Atlanta Hawks: Gearon: Garnett ‘dirtiest guy in the league,’ Hawks ‘don’t get any calls’
Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. was the featured speaker today at the Third Annual Art of It Luncheon at the Piedmont Park Conservancy. The event is sponsored by the W.E.B. Du Bois Society, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that is “focused on bridging the academic gap that exists between African-American students and their white and Asian peers.”
The AJC’s D. Orlando Ledbetter was at the event and reported the following Hawks-related highlights from Gearon’s speech.
On media coverage of Hawks’ playoff series against the Celtics
“Did you see what Al Horford did last night? The timeline for recovery for his injury is another three months. He’s not even supposed to be playing and Josh [Smith] should not be playing. Zaza [Pachulia] can’t stand up, but if we can get past this round there is a chance that we can get him back. So this is a team that is overcoming adversity. I wish . . . some of the national media or even some of the local media, more the paper than the TV guys, recognize how hard these guys are playing based on how injured they are.
“On top of all that, we don’t get any calls, which I know everybody always hears. But I’ll give you a stat. Last night, we are playing this old physical team. They are old. I know what happens when you play basketball, old guys foul. [Kevin] Garnett is the dirtiest guy in the league. We are playing Boston last night and they had two fouls the whole first half. We had five times that and we’re athletic.”
On the Hawks’ injuries
“Derrick Rose goes down and the No. 1 seed is playing the No. 8 seed and everybody is like, ‘Chicago is down 3-1, that’s what you should expect with Derrick Rose down.’ Well, we’ve been playing these playoffs without Zaza, without Al Horford and Josh Smith should not be playing. Our center is Erick Dampier, God bless his heart, but he looks like a granddad. (laughter) He’s a great guy. It’s difficult enough to win a playoff series, but when you lose your whole frontline and nobody ever says, ‘Gee, you are out playing with guys that are hurt.’”
On Josh Smith and his Atlanta roots
“We wouldn’t be where we are without him. The tough thing for our team, I’m a lifelong Atlantian. I was born here. I lived the first 25 years of my life within two miles of where I was born. Right there near Piedmont Hospital. I moved to Cobb County back in 1994 when my Dad convinced me to buy a little house . . . . But the thing about our team, and it’s tough in every city. . . but when you look at the Atlanta Hawks and you know it’s tough.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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348 comments Add your comment
Rod from College Park
May 10th, 2012
1:02 pm
“Rod,
On the subject of JR Smith, are you saying that his bad shots are a result of not having quality PGs on the floor?”
No, I saying a good point guard will usually get his team better shots. JR Smith simply missed shots that he should make, and The Knicks played Woody ball. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Knicks played much better basketball when Jeremy Lin was not injured.
“Now that he crashes and burns in the playoffs against good defense (like ALL one dimensional gunners do) he is supposed to be a catch and shoot guy, dependent of good PG play?”
So based on your premise that all one dimensional gunners crash and burn in the playoffs why did Carmelo not crash and burn? I seem to remember Dominique having great games in the playoffs. You make youself look dumber everytime you post.
DawgNole
May 10th, 2012
1:05 pm
MsDee
May 10th, 2012
12:33 pm
Again Melvin, I totally agree with you but I still say TODAY is NOT the time to do this. Can you honestly say by saying this AT THIS PRESENT TIME would make Joe better??? The PROPER time to critic Joe is during the OFF season where the owners and Sund could make a SOUND decision on either trading Joe (somehow someway) or maybe bringing someone into run with him. But again, to do this NOW, makes NO sense to me.
____________________
Agreed. The timing was questionable at best. Not only provides excellent bulletin board material, but sets the team up for even more national disrespect; i.e., Steven A Smith’s disparaging remarks this morning on espn–that bastion of journalistic integrity.
boxxiethebull
May 10th, 2012
1:08 pm
amnesty or trade? Johnson or Josh?
DawgNole
May 10th, 2012
1:12 pm
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 10th, 2012
10:46 am
Does MC even read this blog anymore?
_______________________
You have to wonder, and that’s a shame. It’s those of us who contribute our opinions–right or wrong, spot-on or ignorant, insightful or dumb–that keep these blogs going. Even limited interaction with his audience would be preferable to none at all.
PaulWinchester
May 10th, 2012
1:14 pm
All of the Hawks fans who are negative and unappreciative towards the Hawks will be overjoyed and in eternal bliss as soon as the Hawks win the NBA Championship later in June. Stay tuned!
Ms. Jones
May 10th, 2012
1:20 pm
Yes Paulwinchester you’e right.
BIG DOG
May 10th, 2012
1:23 pm
If The Hawks lose tonight look for and JOE and MELO trade mark my word.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
boxxiethebull
May 10th, 2012
1:23 pm
Hey…that guy who coaches the Mavs for the last few years may come availble….and Jerry Sloan is out there…did u say timing? this is not an aau league…these guys get big money to make big time decisions, at all times u should be ready for the pressure…isnt there a coach out there who people call a gypsy, but he wins wherever he goes with whatever he’s got?….well, wait, he may want to trade joe johnson……?
boxxiethebull
May 10th, 2012
1:25 pm
Joe for Melo? sounds like a no braineer
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 10th, 2012
1:26 pm
DawgNole
Yeah, it’s a shame.
____________
MT @SherrodbCSN: #Celtics Paul Pierce has sprained MCL but expected to play tonight vs #Hawks. 1 hour ago
____________
Ouch! that is very painful, if true. Are Hawks fans buying this or selling it? PP hurt or faking? Maybe, we can get Marvin to fall on Paul’s knee in the 1st qrtr.
BIG DOG
May 10th, 2012
1:28 pm
I would rather see Joe for Amare.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
BIG DOG
May 10th, 2012
1:31 pm
JOE FOR MELO
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=4ubaes3
J
May 10th, 2012
1:31 pm
he is right to a point … the media says nothing about our main guys being injured but give a free pass to the Bulls for not having Derrick Rose.
KG is dirty though … anybody who has watched the playoffs knows that
Slimjr
May 10th, 2012
1:31 pm
So Paul Pierce has a sprained MCL!!!! Thats huge!!!
Karma? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
He’s only got one good leg.His body wont allow him to score 25-35 points…Joe and Marvin will have much easier time guarding him..
That opens the flood gates for the Hawks…
What a HUGE BREAK for the Hawks! Git’er done people!
Slimjr
May 10th, 2012
1:32 pm
Hawks will win this series!
BIG DOG
May 10th, 2012
1:33 pm
JOE FOR AMARE
IN THIS TRADE THEY HAVE HAWKS LOSING 5GAMES MORE, SMH
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=3okhu6l
J
May 10th, 2012
1:35 pm
i also agree with some other posts … if we had everybody healthy, this series would be in favor for the Hawks right now. Gotta give the guys credit for being able to hang. It always amazes me when you have ignorant people post on here and not realize the amount of pain these gusy are going through playing through their injury. Makes me wonder if the poster ever played sports or truly even understands what it’s like to play injured.
Slimjr
May 10th, 2012
1:36 pm
BIG DOG
May 10th, 2012
1:31 pm
“JOE FOR MELO”
So that trade machine says it will work???
Make it so Scottie! Aye Captain!
jox223
May 10th, 2012
1:37 pm
Half of what he said is completely incoherent.
BIG DOG
May 10th, 2012
1:37 pm
I believe Knicks would take Joe for Amare before Melo, Knicks fans are crazy about Melo but not so much Amare.
Give me Amare all day long before Melo.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
BIG DOG
May 10th, 2012
1:37 pm
I believe Knicks would take Joe for Amare before Melo, Knicks fans are crazy about Melo but not so much Amare.
Give me Amare all day long before Melo.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
O'brien
May 10th, 2012
1:37 pm
Ken S,
First, he put his personal issues aside and benched an unproductive Hinrich and Twin.At this point, Hinrich is a role player, not a starter..
Is Marvin Williams a starter or a role player? One reason Kirk got the start was because Marvin was giving them nothing in the starting lineup, but was producing in a bench role.
dmb,
I wonder if Josh will have less than 5 turnovers.
Najeh,
Look for Willie Green or Pargo to make some timely shots tonight, and help lead the Hawks to a victory.
BIG DOG
May 10th, 2012
1:39 pm
2012
Teague, ?, Josh, Horford, Amare
I would love this team,
no more iso Joe.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
O'brien
May 10th, 2012
1:39 pm
Big Dog,
Amare has 3 years, $60 mil left on his deal. Which wouldnt be so bad, except he has bad knees. And his contract is not insured. So if we trade for him, and he gets hurt, we would not get any insurance money, but would still be on the hook for his salary.
BTW,, as the starting PF last night, Amare was still outrebounded by Mike Bibby. You must be thinking about the old Amare.
drmaryb.(*_*).
May 10th, 2012
1:50 pm
PPierce
Who ever Paul is guarding on our offense, needs to run, run, run, curl, cut and slam on brakes … screeeeccchhh! That should pop something loose and shut Paul down for the game.
Those C’s are so arrogant and bragadocious … I really want to beat them on their court.
BIG DOG
May 10th, 2012
1:54 pm
O’brien – Amare just don’t fit with Melo and Knicks bring him back home down south where he feel more comfortable, plus he would be more vocal with some fire in his blood, Joe to me act like he don’t care and have no heart just to dam quiet, Hawks need a vocal leader with experience a perfect fit for us.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
tidog
May 10th, 2012
1:56 pm
Forget Melo for Joe get Tyson Chandler onboard.
Astro Joe
May 10th, 2012
1:57 pm
I’m predicting a battle of the benches tonight. Neither bench has done much this series… while we have a better bench, we also know that Avery Bradley, Marquis Daniel and even Dolling have the ability to score 8+ points… which would be HUGE in this series. I think we may need 20+ points from our bench to pull out this road win… and I think that we will get it tonight.
MsDee
May 10th, 2012
1:57 pm
Hey yall, u know what? We didnt think about this. IF and that’s a BIG IF we beat Boston in this series and the 76ers beat Chicago, we would THEN be matched up with the 76ers. WE CANT SEEM TO BEAT THIS TEAM IF OUR LIVES DEPENDED ON IT. I know they would be licking their chops to have us in the 2nd round.
Slimjr
May 10th, 2012
1:59 pm
Amare’ has a bulging disk..No thanks…His body is starting to break down….Playing above the rim usually comes back to haunt ya later..See Baron Davis injuries…..
MsDee
May 10th, 2012
2:00 pm
Yeah DrMaryB, those C’s are so arrogant and bragadocious …I would just LOVE it if we win tonight on their home court and AL Horford returns Paul’s favor by Tebowing them in the middle of the court. I would just FALL OUT if that happens!
KevinM
May 10th, 2012
2:01 pm
Its time to take the game to Pierce and see if he can hold up against the pressure offense.
As I’ve said all series, take the ball to the goal and go get the fouls called…..that goes for you too Marvin. You are the perfect example of us not attacking the basket enough.
I like our chances, but you can’t let Rondo survey the territory. Make him make a decision quick and foul him if you have to….he is a weak FT link. Don’t give him easy buckets/assists. If he is a triple/double threat tonight, we got no chance.
The Truth
May 10th, 2012
2:03 pm
Great Players know how to seize a great moment at the right time. But behind every great player there is a great coach.
Since this Hawk team doesn’t have great players, conventional wisdom suggests they lose tonight by a better more focused team who best understood the magnitude of the moment. The bookies got the Celtics winning by 6.5, the largest margin of victory among the 3 games played tonight.
But what may not be factored into this prediction is Al Horford. He has changed the dynamics of the Hawks and could alter the expected outcome of this game, perhaps even the series. However, the real juggernaut for the Hawks may not be the players (Josh Smith, JJ or Marvin etc.) but the coach, LD.
A test of his growth as a coach will be how well he counters the adjustments Doc Rivers will make against him. Will he show the Celtics the same look as game 5 or will he show them something new? What will he do when the Celtics unleash their answer to the addition of Al Horford? Will he stay the course, replaying game 5 script, wearing his starters out with a tight rotation or is there a plan for something different?
Game preparation is not only about the players but a coaching effort as well. We shall see if LD is up to the task or is he still learning to be a Jedi Knight.
Slimjr
May 10th, 2012
2:07 pm
Larry is what he is..An assistant coach trying to be a Head coach…He’s step outside his strengths..
Hawks players will have to overcome their weak leader….
tidog
May 10th, 2012
2:08 pm
The best of times and the worst of times. The best of times was Marvin’s contributions last game. The worst of times will be Marvin hovering around the “3″ line waiting to jack it up.
Slimjr
May 10th, 2012
2:10 pm
Paul is struggling with his shot..You saw him dragging that leg around..He’s getting his piece of humble pie…Good for his proud azz….
You need to good legs to shoot made jumpers….Hmmmm
Slimjr
May 10th, 2012
2:12 pm
Free Ivan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And T-Mac tonight Jedi wanna be knight….
Ray
May 10th, 2012
2:15 pm
So we trying to trade a Iso player for another Iso player, but this Iso guy can’t play defense and also sometimes refuses to play defense??????
Then we want to Amnesty Josh or Joe which both are retarded ideas even I’ve backed away from Amnestying Joe after awhile.
Why Amnesty Josh??? When he’s going into his last year yep it’s a good thing most people in the world aren’t CEO’s of big time companies or else everyday you wake up another one would fall LOL!
No matter what let us dump off Marvin he is the real issue when it comes to that amnesty the only way we get rid of Joe is buying him out which won’t happen now.
Michael Cunningham
May 10th, 2012
2:19 pm
new blog posted. shutting down this thread.
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