Atlanta Hawks: If not Josh Smith, then who?
Josh Smith says he’s a game-time decision tonight for Game 3. If Smith can’t go, which lineup should Larry Drew use in an attempt to somehow win without him?
My (meaningless vote) is for sending out Marvin Williams alongside Jeff Teague, Kirk Hinrich, Joe Johnson and Jason Collins. (Ivan Johnson has done all that can be expected in this series but the second unit needs his zip, toughness, post defense and rebounding.)
From a matchup perspective, I like this lineup because Marvin can defend Paul Pierce instead of Joe. This would theoretically allow Joe to play more overall minutes (more on that later) and have more energy left at the end because Brandon Bass is a much easier defensive assignment. Bass’ game generally is limited to making mid-range and long 2s . Joe would have to keep Bass off the boards but Bass is a fellow blah rebounder.
I also like Marvin with the starters because, according to basketballvalue.com, the only positive plus-minus lineups that have included Marvin in this series are those that also included Joe, Josh and Hinrich. It seems the aggressive, confident, scoring Bench Marvin from the regular season has disappeared so maybe it’s best he run with the starters and focus on defending and rebounding.
Larry Drew hasn’t given any indication which lineup he favors without Josh. If the alignment at the end of practice Thursday is to be believed–and maybe it should be after I wrongly figured the Collins lineup at practice before Game 1 was a smokescreen–Tracy McGrady would replace Josh in the lineup.
It’s not the worst idea. The sample size obviously is miniscule but you can see McGrady’s best on-court, off-court numbers were produced during the 8 1/2 minutes and 14 offensive possessions he was on the floor with Joe, Josh and Twin. And it’s reasonable to believe that’s not a fluke because McGrady generally had positive plus-minus numbers during the regular season when he played in lineups that featured Josh, Joe, either or both.
But if McGrady starts he can’t defend Pierce like Marvin can, and thus the Hawks lose the benefit of moving Joe away from chasing Pierce.
One of my tweeps offered another lineup: Teague, Joe Johnson, McGrady, Williams and Collins. The reasoning: “[J]oe could could exploit [Avery] Bradley in the post.”
I follow the logic but can see a few potential issues. One is that Rivers could counter by simply replacing Bradley with Mickael Pietrus, who has the size and defensive talent to defend Joe. That was a a good offensive alignment but a poor defensive lineup for the Celtics over 30 offensive possessions during the regular season but it came against some good offensive players.
Another potential negative for the Teague-Johnson-McGrady-Williams-Collins lineup is it sends Hinrich to the bench after he’s produced (by the standards of this series) and played well alongside the starters. It also leaves a probable second unit of Hinrich, Jannero Pargo, Willie Green, Vladimir Radmaonvic and Ivan Johnson. That’s a smallish unit with one solid rebounder, one decent rebounder, and no true set-up guy.
No matter which starting lineup Drew uses, he’s not going to have many good options on his bench unless someone, anyone from that unit scores points. Drew might be able to mitigate the offensive struggles of his reserves by staggering the rest periods for his starters. This is essential, as Bret LaGree notes at Hoopinion:
Smith, Johnson, and Teague have joined Drew on the sideline for 17 possessions of this series during which the Hawks have been outscored 19-7.
The makeshift starting lineup? +20 over 71 offensive and 68 defensive possessions.
Swap in Marvin Williams for Jason Collins? The Hawks are still +1 over 12 offensive and 15 defensive possessions.
Remove all your above average players from the floor at once? Disaster, not so surprisingly, strikes.
LeGree adds that Rivers never had both Pierce and Garnett off the floor at the same time during Games 1 and 2. It goes deeper than that: Before Rajon Rondo’s ejection from Game 1 and subsequent suspension, Rivers always had at least two of his three best players on the floor at the same time. Presumably Rivers will continue with that plan now that Rondo is back in the fold for Game 3.
My tweeps and blog people quickly pounced on Drew’s comments that he’s saving his starters “for a long series.” The reaction is understandable. The statement suggests Drew is unaware that playing his best players more minutes could shorten the series in his team’s favor, and that losing games because he’s saving them would shorten the series (and thus the season) to the detriment of the Hawks.
If Josh doesn’t play, Drew won’t have the luxury of having even two players as good as Rondo, Pierce and Garnett. Most likely that’s too much for any coach to overcome. But Drew could give the Hawks their best chance by always having one of Teague and Johnson on the floor at any time and riding those two for as many minutes as possible for as long as the game is still competitive.
That could end up being more important than who starts if Josh can’t go.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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167 comments Add your comment
iVar
May 4th, 2012
11:49 am
FIRST!!
iVar
May 4th, 2012
11:50 am
GOOOOOOO HAWKZ SONNY~!~!~! HAWKZ FOR DA WIN BUZZER BEATER TRE~!~!~!
Bluejeans
May 4th, 2012
11:54 am
Second! Go Hawks!!!
Mike
May 4th, 2012
11:54 am
2nd…
vava74
May 4th, 2012
11:57 am
Game strategy for tonight:
Sit Josh.
Start Ivan and give him 40 minutes of play and 15/18 shots.
Tell him to play as if he was playing in the D-League or in Korea – let him be fearless.
Tell Teague that he can play as if he was playing in Wake, driving recklessly to the rack, but slightly moderated with some pick and roll and the pick and pop plays with Ivan (no point in using Collins to set picks because his defender does not stay with him and simply slides and closes the lane).
Tell JJ that he can only have the rock in his hands 1 second, that he either shoots it or passes it within that span.
Start with a Zone D and see if BOS’ shot from outside is ON or not and avoid at all costs that Garnett and Bass receive the rock in the elbow.
Let them try to win from 3 point land or from down low where Collins and Ivan can be effective against Garnett and Bass.
Use ALL FOULS from Collins and Dampier.
Use Green and Pargo SEPARATELY for short spells in which you give them 2 or 3 shots and see if any of the two is hot.
Use McGrady at least 25 minutes and always with JJ paired with him, make the offense go through T-Mac and see if JJ gets clean looks that way.
Use V-Rad to close quarters (last possession) and on set plays whenever the shot clock is down and there is a stoppage – on those situations he will be either a decoy or will launch a 3 pointer.
Use Marvin to massage Josh knee and Zaza’s foot all game long and wave towels as we regain home court.
Final note: draw blood within the first quarter.
Hollywould
May 4th, 2012
12:01 pm
Vava for Coach!! I love all of it especially Joe Johnson
NUNNA!!
May 4th, 2012
12:04 pm
Marvin..
It will be Marvin..The most complete player that we have who can not only score but shoot from the inside and work his way to the outside with a decent 3 point percentage.
Have we all forgotten how he stepped up when called upon to fill in the scoring when Joe was out a few years back?
All he needs is for the coach to say,”your the man” thats it..And he will handle the rest..
And,have we all forgotten how he has played well early in games this year but LD would pull him and drag old T-Mac off the bench when Marvin was shooting the lights out in the limited time he played early?
I haven’t..Nor has Marvin..
If we allow Marvin to be the focal point of the offense and let joe be joe(which is the best 3rd or 4th option in the history of the NBA)then we will have a better chance to win both games 3 and 4 in beantown..
Michael Cunningham
May 4th, 2012
12:08 pm
@vava: funny stuff in there, thanks for laugh.
Luv Josh Smith
May 4th, 2012
12:08 pm
Will there be a Dampier sighting tonight? Give T-Mac the start along with Teague, Hinrich, and JJ. Play Collins/Ivan and Dampier in the middle. Run the offense through T-Mac and whichever point guard is on the floor when he rests.
Smoove should be in street clothes tonight.
Section 303
May 4th, 2012
12:11 pm
I do not care what the numbers show. I am in favor of any lineup that does NOT include Marvin. I’ve just hit a wall with that guy. He is of no value.
glw
May 4th, 2012
12:31 pm
I agree with you MC, I think starting Marvin where he has less expectations to contribute offensively. He cant handle the pressure of being expected to score. Give him a pep talk and tell him we need him to go out and be a defensive stopper on Pierce. Let him focus on doing that and rebounding. I dont care if he scores 2 pts. Limit Pierce to under 20 and he has done as to what can be expected of him. I would give Radmonovic a look too, in 2-3 minutes spurts, maybe he can hit a couple of 3s or something.
vava74
May 4th, 2012
12:35 pm
MC, thanks, but I was serious about Marvin’s assignment as masseuse/towel-waver. Comic relief was only a secondary issue here.
Not to go against your feeling, but Marvin is the type of guy whose bladder and sphincter control in duress are “shaky”, to put it mildly.
His stroke/mechanics are excellent but every single time we need a shot from him – with very few exceptions – he bricks them as Shaq bricked his FTs.
He is giving us nothing and there is very little reason to suspect that this will change.
On the contrary, Ivan, even with his lack of experience and somewhat questionable decision making at times is a guy who always plays unfazed and that is what we need.
More, I think if we give him shots, he will make them at least at a 45% clip, which is on or around what Josh was giving us and I am very confident that with 40 minutes of play (if he does not foul out, he will snatch at least 12 rebounds).
What we will not have from Ivan is the rim protection which Josh give us, hence my suggestion to clog the lane with a zone D and see if by any chance BOS is cold from outside and we are able to close the elbow shots.
I would go out on limb and say that Dampier could play at least 20 minutes on a zone D and be effective cleaning up the boards.
BOS does not have any big bodies and we could go with a “College Basketball” approach to this game where many times less talented teams can slow down and win games with Zone Ds which allow semi-scrub Cs to gobble up rebounds and protect the rim (Thabbeet, Fab-Melo, …).
Section 303
May 4th, 2012
12:38 pm
The 2nd unit has been terrible this entire series. There have been times in both Game 1 and Game 2 where they looked totally helpless against the Celtics, at both ends of the floor. I think Larry Drew needs to quit the hockey subbing and keep a mix of starters in with the bench. At one point Tuesday, the Hawks were running offense through Marvin. To no one’s surprise, that was a disaster.
With all that being said, it does not matter tonight. They’re going to get blasted. Pretty safe to assume that Josh Smith will not play or be a factor if he does play. Without him, I’m not sure who to turn to. Joe Johnson will pull a disappearing act (Joe has shown that he can’t carry this team. It is just not in him.). After him, who do we have? Marvin? God help us all!
Hawks lose tonight by a minimum of 20 pts. If they can keep the game closer than 20 pts, I will be shocked.
vava74
May 4th, 2012
12:41 pm
Note:
BOS current starting line up also resembles a college team since they don’t have a true C (Garnett) and their PF also perimeter oriented.
kuhndog
May 4th, 2012
12:44 pm
start Marvin with limited min. and t-mac as his backup,Ivan off the bench with green or pargo,I think damp can handle garnett play stack too
northcyde
May 4th, 2012
12:45 pm
303 . . but you have to care what the numbers show. It can’t be valid one way, and not valid the other.
Drew simply has to stop throwing that “bench mob” into the game. They weren’t effective in the 1st half of the game, so Drew should’ve adjusted accordingly, and kept 2 of Josh, Teague, and JJ in the game as long as possible.
I truly don’t know why Drew calls himself “saving his guys, because this will be a long series”. Get JJ his “rest” in the 1st half, and tell him to be prepared to go the distance in the 2nd.
Kevin Durant played 40 minutes in a game in which the Thunder led by 15+ points most of the way. That team was up 18 points going into the 4th, and Brooks still played Durant another 7 minutes, after keeping him in the entire 3rd quarter.
The regular season should be used to mold and shape your team. The post-season is used to get the most out of your team, even if it means playing your stars 40+ minutes a game.
Man in Black
May 4th, 2012
12:49 pm
Look at the + – for Marvin during then playoffs – or regular season – when he is on the floor we lose. To start him will mean being down by 20 at halftime.
Laurice
May 4th, 2012
12:50 pm
“But Drew could give the Hawks their best chance by always having one of Teague and Johnson on the floor at any time and riding those two for as many minutes as possible for as long as the game is still competitive.
That could end up being more important than who starts if Josh can’t go.”
AGREE!!
msc
May 4th, 2012
12:51 pm
You bring T-mac in and run everything through him. He will set up joe for easier shots and don’t play the whole bench at the same damn time lol keep either joe or jeff and rest t-mac til the starters are all back in. and bring in marvin when tmac is out to guard pierce instead of joe.
Just tell joe not to dribble down the clock and try and do too much and turn the ball over!!
Laurice
May 4th, 2012
12:52 pm
@VAVA74 “…..Use Marvin to massage Josh knee and Zaza’s foot all game long and wave towels s we regain home court….”
Hahahahaha!!!
hawkville
May 4th, 2012
12:54 pm
Offensively, stop playing scared, I was at game one and two and after the second quarter of game one, an AAU
hawkville
May 4th, 2012
12:55 pm
would have played better than what I saw from the Hawks. At the very least man up and play ball.
JayInAtlanta
May 4th, 2012
1:02 pm
Let’s be clear.
You’ve got every Celtics player personally telling Rajon Rondo that their game 2 win was “for him.” You’ve got Doc Rivers saying Rondo doesn’t need a lecture or a “talk.” These folks are blaming the officials and Boston-loving David Stern — who gave Rondo an All-Star slot days after his suspension for assaulting an official — instead of holding this guy accountable for his actions.
And now you’ve got Boston supporters saying that Rondo is going to go off for tons of points tonight because he is motivated.
I believe the Hawks have to get as pissed at the other team as they were in ‘08 when they were counted out, or more so. And as pissed at themselves as they are at the other team.
I will note that Game 2 is a contest we would have won if it were not for Josh Smith’s knee bothering him all game and going out when we were down by 2 with 5 min left. Joe Johnson was the leading scorer on either team, outscoring everyone else by at least 6, except for the spectacular game by Pierce.
I want the Hawks to play with the extreme ferocity that they rarely — but sometimes — show to their long-time fans, and if they lose, fine, try again. They did not play like that in the late third through fourth quarter of Game 2, and they lost.
O'brien
May 4th, 2012
1:06 pm
FTPB,
Ms Dee,
The move to make is a Westbrook and rondo swap. Westbrook takes shots away from Durant even when Durant is on fire. And Westbrook turns the ball over too much. Put rondo on that team, and their defense improves, and rondo will help Durant, harden and others get easy shots.
Boston needs Westbrook because they don’t have another scorer besides Paul pierce (ray Allen and Garnett are expiring). And I think doc would help Westbrook become a better PG.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
1:08 pm
“If the Hawks tire late in games, the Celtics seem to regenerate.”
I think you might have meant “rejuvenate”, unless the Celtics players were splitting into two and sprouting offspring.
O'brien
May 4th, 2012
1:09 pm
FTPB,
Doc,
Co-sign. With zaza hurt down the stretch, LD should have given dampier some minutes to see what he could do. But for some reason, LD is infatuated with twin. It would be nice to have another center besides Collins, especially since josh might be out.
Born2Buzz
May 4th, 2012
1:10 pm
VAVA74 gets the award for post of the year, just for his Marvin as masseuse line.
And he points out the major flaw in the initial lineup proposal, Marvin really can’t guard Pierce. He’s a little better than TMac but Pierce will still eat him alive. Hawks need that perimeter defender dude like Tony Allen or even Bradley. Oh well, maybe next year.
doc
May 4th, 2012
1:12 pm
very nice analytical piece here mc. 3 minutes before you osted this i had “the last word” heh heh on the old blog:
doc
May 4th, 2012
11:46 am
“i have a bad feeling that twin is going to be terribly exposed without josh on the court to provide help defense. doc is also gong to attack right at the weakest link and ld had better come up with a strategy quickly r move twin out of the game and find something else to fill that position. dampier has not been used at all and that has been a mistake as he is more mobile than twin. vlad is the next best big but like so many of the hawks he plays a lot smaller than he is as does our fav whipping boy marvin. ivan is the only guy besides josh and really teague that plays bigger than they are.”
i think ld better be ready to get twin out and put ivan in maybe with tmac and marvin to help be big if possible.
i hope sautee digested this one because mc delicately put it well that ld’s transgressions in managing the team was to think his second string could hold their own on their own against doc’s first stringers doc has left in the game to work with the bottom liners. i still am having a hard time wondering what his lapses was for even 2.5 minutes to have hinrich at point with twin and subs in there against their cream. this is a huge flaw is as he tells his players very possession is important he hasnt managed it that way.
the other flaw is any time off is after the season at this point and you go as far as you can with who got you here is the way to coach. you win when you can. that is why some coaches go to 7 man rotations in the post season. granted, the back ups had some good games against poor teams like the nets, bobcats ilk but they were only role players. we really didnt have a reliable one on the bunch, including tmac for both physical and mental reasons in his case, this year being a manage by committee collective rather than a real go to guy. the closest there was green who has not been that in the post season.
before someone jumps in to defend tamc, the greatness in tmac, it was in the past guys. just go and read. he had his problems adjusting to a role he had to, to be ready off the bench. being considered a starter in the past not realizing he was living in the past still thinking he deserved that role as he had part time on a very bad detroit team. he let us down as he made the adjustment and really pouted and went in a shell about his reduced role as ai has done among others in diminshed roles after stardom. he isnt a starter anymore but came here with that in his mind he was and refused to adapt. sorry tmac’ers, only too true. i hope he finds some shine but i dont see it in his game to tak over in any way. if he finds the magic tonight or some good herbs to accelerate his game tonight, great.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
1:13 pm
“But if McGrady starts he can’t defend Pierce like Marvin can”
Based on the first two games of this series I totally disagree. Marvin has been roasted by Pierce while he has guarded him. T-Mac can’t be much worse. He has been more active on D (albeit not on Pierce) than Marvin has in this series.
O'brien
May 4th, 2012
1:14 pm
LD talks about not giving up on the bench, because they were good during the year. Well, as rod points out, this is the playoffs, so it’s a different level.
Ld needs to ride his starters, and pull the plug on the bench players who are not playing well. What’s the point of resting your starters if that leads to elimination in 6?
Plus, there is a day off after every game, and the hawks are still fairly young. Doc has his old guys (Garnett and pierce) playing 40+ minutes, but yet we are going to rest JJ and Josh?
I’ve said it all season long. LD does not have a good feel for in-game adjustments. And when he does make an adjustment, he makes it 5 possessions too late.
doc
May 4th, 2012
1:17 pm
vava, you want a guy to be positive but i like you am disgusted that marvin seems to relish that role of cheerleader rather than showing it on the court. i really wish there was a way to unlock what seemed to be potential that only gets dimmer by the game. he has regressed. i am not sure he would have had a role on the uk wildcat team that won the national championship this year.
doc
May 4th, 2012
1:18 pm
o’b we are barking at the same tree again.
SG
May 4th, 2012
1:20 pm
Let’s go T-Mac. most skilled and best bball IQ guy in hawks lineup. He is well rested thanks to crappy mins given by LD. He didnt take vet min for nothing. He is not retired only for playoff succes and when he was on the floor previous 2 games he played his heart out doing everything driving dishing defending hustling all over the place. LD should give him a shot at starting lineup. Once T-Mac always T-Mac. His surgically reparied left leg is back so he is, just 4-5 years older. Give him his shot. He can lockdown pierce since he knows every offensive go-to move in the league -remember 2times scoring champ, active playoffs scoring leader- and he can find joe off to penetration for easy shots or he can knock down some freethrows drawing some fouls. oh dont forget he is the best post player hawks has. plus knocking down wide-open jumpers would be easy for him to do. Lets go Mac!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
1:21 pm
I like j-bo’s lineup, for what it’s worth. If Ray Allen plays, he will come off the bench, and Kirk is best suited to chase him around screens. Joe has done a great job posting up Avery Bradley the few times he has gotten a chance. I think T-Mac can handle Pierce at least as well as Marvin.
Teague-Joe-TMac-Marvin-Twin
Pargo-Kirk-Ivan
Those should be the only players that play. Forget Vlad and Green.
O'brien
May 4th, 2012
1:22 pm
Najeh,
I think LD will play t-Mac more minutes. But he will not put him in situations that play to t-Mac’s strengths. And if t-Mac struggles, LD will use that as justification to give him a quick hook. IMO
rollow lawson
May 4th, 2012
1:30 pm
If Josh can’t go, Teague and Joe need to play the whole game, with T-Mac on the floor for considerable minutes, especially during crunch time. If Marvin comes out playing sorry, put him on the bench and bring in Radmo to get his jump shot going early. The Hawks don’t have time to sleep walk tonight. They need to hit the ground running. I mean run Boston out of the gym like you started to do Tuesday night.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
1:30 pm
“Marvin is the type of guy whose bladder and sphincter control in duress are “shaky”, to put it mildly.”
LMAO
BIG DOG
May 4th, 2012
1:31 pm
Please don’t starte Marvin.
Hawks lose by 30 tonight if he starte, HA
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
jlewis
May 4th, 2012
1:31 pm
MC:
The points that Vava makes is what all of us see. Also, cant you tell this is falling on teague and coaching, LD played his bench against boston’s starters in both game, he just got lucky the first one, thats idiotic in the playoffs. Teague makes bad decisions, and stops pushing the ball and can not get the team in a set at the end of games, thats why they go ISO, woody or LD does not trust teague.
I remember you being all up on Melo when he came here, doesnt he have the worst playoff percentage of all time? All his percentage is awful, oh, but JJ cant get it done like Melo, please.
jlewis
May 4th, 2012
1:32 pm
sorry for the typo
Rev in Tampa
May 4th, 2012
1:34 pm
Marvin has regressed. He played awful the past two games. He is not even hitting his spot-up 3 that he was able to do earlier in the year.
My vote is for T-Mac to start tonight. Can’t be any worse than Marvin.
Astro Joe
May 4th, 2012
1:34 pm
Turn the game into a track meet and hope that Rondo is willing to work with us, since he probably feels like he has a point to prove after hurting his teammates. IMO, Hawks can’t win a grind-it-out game against these guys. If Rondo is gunning, it is likely a more uptempo game. We need to encourage Rondo to shoot more. I think you do that by making Teague the top scoring option tonight. Give him the John Wall freedom he seemed to long for earlier this season. Rondo will be sucked into the challenge and will render Pierce and KG as secondary actors. Pierce remains the most dangerous Celtic… figure out a way to get his own PG to reduce his role in the offense and the Hawks may steal a game. And IMO, Rondo just may be of the mindset to try to force the issue given his stupidity the other night.
For the Hawks, it doesn’t matter who starts… just make sure Teague is challenging Rondo to a pistol fight (figuratively of course).
BIG DOG
May 4th, 2012
1:36 pm
Teague, Joe, Vlad, Ivan, Collins
Pargo and Hinrich, Green, Tmac, Marvin, Dampier
Blue print LD for Hawks victory tonight.
Big lineup with Dampier backing up Collins.
Josh need to rest that Knee tonight we need him for a healthy game 4.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
1:37 pm
Teague, Joe, and Ivan should play at least 40 minutes in this game, regardless of whether Ivan starts or comes off the bench.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
1:40 pm
In fact I am somewhat tempted to say Teague should play all 48 minutes. He has done it before, even if not in a playoff game.
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
1:46 pm
Mike Tirico on ESPN just said this team is out of excuses. They have to make a move this year….yeah sure. Have you met Rick Sund?
Wanna bet LD goes with Marvin/Collins/Joe in the frontcourt? 2/3 of zero offense and we get killed on the boards out of the gate.
Its up to Jeff and Kirk to get us this win. They have to overachieve tonight.
I am so not looking forward to that lineup.
bigdave
May 4th, 2012
1:47 pm
Marvin guarding who…? Heavens no! paul had him on skates… if no Ray I think we’re in this game if we rebound the ball well. I think doc will abandon his everybody back approach and crash the glass hard without Josh. O, and please stop early penetration in the transition game. Boston struggles in the half court too, gave them too many easy buckets last game. No early offense!! Get em in short clock and allow rondo to eat in the iso post, and jump shots. I might be one of the few that thinks Boston is an equally tough cover with bradley at point b/c you have to respect is jumper. Here’s to hoping there’s no Ray Allen in this series..
Born2Buzz
May 4th, 2012
1:49 pm
@doc re Marvin ” i am not sure he would have had a role on the uk wildcat team that won the national championship this year.”
Oh my! Sadly you are correct.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
May 4th, 2012
1:52 pm
Ivan needs to start.
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
1:55 pm
“vava74
May 4th, 2012
12:41 pm
Note:
BOS current starting line up also resembles a college team since they don’t have a true C (Garnett) and their PF also perimeter oriented.”
That is what is sickening. We should be taking the ball to the rim and take our chances. That is how Boston got so many easy buckets in Game 2.
There’s no reason why Collins, Damp or Marvin can’t make shots inside the paint. They are professional basketball players aren’t they?
Have we ever seen a Marvin shot chart during the game?
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
1:56 pm
Jeff Teague finishes 10th in MIP voting. They really need to fix the way this is decided. Ryan Anderson winning that award is a joke, as that article says.
zgoldatl
May 4th, 2012
1:57 pm
I’m with Vava
northcyde
May 4th, 2012
2:10 pm
LOL @ Anderson being the MIP, when Bynum has essentially elevated his status to the best center in the league ( or at least equal to Dwight ). Bynum will be 2nd team All-NBA this season, but Ryan Anderson is most improved?
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
2:12 pm
Ersan Ilyasova plays the same position as Anderson, has roughly the same skill set as Anderson, and improved his game more than Anderson despite not having Dwight getting him wide open looks. And I don’t even think Ilyasova should be the MIP. It should be Bynum or Harden.
northcyde
May 4th, 2012
2:18 pm
And Marvin pretty much has to play folks. He’s had two horrible games, but he’s still a better option in the lineup than Vlad. Without Josh in the lineup, we’re going to need all the rebounding help we can get. Instead of trying to get instant offense from guys like Willie Green, Drew simply needs to play T-Mac more, alongside JJ and Teague . . and Marvin.
I still prefer Ivan to get the start tonight, but “Scary Drew” is probably of the mindset that he needs to protect Ivan from getting in foul trouble. I’m sure Drew will probably play 10 – 11 players tonight, regardless of how the game is going. Hopefully the guys will play up to their abilities.
MJ49
May 4th, 2012
2:24 pm
So it was obvious to everyone that Marvin played scared last game, I dont understand how after all the battles the Hawks have been through he plays scared, I also dont understand why Joe continues to not get any rebounds, everyone on the floor gets more rebounds than Joe except for Jason Collins, so now the Hawks may only have one Captain playing, the one thats struggled thus far, the one that doesnt catch alley oops, everyone on the team has caught an oop except for Joe and Hinrich and Collins, I theres nothing wrong with resting your players, but when the other team cuts your lead down to 2, you have to abbort that strategy, you dont want our players well rested for an early vacation. Does management think we need a Center now? Will Joe score above or below 30? Will Teague have a double double? Will Joe have at least 7 rebs? Will Marvin score above or below 20? Will Marvin get more than 10 rebs? Will TMac score above or below 20? Will The Hawks step up and earn respect or will Sund & Drew get fired, & due to injuries give this team 1 more go at full strength just with a better coach, gm, and reserve big men? Is this Marvins last chance to step up?
Beantown
May 4th, 2012
2:25 pm
Without J Smith, there’s zero chance of an ATL victory tonight, rest him up. C’s by 20-25, will be over by the third. Good luck with Dampier/Collins/Ivan frontcourt.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
May 4th, 2012
2:30 pm
F what them haters think!!!!!!
BIG IVAN WILL COME UP BIG FOR THE HAWKS TONIGHT
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
May 4th, 2012
2:31 pm
I don’t see why there is a debate here.
Big Ivan has done more than Marvin in one year.
MJ49
May 4th, 2012
2:33 pm
If bos has its on espn, like espnboston or whatever, why would someone supporting bos be on the Hawks blog, I know for a fact if they had an EspnAtl I would never vistit Bostons, The Saints, The Giants, The Packers, The Lynx, The Heat, The Yankees, The Bucs, The Panthers, or The Phillies blog, not never Rhetorical ques
FIRE LARRY DREW IMMEDIATELY!
May 4th, 2012
2:37 pm
Its laughable that a person like cunningham who is around the hawks everyday made the statement that Tmac can’t guard Pierce like Marvin can????!!! what game was he watching Pierce scored on Marvin everytime he touched the ball in game 2… Larry drew looking for more scoring??? Well how bout play the only other perimeter player besides Teague and Joe who can create his own shot…(Tmac)… If Larry Drew blows this series for the Hawks then he should be fired pronto.. Why was pierce allowed to even play one on one on a team missing the likes of Ray Allen and Rondo… This is the worst coaching job I have ever seen.. But hey thats what you get when you only pay a coach a million bucks..
northcyde
May 4th, 2012
2:40 pm
I guess people don’t want to get their hopes up without Josh, so they’re going the reverse route, and predicting the worst.
I still don’t see how people are not seeing that this is NOT a great Celtics team. Even at full strength, that team was struggling to beat us. I personally don’t see a blowout at all tonight. As much of the things Josh brings to the table, he does other things throughout the course of the game that we may not see tonight
- 22 foot jumpers by the PF
- not passing the ball to Teague after a defensive rebound
- slightly better “on the ball” defense
So their are Pros and Cons to Josh being out. More Cons than Pros, but if we can turn some of those Pros to him being out into major positives, that will go a long way in keeping this game competitive.
It’s just like when JJ was out during the season. It’s not like this team just rolled over and died. And I don’t expect them to do it tonight.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
May 4th, 2012
2:41 pm
LOOKS LIKE WOODY AND LD WILL BE LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB NEXT YEAR
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
May 4th, 2012
2:44 pm
MY LINEUP
TEAGUE
HINRICH
JOE
TMAC
BIG IVAN
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
May 4th, 2012
2:45 pm
ONLY THING I LIKE ABOUT MARVIN IS HE GET TO THE FOUL LINE. WHEN HE DRIVES TO THE BASKET HE JUST TRIPS ON HIS OWN FEET AND THE REFS CALL A FOUL.
BIG IVAN FOR PRESIDENT
O'brien
May 4th, 2012
2:50 pm
If the ASG have no plans of amnestying JJ, shouldnt they Hawks beat the celtics with rondo. And now we are only leading by 2 in the 4th with no rondo. Like I said, hawks are very inconsistent Hawks beat the celtics with rondo. And now we are only leading by 2 in the 4th with no rondo. Like I said, hawks are very inconsistent amnesty Marvin? Marvin’s $7.5 mil salary can be used to bring in 2 solid bench players (IMO).
Irregardless (LD’s favorite word) of what his per 36 minutes statistics say, Marvin shrinks in crunch time. We could have had pietrus, Damien, plenty other wings who would do what Marvin does (except for rebounding maybe), at a much lower price.
Greg Carter
May 4th, 2012
2:59 pm
Guys stop it! The Hawks will not win this series. I’m sorry. Listen it might go to 6 games, but we (the C’s) have homecourt. Sorry but who’s your closer again? Like I said, Rondo is the best PG in the league and we have the best defense in the league. You all better be glad you got lucky in game one. The officiating was ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE ergo the reason you won that game. Thanks for giving Rondo the motivation he needs to rip you guys.
Buddy Grizzard
May 4th, 2012
3:02 pm
T-Mac’s last chance to see round 2?
deebo
May 4th, 2012
3:04 pm
i hope the hawks win, but man do they look like a high school team at times.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
3:06 pm
” slightly better “on the ball” defense”
Seriously? You think the on the ball defense will be better without Josh? Something about Twin or Marvin tells you they can contest KG’s shots better than Josh has this series? Come on, man.
samson
May 4th, 2012
3:07 pm
NEWS FLASH: With the exception of Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, and Al Horford, the Hawks suck. We need to blow it up and build around those three guys…
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
3:08 pm
And a lot of those 22 foot jumpers, at least in catch and shoot situations, have gone in. I’d rather have Josh shoot catch and shoot jumpers than Joe go one on five in crunch time. Straight up.
Beantown
May 4th, 2012
3:11 pm
Josh Smith is your best, and really only player (exception possibly Teague). With Smith, you lost game 2, at home (great homecourt btw, ATL really brought it!). Without him, on the road, with the C’s playing with there full squad, you’ll be lucky to score 75 tonite……….94-72…….Book it.
Shamrock
May 4th, 2012
3:19 pm
Be nice Beantown, picking on Hawks fans is like teasing the kids on the special short bus, they are trying to do the best they can with what they have.
Big Lou
May 4th, 2012
3:20 pm
“Based on the first two games of this series I totally disagree. Marvin has been roasted by Pierce while he has guarded him. T-Mac can’t be much worse. He has been more active on D (albeit not on Pierce) than Marvin has in this series.”
That’s inaccurate, Najeh. Most of the time that Pierce is out there, Joe is guarding him. Joe guarded him when he shot that dagger three in the fourth quarter in game two, or when he was too slow to get through the screen. Marvin always does a good job on Pierce. I know that Marvin sucks on offense, but don’t let the bias cloud your judgement.
Big Lou
May 4th, 2012
3:23 pm
“It’s just like when JJ was out during the season. It’s not like this team just rolled over and died. And I don’t expect them to do it tonight.”
Josh is the heart and soul of this team. Without him in there, I expect the Celtics to win by at least 10. Actually, I wagered that they would lose by at least that much.
Buddy Grizzard
May 4th, 2012
3:27 pm
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
May 4th, 2012
2:41 pm
LOOKS LIKE WOODY AND LD WILL BE LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB NEXT YEAR
LinkReport this comment
What makes you think that? I heard Sund has already been offered an extension and LD is safe too. He’s the cheapest option and they aren’t going to just start over in Josh’s final year.
bigdave
May 4th, 2012
3:30 pm
U can go back to the game 1 win. Boston made their first cut into the lead when marivn defensed paul. This was mid 2nd qrt. Marvin simply couldn’t stay in front. Nearly fell one time, but that shouldn’t be much of a surprise.
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
3:32 pm
Celts win easy without Josh, unless TMac or Ivan have big games. No way the refs let Ivan have a big game in Boston. He will be in foul trouble early because Boston’s coach is smart, and he will attack that matchup. TMac is our only hope.
Marvin has no chance guarding Pierce. Matter of fact anytime the Celts see that matchup they isolate Marvin an attack him, and Pierce has scored almost every time. Marvin has been totally useless on both sides of the floor.
tyger
May 4th, 2012
3:35 pm
Plus-Minus don’t mean diddly…scared money dont win!
Drew has to play the guys who are playing well…
This fixation on JJ/Smoove/Marvin is our achilles heel…
Why play them more min. when they’re walking up floor?…
Just not good basketball…You cant win walking up floor…
Our guys are fatigued…You cant get around that…
You have to adjust…Cant just say tough it out…they’re tired…
JJ even said it – he’s ridden them like mules all season…
It catches up with them every 3Q…just a fact…
Fortunately, we have the formula, we did it all year…
But pressure busts pipes…now, with the world watching…
LD playing scared…all season, he mixed-matched, went deep…
Into the bench and found gems…Vladi, Tmac, Pargo, Green…
Everybody contributed to the success we had this season…
Now, he’s scared outta his game, resorting to the Woody-zone…
Play 8 guys, rely on Iso-Joe, play not to lose…
And how can you say we’re any smaller without Josh?…
You have 6′9 TMac, 6′11 Vladi, 7′0 Dampier sitting…
All you have to do is use them, they have 30 yrs combined exp…
If we dont use our assets and lose this series…
Heads should roll…we have former All-stars sitting….
Granted they’re 35 yrs. old, but they can give 5-10 min…
And who’s played KG/PP more than Tmac, Stack?…
Watching JJ walk up the floor and jack 3’s from the timeline…
Is just stupid, get some fresh legs so we can compete…
Buy JJ some time for a dagger in 4Q…
LD lacks confidence in bench – his savior all season…
Scared money dont win!
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
3:36 pm
“That’s inaccurate, Najeh. Most of the time that Pierce is out there, Joe is guarding him. Joe guarded him when he shot that dagger three in the fourth quarter in game two, or when he was too slow to get through the screen. Marvin always does a good job on Pierce. I know that Marvin sucks on offense, but don’t let the bias cloud your judgement.”
It’s actually not inaccurate Big Lou. As the resident Marvin hater, I have watched carefully when Marvin has guarded Pierce, and Pierce has destroyed him almost every time. Obviously by most of the post saying the same thing, you might need to have your eyes checked.
Big Lou
May 4th, 2012
3:40 pm
“As the resident Marvin hater, I have watched carefully when Marvin has guarded Pierce, and Pierce has destroyed him almost every time. Obviously by most of the post saying the same thing, you might need to have your eyes checked.”
I was at both games personally, and all I remember clearly is Joe getting nuked on defense when he was guarding Pierce. I am not saying Marvin will prevent Pierce from making shots, but he’s a better defender than Joe.
“As the resident Marvin hater…”
This is why your comment is pointless.
O'brien
May 4th, 2012
3:40 pm
In one of the games, pierce drove right by Marvin like he wasn’t even there. And what did Marvin do? Commit a silly foul, giving pierce the And One.
And if I’m not mistaken, the dagger 3 from pierce in the last game came in transition. The defender didn’t expect him to pull up and take 3, so I don’t think you can blame the defender for that.
O'brien
May 4th, 2012
3:41 pm
Big Lou,
Joe’s defense was one of the reasons pierce struggled in game 1.
cdog
May 4th, 2012
3:41 pm
the hawks need to go into boston and listen to noone.they need to know they are the better team and win no matter what.they can get 1 or both if they believe and play hard no matter what.
cdog
May 4th, 2012
3:42 pm
they need to clamp intense defensive pressure on the celtics and they will win going away
Melvin
May 4th, 2012
3:43 pm
This would’ve been a no brainer as what to do if Josh couldn’t play, if Marvin could take his guy off the dribble. No way should Bass be able to guard Marvin off the dribble. Bass is a banger who does not have the lateral speed to defend SF but b/c Marvin is so uncoordinated. He will not be able to take advantage…… Ughhg
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
3:47 pm
“I was at both games personally, and all I remember clearly is Joe getting nuked on defense when he was guarding Pierce. I am not saying Marvin will prevent Pierce from making shots, but he’s a better defender than Joe.
“As the resident Marvin hater…”
This is why your comment is pointless.”
Anyone who says Marvin is a better defender than Jose needs their head examined, so there is no need to continue to debate with you. I was at both games also, what does that mean. LOL
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
3:49 pm
Josh is officially out for Game 3 according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
3:50 pm
“I was at both games personally, and all I remember clearly is Joe getting nuked on defense when he was guarding Pierce”
As someone pointed out earlier, Joe defended Pierce very well in game 1, when Marvin was put on him is when he got hot, so as I stated earlier, might be time for some new glasses.
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
3:51 pm
“Josh is officially out for Game 3 according to Adrian Wojnarowski.”
Game Over!!!!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
3:51 pm
” Most of the time that Pierce is out there, Joe is guarding him. Joe guarded him when he shot that dagger three in the fourth quarter in game two, or when he was too slow to get through the screen. ”
All this is true, but it doesn’t change the fact that when Marvin did guard Pierce, he got roasted. I never said Joe did a great job (although he was pretty good in Game 1). I just said Marvin has done a terrible job on him in the first two games of this series. Marvin may or may not be a better defender in general (I don’t really agree that he is) but he definitely hasn’t been a better defender on Pierce so far in this series. He has sucked at pretty much everything except rebounding in this series.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
May 4th, 2012
3:52 pm
Hawks in 6
I got my baddest chick in Rio on it.
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
3:53 pm
Plenty of time to bash LD, but for now, we need to find a rotation that plays well together. LD will go with the normal lineup in this series, anc IMO he should bring in Dampier early to see what he can give us. I was at the Orlando game we won after the AS break and Damp held his own in his first game. We’ve already conceded any offense he or Jason will give us, so 4 on 5 for the most part for the entire night.
Is anyone thinking that Josh will give it a try tonight? That in itself would have me praising him over Al and his rehab. And yes, Al is not going to be banging with anyone when he does come back.
MC just tweeted that it looks doubtful that Josh will go tonight. I at least hope he dresses and maybe he gets the adrenaline going to forget his ’strain’.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
3:55 pm
I had the Hawks losing this game even if Josh played. I will be surprised if they are able to lose by less than 10 points.
Needless to say, Game 4 is a must win.
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
3:55 pm
“MC: @ajchawks: @TSpears Game-time decision but doubtful” @ 3:53PM
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
3:59 pm
“We’re playing guys out of position and everyone has to help.”
Wasn’t LD the one who wanted versatile guys who played multiple positions? Wasn’t that a strength that we brought to this season?
It’s all about rebounds and FTs tonight.
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
4:02 pm
I backtrack my wishes from a summer or 2 ago: I don’t want any part of Al Jefferson on my team:
“Al Jefferson: “San Antonio knows our plays better than we do.”
Nice comment to make.
cdog
May 4th, 2012
4:12 pm
MARVIN WILLIAMS NEED TO STEP UP HIS GAME TONIGHT. HIS LACK OF PLAYING HARD, SMART AND NO DEFENSE HAS KILLED THE HAWKS.IF HE STEPS IT UP, THE HAWKS WILL WIN GOING AWAY.
Bravesfan79
May 4th, 2012
4:15 pm
The Hawks will have to hit a ton of 3’s tnight to win, but its possible! If not, lets get Josh back for game 4, and win that one and try to make it a 7 game series. Hawks in 7!
ThatBengaliGuy
May 4th, 2012
4:15 pm
I am no Marvin fan but I have a feeling Marvin is going to have a good game today.
Adams
May 4th, 2012
4:16 pm
Any chance Horford will get into this series?
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
4:19 pm
“I am no Marvin fan but I have a feeling Marvin is going to have a good game today.”
What’s your definition of a good game?
Playoff Talk, Atlanta Sports and Mailbag: Georgia Kickers « Mostly College Football Blog
May 4th, 2012
4:25 pm
[...] Celtics, lost Tuesday night. The Hawks play at Boston tonight with the series tied 1-1, with Josh Smith a game-time decision. There’s Atlanta sports for [...]
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
4:25 pm
Only way the Hawks win tonight is if Ray Allen doesn’t play and either Marvin or Ivan have the game of their life. That means one of them going for something like 25 and 10.
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
4:27 pm
C Jason Collins 2012 Playoffs Statistics
PPG 4.0 RPG 4.00 APG 0.0 EFF + 5.50
F Marvin Williams 2012 Playoffs Statistics
PPG 2.5 RPG 3.50 APG 0.0 EFF + 1.50
G Kirk Hinrich 2011-12 Statistics
PPG 6.5 RPG 2.10 APG 2.8 EFF + 7.27
These ‘nimbers’ aren’t going to get it done.
LD’s playoff record so far: .500 7-7
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
4:28 pm
I am still waiting for the day Larry Drew calls out Marvin Williams for severely underachieving. How can a guy making over 7 million dollars a year and who has only 5 points in 30+ minutes not even get get mentioned by the coach?
I will be here every day waiting for justice to be served, waiting for Marvin to be held accountable for his piss-poor performance, severe underachievement, and blatant incompetence in all facets of the game. This is while others such as northcyde (actually, other – he is the only person in this entire city who actually defends Marvin) consistently defend him and post PER stats which don’t show the whole story. Still waiting on you to post Marvin’s PER for games 1 and 2.
vava74
May 4th, 2012
4:28 pm
Marvin has been absolute crap on both ends of the floor and he has not stopped ONCE Pierce in the times they were matched up.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
4:29 pm
From a few blogs ago:
ROTFLMAOLOL @ Northcyde calling me a “Fan” of his when this dude spent half an hour the other day typing up an 8 Mile rap featuring thoughts I allegedly was running through my head. Get real, dude.
“Dear JeJe, I wrote you but you still ain’t calling. I left my cell, my pager and my home phone at the bottom. I sent 2 letters back in Autumn, you must not’ve got’em”
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
4:30 pm
MARVIN HAS 5 POINTS IN THIS SERIES. He is the worst player on this team and one of the worst in this league – I am glad Rod, myself, and High-sider (I believe) are the 3 most adamant Marvin realists here. This guy has not made a single jumpshot in the series. Look at his game log – it is a JOKE. 5 POINTS WHEN YOU ARE MAKING 7-8 MILL A YEAR GOING AGAINST BENCH PLAYERS ON THE OTHER TEAM. AND YOU ALSO INJURED OUR STARTING CENTER. SMH
Mr Mojo
May 4th, 2012
4:47 pm
Report from Yahoo saying Smith is out tonight. Wanna hear it form the Hawks hoping its not true.
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/nba–hawks–josh-smith-to-miss-game-3.html;_ylt=AmjQwOKG5mM1aYP_HpB5omrqbwM6
Beantown
May 4th, 2012
4:49 pm
“Only way the Hawks win tonight is if Ray Allen doesn’t play and either Marvin or Ivan have the game of their life. That means one of them going for something like 25 and 10.”
Ivan couldn’t go off for 25/10 in my Work League, honestly.
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
4:50 pm
“I am still waiting for the day Larry Drew calls out Marvin Williams for severely underachieving. How can a guy making over 7 million dollars a year and who has only 5 points in 30+ minutes not even get get mentioned by the coach?”
It’s been almost 7 years, and no GM or coach for the Hawks has ever called his sorry a@@ out. I have never once heard an Atlanta coach call Joe, Marvin or Horford out. They have bashed Josh, Teague, Tmac, Jamal, Ivan, Zaza, but never once these players. the most I have heard is that well he know what Joe can do, he just had a bad game. These three guys are the three that are least likely to step up in a big playoff game, but they never get called out. I don’t understand it.
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
4:54 pm
Josh is a warrior. The guy never misses game. I can honestly say I only remember a handful of games he has missed since he became a Hawk. That being said, if the diagnoses is correct, no way you play him tonight. You only hope he can go on Sunday. If he does, his explosion will be limited, and he will teansform into Josh Bird (all jumpshots). We are in trouble.
Section 212
May 4th, 2012
4:54 pm
Take the game out of LD’s hands. LD does not have a playoff coaching mentality. Most coaches shorten their bench and play their starters more minutes and almost never have all the best players on the bench. Rivers saw an opportunity and went for it by keeping Garnett and Pierce on the floor against our second unit. That is what you call COACHING aDJUSTMENTS!!!! Longs series…resting players when the playoff schedule has rest built in. LD get your head out of the sand.
Section 212
May 4th, 2012
4:56 pm
Smoove is a warrior but he probably needs to sit this game out, or keep his minutes to <20 for situational plays…oh yeah, LD does not have any situational plays
Section 212
May 4th, 2012
4:59 pm
Our offense should be: JT drive to the hole, shoot or kick out, ISO Joe with shots early in the clock, nothing under 5 seconds.
Section 212
May 4th, 2012
5:00 pm
Marvin lads the league in missed wide open shots!!!!!!
High-sider
May 4th, 2012
5:00 pm
Grandmaster JeJe (GM) and Rod from College Park,
Co-sign on all your posts regarding Marvin Williams’ week performances.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM), thanks for the shoutout in your earlier post.
High-sider
May 4th, 2012
5:01 pm
^should be “…weak performances”^
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
5:12 pm
http://www.790thezone.com/instantreplay/Episodes.aspx?PID=2446
Interview with Bob Rathmun done that bought up some good points. He states that since the 1st quarter of game 1, the Hawks have shot 35% from the field. He also states that in the second game, once we went up by 11, from that point on we shot 4-19 from the field, and were outscored 33 to 15. But, there are two idiots who continue to post 3 page post talking about how we need to defend better (LOL). HELLO. WE CAN”T SCORE.
Another point he made is that once a Boston player shoots, 4 guys run back on defense to prevent any fast breaks. He states that they don’t even care about offensive rebounds. Interesting point, I will watch for that tonight.
bigdave
May 4th, 2012
5:16 pm
If josh can’t go tonight u can bet they hit the offensive glass…
NUNNA!
May 4th, 2012
5:17 pm
Yall gonna see.. If Marvin is turned loose and starts,he will be on fire and he will show yall what he can do when given the role as an offensive option,1st or even 2nd..
But,LD is so out of touch that he is gonna sub Marvin for a long time and Marvin will come back in being the 4th or 5th option behind twin..
Hey Marvin!!
DO YO THANG!!! LOL..DO IT MARVIN!!
Mac-Town (478)™
May 4th, 2012
5:20 pm
no excuse for T-Mac not to get major burn tonight.
NUNNA!
May 4th, 2012
5:21 pm
Beantown
“Only way the Hawks win tonight is if Ray Allen doesn’t play and either Marvin or Ivan have the game of their life. That means one of them going for something like 25 and 10.”
—————————————————————————
Ivan may have a game close to that but if either one does it,it will be Marvin!!
Im gonna make a prediction right now..
If Marvin starts and is either the 1st or 2nd option on offense,he will score at least 10 or more points before he is replaced in the 1st qtr…
I SAID IT!! AND IT WILL BE DONE!!
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
5:22 pm
Co-sign Rod.
My only major knock on Josh is the jumpshots. I swear, if he cut back on those and turned those into post-ups, he’d be damn close to leading the league in FG%. That, his passes, and his dislike of passing the ball to Teague.
He is by far our best player right now.
ntrigue
May 4th, 2012
5:23 pm
Marvin can’t check Paul pierce Joe just has to suck it up!
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
5:24 pm
Marvin really is The Invisible Man (what the Magic announcers call him).
Can someone in this pathetic front office please tell this guy to wake up?
To not “be upset” and to say that the other team “did what they had to do” are the two most frustrating things a fan can hear after a loss
yodaddybrother
May 4th, 2012
5:24 pm
Teague, joe, Tracy, Marvin and Collins works
As long as Stupid Drew doesn’t sub out the starters at the same time and strategically staggers the lineup.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
5:25 pm
Najeh,
Any chance Ray returns and is rusty/misses shots/defense sucks so Joe can expose him? That is, if Joe wants to…
My interpretation of Stackhouse’s comments is he has us going to the Finals, but looking at the rest of the teams in the Playoffs, the team playing the best is Miami. He of course wants to go to the Finals and is “planning” on it, but Miami is playing better than us. So what? The dude has begged to be on this team for 2-3 years. He loves the city, loves our team. Nothing to be mad about. I think we all know here that Miami [probably] will be going to the Finals
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
5:27 pm
I hope those Rondo remarks were forwarded to the team. I know Rondo and Josh are tight, but I could see Josh having a huge game after hearing that. We need everyone to step up tonight. Would be nice to have a lead at halftime. If we are down 46-39 at halftime and Boston starts the 2nd half with a 6-0 run, it will be a looooooooooooong half. Just look at NYK from last night. I think we all knew what was coming to them LOL.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
5:28 pm
Such a nice blog above but not even one mention about the T-Mac situation…C’mon MC
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
5:43 pm
I think a big reason Rondo made those comments is because he knows we are a nice quiet team and we are less likely than any teams [with actual leadership] to strike back
yodaddybrother
May 4th, 2012
5:46 pm
I just saw Rondo say they already won the series! Lol…in response the Hawks will bow down guaranteed
TMACfan
May 4th, 2012
5:46 pm
Ray Allen is back….
yodaddybrother
May 4th, 2012
5:47 pm
Joe Johnson….the hero that we don’t want and the one that we don’t need
yodaddybrother
May 4th, 2012
5:48 pm
“Ray Allen is back…”
Hopefully he messes up chemistry…..most likely not though
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
5:59 pm
“I think a big reason Rondo made those comments is because he knows we are a nice quiet team and we are less likely than any teams [with actual leadership] to strike back”
Agreed. Who would he be scared of Marvin Williams? LOL Joe Johnson?
SteveW
May 4th, 2012
6:02 pm
Even Charlotte won 7 games this season. Point?
Sometimes you play a game and everything is falling, and nothing is falling for the other team. Maybe the Hawks have one of those games in their favor tonite.
I saw a pretty mediocre Indy team hit like 19 shots in a row in the 3rd quarter of a game last season, really beat somebody bad, can’t remember who
So you never know – that’s why they play the games
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
6:03 pm
We are wearing red uniforms tonight. Wow haven’t been on the road in ages.
Hopefully we come out firing with the red unis. I think the players enjoy wearing them and play better No Homo
SteveW
May 4th, 2012
6:05 pm
Ray Allen is good, and when he get’s hot, it’s amazing. But he’s not the same Ray Allen of even 2-3 years ago.
I’m more concerned about our guys, Josh, ZaZa, Al and their health, and how the healthy guys play than I am about Ray Allen.
Watch him torch us for 30 tonite.
DD
May 4th, 2012
6:05 pm
Josh Smith will not play tonight vs. Boston (knee). Marvin Williams will replace him in the starting lineup
SteveW
May 4th, 2012
6:09 pm
MC – Thanks for the great article btw
Shamrock
May 4th, 2012
6:10 pm
Rondo goes for a triple double tonight.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
6:12 pm
Wonder if Marvin goes into hiding now that he’s starting. Haven’t seen much from his career to indicate otherwise.
Hawks2012
May 4th, 2012
6:12 pm
this is why we needed to win game 2. i say its time we take a dirty shot at rondo or kg or pierce and try to injure one of their players to even things up. no way we lose this series if josh, al, and zaza were all healthy
Shamrock
May 4th, 2012
6:13 pm
Marvin Williams goes out for a double cheeseburger tonight after the game.
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
6:19 pm
You contain Rondo, you contain the C’s.
That was the mantra heading into the series.
Its Joe and Jeff, but our interior has to overachieve.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
6:30 pm
“Marvin Williams goes out for a double cheeseburger tonight after the game.”
Erick Dampier goes out for a triple cheeseburger tonight before the game.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
6:36 pm
Ray Allen is active. Josh Smith is not.
life time hawk
May 4th, 2012
6:37 pm
I think vlad should starrt at center because garnett is just saggingin the lane he know collins cant shoot so we cant get in the paint with himjust sittingin the laneIEnter your comments here
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
6:38 pm
“Any chance Ray returns and is rusty/misses shots/defense sucks so Joe can expose him? That is, if Joe wants to…”
Still gotta account for him on D, which will open up wide open lanes to the basket for Pierce/Bradley/KG, and no Hawk will be around to play help defense with Josh out.
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
6:38 pm
Marvin starts for Josh. Teague-Kirk-Joe-Marvin-Twin.
High-sider
May 4th, 2012
6:41 pm
I can see it now; Marvin Williams goes for the “triple-couple” tonight in Game 3 vs. the Celtics. [smh]
Marvin Williams’ [predicted] stat line tonight – 2pts, 2rebs and 2asts
[Marvin Williams, please prove me wrong.]
Walt Frazier
May 4th, 2012
6:45 pm
Switch coaches give Doc Rivers the same Hawks lineup and give Larry Drew the Celtics lineup. Larry Drew will still get out-coached. Hawk lose tonight and Sunday. Frustration will seep it’s ugly head as the reality and finite-ness sinks in that they are through, period. Fights will erupt, and the refs will call a tight one on Sunday. The Hawks will lose by 20 tonight. I call it like I see it and it’s not negative, but somebody has the smack the unconcious (fans) out of their Hawks coma and put them on the track to redemption-new team, new players, new owner–once and for all.
Walt Frazier
May 4th, 2012
6:50 pm
Looking foward to round two. Heat/Celtics and Bulls/Pacers. Eastern conference finals: Heat vs Bulls
That should be a good series. I like the Heat. The question remains: can Lebron keep up his monster’s ball-in?
TMACfan
May 4th, 2012
6:52 pm
#FreeTMAC
The Bird and Indian
May 4th, 2012
6:55 pm
Walt Frazier: Hey smart guy. The Celtics would be playing the Bulls in the next round IF they get by this one. Idiot.
Blast
May 4th, 2012
7:03 pm
With Josh out for game 3, the Hawks have no hope of winning tonite, bottom line.
Yeah, Drew’s substitution pattern makes no sense. All five subs on the floor at the same time while Boston keeps starters in the game. Simply dumb. Rest? What rest? This is the playoffs, man. Not sure Pierce even got a breather in game 2.
Love my team, but I just don’t see them winning this game unless Marvin and Joe go for 30 points each.
Yeah, right!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 4th, 2012
7:05 pm
Interesting stat from Bob Rathbun: the Hawks have had the lead after 3 quarters in all 5 games against Boston this season, regular season and playoffs. They have only won 2 of those games.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
7:07 pm
Damnit this is depressing.
If we were up 2-0 this wouldn’t be nearly as painful.
Gotta pray Boston’s shooting is off and Marvina can do sometng out there
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
7:10 pm
Please just win 1 of these 2 games. I cannot stand seeing those Celtics showboating
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
7:14 pm
With Josh out, does anyone here REALLY believe that we can steal one tonight?
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
May 4th, 2012
7:15 pm
KevinM
May 4th, 2012
7:14 pm
With Josh out, does anyone here REALLY believe that we can steal one tonight?
LinkReport this comment
****
Yes. EVERYONE needs to step up. EVERYONE
Rod from College Park
May 4th, 2012
7:17 pm
Gandmaster JeJe,
Don’t ruin you night. We don’t have a chance.
kevkat
May 4th, 2012
7:18 pm
It’s so depressing to hear the Jon Barry and others discuss Chicago’s chances against Boston in the next round….unfortunately the Hawks show nothing to dispute what they are saying
Michael Cunningham
May 4th, 2012
7:27 pm
new blog posted. shutting down this thread.