor Smith has attempted nine shots in the restricted area, and two more in the paint, going 7-11. On the other hand with Garnett on the floor Smith has shot 13 times from mid-range and another four three-pointers. Without Garnett, which includes one entire game more, Smith has only attempted 22 of those long range shots.
If there is any way at all that the Hawks can make KG guard someone other than Josh, they have to do so. It will be much easier to pull that off if Zaza is healthy and ready to go.
The Back Of Rod's Mind
April 27th, 2012
5:49 pm
“I have no idea why you keep posting those stupid per 36 minute stats. They mean nothing. ”
I have no idea what that stat really means, so I’ll tear it down, since it weakens my argument.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
April 27th, 2012
5:51 pm
Smart move would have been to sign and trade him. I understood the reasoning behind re-signing him — it was the safe move for a franchise that didn’t want to be perceived as being cheap — but the higher risk move of letting him go would have brought a higher reward if they played their cards right.
***
as much as people hate him, Joe is a 6x All Star and has been the 3rd best SG in the league for years. The right thing is for him to freaking restructure his contract to afford us flexibility
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
5:52 pm
Astro Joe
April 27th, 2012
11:07 am
“Anytime the Hawks win any game, it is an upset. Consider that we have the worse owners, a history of poor GMs, incompetent coaches, the worse draft picks in NBA history, players with dumb contracts and a roster full of under-achieving players.
Yet and still, 5 playoff appearances in a row and 4 playoff appearances in a row where the team finished 5 or better. So either the franchise is a little better than the ongoing b!tching suggests or the Hawks continue to find ways to be lucky year-after-year. My opinion, the Hawks aren’t lucky.”
aj, when was the last time they beat San Antonio? 9- 15 years ago? Imagine if they played in the Western Conference? With the this set of owners?
Oh the Humanity……
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
5:53 pm
northcyde
April 27th, 2012
11:57 am
It’s just a loud, overly negative minority on this blog that will put a bad spin on any and everything the Hawks do. You can’t give credit for multiple things this team has accomplished, and not give Drew at least some of the credit for it.
_________________________
OVERLY negative?! It’s been four-and-a-half decades w/o a Round 2 series victory. And we’re OVERLY negative?! Hey, if you’re happy with that sort of postseason performance, have at it. I’d prefer to see some progress.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
April 27th, 2012
5:56 pm
Rod
“All ppg averages are not equal. Marvin gets empty buckets. Wide open shots. He can’t create his own shot, can’t handle the rock, and can’t play that point forward position like Iggy and Deng can. Iggy is guarded by the other teams best defender, and sometimes gets doubled. Iggy got broke off because when contract time came, he had put up 17 to 18 ppg over a couple of year span. Iggy also is considered one of the premier wing defenders in the league, and guards the opposing teams best players every night. Marvin is none of those things. Marvin scores because of Joe and Josh. He is no different than Kyle Korver, except he plays better defense, but can’t hit cluch shots.”
Amen. Couldn’t have said it any better.
Yet people think he’s a top 20 SF. Why do you think he DOESN’T EVEN START????? We could’ve owned Delonte/Marion with Duck starting if he actually was good.
I bet that Christian Eyenga, who I know little about, will have just as good a rd 1 as Duck as he fills in for MWP
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
5:57 pm
We want a Champioship Northcyde not 42 years of excuses..And 42 years more…..OMG…..
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
April 27th, 2012
5:58 pm
When a team puts Korver, Rodnour, or Mo Williams on your 6″10 SF, that is already a sign of disrespect. The fact he can’t take advantage of those matchups is embarrassing
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
5:58 pm
*[Championship] ^^^
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
5:59 pm
Section 303
April 27th, 2012
1:01 pm
Fans of this town need to come out for the Playoffs. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re not in Philips for these games, don’t complain. You will have lost your right. You’re in or out.
________________________
You wish.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
April 27th, 2012
5:59 pm
Northcyde,
U like MEM’s chances vs the Clipps?
Rod from College Park
April 27th, 2012
6:04 pm
“I have no idea why you keep posting those stupid per 36 minute stats. They mean nothing. ”
I have no idea what that stat really means, so I’ll tear it down, since it weakens my argument.”
I actually know that it’s an IF stat, and if if was a fith we’d all be drunk. I don’t live in fantasy world, I deal with real life, with what really happened, not by what would happen if……
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
6:04 pm
Marvin has very little core strength and that’s why he has back trouble..His back is stressed keeping himself upright..
I watched Carmelo enter the paint with Marvin defending him. All Melo did was give him a little chicken wing with his weak arm[ left] and Marvin went careening onto the floor out of bounds! Are you kidding me? I would have bench his azz for that one alone. Of course Melo hesitated cause he could not believe how strong he was to send this 250 lb man on his back side with a little chicken wing then he shot the layup.. This ish was comical!
SteveW
April 27th, 2012
6:06 pm
The best players in this series, the way I see it: If LeBron were like a 98 out of a 100, then
Paul Pierce 93
Josh Smith 92
Joe Johnson 91
Rondo 91
Kevin Garnett 90
Ray Allen 88
Jeff Teague 87
Brandon Bass 86
ZaZa (if he can play) 86
Ivan 86
Avery Bradley 86
Pietrus 84
Marvin 84
Now you can tweak those numbers to the high heaven, and disagree with them all day long, but it’s just a rough estimate. And I’m talking about right now, not 2-3 years ago. In other words, I think Boston’s Top 7 are better than ATL’s top 6. Where we really gain advantage is that I think our bottom players of Green, TMac, Pargo, Collins, and the rest are better than Dooling, Steimsa and the rest of the Boston bench.
All this talk about us being more talented, and Boston being too old is hogwash. Boston kicked Miami’s tail the last two games they played. Boston played as well as any team in the League the last month of the season.
Doc’s got a dangerous, well rested team, and it will take all we got to beat them.
And TMac, Pargo, Green, and Collins may be keys besides everybody else playing their best.
SteveW
April 27th, 2012
6:10 pm
Hollins, Williams, and Marquis Daniels can give you some quality spot minutes however. I think that our guys have contributed more over a longer period this season, and may have just a little more to offer. But even that’s close.
Should be a great series. And objectively, one that Boston should win – especially if ZaZa is out, but we gotta shot.
SteveW
April 27th, 2012
6:11 pm
If TMac is on his game, and is injury free, and can give 20-25 minutes per nite, he may be the difference maker.
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
6:12 pm
Real simple, we lose the boards we lose the series….
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
6:13 pm
Bob Rathbun
April 27th, 2012
4:02 pm
I don’t know about you guys, but this season ROCKS and this weekend is going to be awesome!
__________________
I don’t see SportSouth on the TV schedule. Does that mean we’ll be spared your objectivity and professionalism?
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
6:14 pm
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
5:57 pm
We want a Champioship Northcyde not 42 years of excuses..And 42 years more…..OMG…..
______________________
Forty-FIVE years!
SteveW
April 27th, 2012
6:15 pm
Props to Josh and Jeff – The only two guys to play all 66 games.
Josh finished 9th in Blocks and 13th in rebounds, 11th in double/doubles in the NBA.
And Teague finished 10th in steals. He also finished with more blocks per game than ZaZa, which is kinda weird to me also.
He also finished with a higher shooting % than Joe Johnson ever has. Not to demean JJ in any way, we know he’s a volume scorer etc – Just saying Jeff had a good shooting % – and surprisingly low turnover rate also.
He’s better than Devin Harris was at 23, and he’s very close, about the same really as Mike Conley was at 23.
And both of them were top 5 picks if I remember correctly.
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
6:16 pm
SteveW, Boston owned Miami! I believe Boston had the #1 record after the AllStar break?
SteveW
April 27th, 2012
6:17 pm
Dawgnole – please recount – it’s 42 years, not 44. I’ve counted season by season 3 different times, and this is our 43rd season in ATL.
But as good as I am at math, I could be wrong – I have miscounted before.
SteveW
April 27th, 2012
6:19 pm
Slim – that’s what I’m saying – and Boston played a brutal schedule – not only in travel and road games after the break, but also quality of opponents. And they played great. Unfortunately. If we win, we will have earned it big time.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
April 27th, 2012
6:27 pm
Larry Drew on Ivan Johnson: ‘He’s an enforcer but he may be a little over the edge. We don’t want that right now.’ #Hawks
*****
how is this guy an NBA Coach?
Slimjr
April 27th, 2012
6:28 pm
SteveW, judging by the eyeball test Joe takes many more difficult shots from longer distances than Teague does..IMHO…
Shamrock
April 27th, 2012
6:44 pm
Hawks fans are lucky that the Hawks are playing the Celtics; Celtics are the reason the game is getting prime time treatment.
If the schedule was determined by the Hawks history of success in the playoffs the game would be played at 5 o’clock Monday morning.
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
7:00 pm
SteveW
April 27th, 2012
6:17 pm
Dawgnole – please recount – it’s 42 years, not 44. I’ve counted season by season 3 different times, and this is our 43rd season in ATL.
But as good as I am at math, I could be wrong – I have miscounted before.
_______________________
We’ve been down this road before, SteveW–too many times. Remember, with respect to Slimjr’s post, we were talking YEARS–not seasons. The Hawks began playing in ATL in 1968. It is now 2012. Count them with me now, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, . . . 2012. Now add them up. How many YEARS is that? Please come back and tell us what you’ve learned.
And while you’re at it, please make all of this a moot point by helping the Hawks figure out how they can FINALLY, after all these YEARS, make it past Round 2.
Thnks.
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
7:04 pm
Side note to drmaryb.(*_*):
I responded to your latest medical observations on the previous blog. As always, I appreciate your perspective.
Rod from College Park
April 27th, 2012
7:04 pm
SteveW,
I agree. Boston in 5. Hopefully we get 1. If Ray Allen can’t go, or is not close to 100% then we have a chance.
Shamrock
April 27th, 2012
7:23 pm
Hawks are lucky to have home court advantage; it’s an advantage for them not to have championship banners casting distracting shadows on their court.
doc
April 27th, 2012
7:34 pm
big lou, this is the 44th year. so, to be absolutely correct i guess we stand 0-43 in years without a championship. they moved AFTER the ‘68 season so it cant be included. the first competitive season for the atlanta hawks was in 68-69. 69-70 we won the western conference but lost to the lakers in four not making it to the finals, i think is the way it worked. need sautee to reflect on this history as well. to do the math you have to start with ‘69 to ‘12 or ‘68 to ‘11, not ‘68 start to ‘12 end. ok?
so to clarify, yes, we will be 0-44 not 0-45 after this year for championships. we will see how far we can go to see if we can break beyond the second round, though we did go to a conference championship, while in atlanta.
Blast
April 27th, 2012
7:38 pm
Hawks deserve big rounds of applause for their season. Congratulations for getting home court and 4th best in in the East. Compared to last season when Hawks tanked and limped into the playoffs, this year we’re going in strong.
If it wasn’t for that Marvin fumble in the last play vs the Knicks, Hawks would have closed out all the last 5 home games and won six straight to end the season.
But 5-1, I’ll take it.
Bring on the Celts, KG, Rondo, Pierce and Allen are all banged up.
doc
April 27th, 2012
7:40 pm
shamrock’s are weeds, arent they?
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
7:45 pm
doc
April 27th, 2012
7:34 pm
big lou, this is the 44th year. so, to be absolutely correct i guess we stand 0-43 in years without a championship. they moved AFTER the ‘68 season so it cant be included. the first competitive season for the atlanta hawks was in 68-69. 69-70 we won the western conference but lost to the lakers in four not making it to the finals, i think is the way it worked. need sautee to reflect on this history as well. to do the math you have to start with ‘69 to ‘12 or ‘68 to ‘11, not ‘68 start to ‘12 end. ok?
so to clarify, yes, we will be 0-44 not 0-45 after this year for championships. we will see how far we can go to see if we can break beyond the second round, though we did go to a conference championship, while in atlanta.
______________________
Some of this is semantics, of course, but yes, you are correct that we (Hawks) will be 0-44 in ATL if we don’t claim a championship this year.
But as far as how many different YEARS they’ve competed in ATL w/o a championship (unless they win one in a few weeks) it’s 45. As I suggested to Steve, all this crap becomes moot/irrelevant if they’ll just go ahead and win one. It’s been four-and-a-half decades, after all. Haven’t we waited long enough?!
By the way, I must’ve missed Big Lou’s comment on the number of years/seasons. I mention this because you referenced him in your opening salvo.
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
7:52 pm
Blast
April 27th, 2012
7:38 pm
If it wasn’t for that Marvin fumble in the last play vs the Knicks, Hawks would have closed out all the last 5 home games and won six straight to end the season.
____________________________
Took the words right outta my mouth (see below). We were that close to finishing this regular season exactly opposite of the way we finished last regular season (0-6).
DawgNole
April 26th, 2012
10:10 pm
Good, solid finish to the season. But for a one-pt loss to the Knicks, would’ve been superb. Gotta keep it up for battle-tested Boston, which will never roll over.
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
7:56 pm
Shamrock
April 27th, 2012
7:23 pm
Hawks are lucky to have home court advantage; it’s an advantage for them not to have championship banners casting distracting shadows on their court.
____________________
You got it all by yourself, Shamrock? Where are all your Boston buddies? Don’t tell me they’re afraid to get on here and boldly predict a Celtics sweep like you have?!
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
7:57 pm
Dang, everybody musta gone out jukin’ tonight. Me and Shamrock bout got the blog all to ourselves. That ain’t no fun.
doc
April 27th, 2012
7:57 pm
dn, i dont thing you can make one year into two. it is either 68-69 vs 11-12 or 68 vs 11 or 69 vs 12 but it cant be 68 vs 12 when you speck of COMPLETE SEASONS that cross a year. it isnt semantis but a question of being correct. in 1968 the hawks were still in st louis competing at this time. that is the year i graduated from high school, 44 years ago not 45, though the year began in 67. again, in a season that spans two numerical years as one, you simply cant make the argument you see to want as the whole is between two years if you want to be correct.
DawgNole
April 27th, 2012
8:16 pm
Doc:
Forty-five DIFFERENT years. That’s all I’m saying. They started playing in ‘68; now they’re playing in ‘12. Still no championships. You can quibble about it and play word games (and it IS semantics) all you want, but they’ve played in ATL 45 different years w/o a championship. What you SHOULD be focusing on is WHY they’ve been so miserable in the playoffs during that EXTREMELY LENGTHY period of time. That’s certainly my concern.
doc
April 27th, 2012
8:17 pm
yeah dn if you are having to blog with me and shamrock you are definitely with the weeds of the universe.