Atlanta Hawks: Failure was not an option for Tolliver
Vivlamore reporting from Hawks practice.
Anthony Tolliver took the phone call from Hawks general manager Danny Ferry Saturday. His first thought before answering was not a good one. Why would the general manger call if not to break some bad news?
The forward, fighting for a roster spot, feared he had failed to make the team. However, Hawks management wanted to inform the veteran quite the opposite.
“It scared me when they called me,” Tolliver said Sunday. “Usually, it’s no news is good news. I was getting a call (Saturday) and I was like ‘This isn’t good.’ But they said they look forward to having me on this team.”
Tolliver secured the final spot on a roster of 14, one below the NBA maximum. The Hawks waived James Anderson and Damion James Saturday to finalize their roster well before the Monday deadline. Coach Larry Drew said the final decisions were not easy, especially in the case of James. The former Hawks draft pick turned heads with his preseason play.
“Going into our preseason we were looking at both (Anderson and James) very closely,” Drew said. “Damion James was a guy I was looking at extra close. I love his size. I love his length. I love his athleticism. He’s mindset is to defend.
“We thought it was more important to give ourselves a little flexibility by leaving one (roster) spot open. I thought Damion played extremely, extremely well. Probably should have made our club. But again, our mindset was we wanted to allow ourselves flexibility in the event there is something else out there, there is something else that might pop open.”
Drew said he knew little of Tolliver prior to training camp other than his name came up from time to time as a trade possibility. He said his initial impression that Tolliver was just a 3-point shooter was not accurate.
It was Tolliver’s exhibition play, especially on the defensive end, that made the decision to keep him an easy one. The 6-foot-8 Tolliver averaged 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in seven exhibition games.
“He has versatility where you can play him at some (power forward) or move him to some (small forward),” Drew said. “In a lot of ways, he’s like Josh (Smith). He might not be the athlete that Josh is but defensively his length and his understanding about defense makes him a very valuable piece.”
Tolliver, 27, is entering his fifth NBA season after playing at Creighton. He spent the past two seasons with the Timberwolves but has also played for the Spurs, Trail Blazers and Warriors. There have also been professional stints in the Developmental League and overseas in Germany and Turkey.
Tolliver said he wants to be known as a player who will do thing things nobody else wants to do – take a charge, dive for a loose ball. By his unofficial count he figures he drew one, or sometimes two, charges per exhibition game.
“I came in with the mindset that failure was not an option,” Tolliver said. “I didn’t really even think about it as a tryout. I was just coming in and doing what I do, what I’ve been doing for the last five years
“I try to go out there and play mistake-free basketball. I don’t want to go out there and over-think things. I just try to go out there and help my team win, if that is taking charges, diving on loose balls or always being in the right position on defense and on defensive rotations. I’ve been in this league for a while. I’ve been playing professional basketball for a while. It comes second nature to me.”
Practice report: Jeff Teague and Zaza Pachulia, both with sprained left ankles, took part in Sunday’s practice because it was all non-contact. Their status for Friday’s regular-season opener has still not been determined.
- Chris Vivlamore
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86 comments Add your comment
hawksfancents95
October 29th, 2012
12:01 pm
Well I think we just guarenteed our draft pick from Houston since they got james harden and will now make the playoffs. Another great day in Atlantas offseason. I know a lot of you wanted us to get Harden as a compensation in next years free agency since we will not get dw12 or cp3 but harden is not a max contract player and ill be happy to see Hou give harden like (asik and lin) more money than they are worth.
Only a few days till we destroy Houston at The Highlight Factory(aka Josh Smiths backdrop for SC Top 10 Highlights)
My guess for our starting lineup and rotation..
PG-Jeff Teague SG-Devin Harris SF-Kyle Korver PF-Josh Smith C-Al Horford
Let Lou come in for Teague or Harris at 6 min mark, let Ivan and ZaZa come in at 5-4 min mark. Let Morrow or Stevenson get minutes at SG or SF around 2 minute mark.
Im thinking we go 41-41 right at .500% and are a 6-7 seed. Losing in a hard fought 7 to BOS..again
Oh and btw I thought Tolliver is going to be extremely effective for us, he is another glue guy every team needs.
I MUS WRITE
October 29th, 2012
12:02 pm
Nothing to see here folks. Damion James is a liability offensively. He plays good defense and rebounds yada yada yada but NO. Im satisfied with Stevenson and Tolliver at the three-they give us a blend os offense and hard nosed D…..I wish we could have gotten Peitrus though.
ll
Slim Jr. Its the NBA everyone has a bad night. Tolliver may not be a beast defensively but he is okay and has the range and scoring ability we need at the 3 so….
My prediction for ROY is Damian Lillard-That yungn has game Portland is set at PG for yrs to come.
This is just a thought but we should atleast kick the tires on Oden. If he could give us 12-15 minutes a game that might be worth a try
O wow harden to the Rockets…….
I MUS WRITE
October 29th, 2012
12:05 pm
O wow Harden to the Rockets. I guess they felt he was expendable and not worth a max deal…..
Slimjr
October 29th, 2012
12:09 pm
Yes, PJ3 made overrated by some [Harden] expendable indeed….
Slimjr
October 29th, 2012
12:11 pm
Anthony will be glued to the bench..
cp
October 29th, 2012
12:14 pm
I don’t listen to much of what LD has to say as he usually does the opposite of what he says anyway. The Hawks are not a good rebounding team so what do they do, get rid of the best rebounding sf on the team. Stevenson gives this team nothing. Tolliver looks like a stretch 4 rather than a 3. We have a bunch of pf’s on this team but we needed a sf. Korver can shoot but he isnt a good defender. It is what it is at this point.
Big Ray, Vick has been average at best this season but the game yesterday is on that defense. Vick would have had to pull off that Monday night game against the Skins performance from years ago to have kept the Eagles in that game yesterday. The Eagles defense was atrocious yesterday and Reid still refuses to give his rb the ball. They have a top 5 rb but you wouldn’t know by the way they use him. Im glad Vick has turned his life around but its clear his time is Philly is up. I believe the Falcons are the real deal this year. If they stay healthy I think they make a deep playoff run.
Astro Joe
October 29th, 2012
12:15 pm
Strickland, Stevenson signed a guaranteed contract to come to the Hawks to help faciliatate the Joe trade. That was his noteworthy achievement in the summer and is the reason he is on the team. I suspect Tolliver was the lone non-guaranteed player to make the deal beacuse he appeared to tbe the best 2-way player. My guess, James will be available next summer along with Garrett Siler, Othella Hunter, Keith Benson and a host of other past undrafted players who have gone on to do little more than continue to get invited to NBA camps.
Mike is Back
October 29th, 2012
12:29 pm
That was a Shrude…but smart move by OKC.
IMUS, I like Tolliver…when you think about the SFs in East…having another high energy guy like James…could have been a huge plus…size wise…but now that I’m over the shock…I can see your point.
Slimjr
October 29th, 2012
12:42 pm
When will Romo’s time be up? Hmmmmmmmm
doc
October 29th, 2012
12:54 pm
not sure of the comment about pocket passers need time there slimj. dont al qb’s need it, even peyton and brady. yup maybe you are seeing what a little protection does for the man and something folks noticed when he was leading the league in knockdowns. pretty catch and throw to jones yeasterday about 55 yds in the air. sweet.
eli is the man, romo isnt. i really think it is as much about the coach relationships to qb though but surprised reid has lost his magic with ob’s all of a sudden.
Mike is Back
October 29th, 2012
12:57 pm
AJ, good point…if you look at from that perspective…you can kind of understand the decision…hope you right about these cats being available.lol
Fred Everett
October 29th, 2012
1:05 pm
I do not want to rain on anyone’s parade…but…it really does not make much difference who the Hawks cut. It is hard for me to see a 41+ win season until Ferry is able to dump salary cap at the end of the season…sign a free agent(s)…realize some value from the accumulated # 1 draft picks.
2012-13 looks to me like a “hold-while-we-reload-season”.
MsDee
October 29th, 2012
1:19 pm
Damion James @KONJames10
My life has always been HARD! I c I gotta take the HARD route to get back to the TOP! Good thing I been there be4! Leggggo
MsDee
October 29th, 2012
1:20 pm
Chris Vivlamore @ajchawks
Jeff Teague and Zaza Pachulia (sprained left ankles) returned to full-contact practice Monday. Should be ready for season opener.
MsDee
October 29th, 2012
1:20 pm
Chris Vivlamore @ajchawks
Johan Petro (back) held out of #Hawks practice Monday.
The Truth
October 29th, 2012
1:21 pm
Ken
Your 11:30 am post earn you “The Truth” award for today. That post save me time and effort. Nice job!!
Just to add: I thought LD botch 2nd round pick of Pape Sy was an abnormally “rookie-like HC” thing to do. So, he got the benefit of the doubt in that instance. But now I am beginning to see a flawed pattern in his evaluation of talent.
In retrospect, those time when we were blaming Sund for bringing in washed-up and/or senseless talent to add to the roster, maybe we should have been blaming LD for his behind the scene involvement.
Slimjr
October 29th, 2012
1:32 pm
Damion, my advise would to be to work on your offensive game..At 6′7″ that should have been your strong suit anyway..Like your game and I see the potential. I would have taken a shot with ya!
Slimjr
October 29th, 2012
1:33 pm
[advice]^^^^^
Jason S
October 29th, 2012
1:43 pm
A little off topic, but:
After taking a close look at the rosters around the Eastern Conference, I don’t see how Atlanta does not make the playoffs. (I guess bad news for those who were hoping Atlanta would be lottery bound this year.)
Several playoff teams from last year have arguably gotten weaker. One playoff team from last year has gotten so much weaker that they won’t even be in the hunt (Orlando). The only playoff team that (at least to me) has clearly gotten stronger is Miami (deeper bench). Of course, the Nets should be *much* improved this year, but they were not a playoff team last year.
Barring major injuries, Miami will be #1 again. But #2-8 appears completely up for grabs with Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Indiana, New York, and Philadelphia fighting for position among those 7 spots. (I don’t think, for example, the Wizards or the Bucks have much of a chance of breaking into the top 8.)
It really seems like Atlanta has a chance to finish as high as 2 and as low as 8. Part of the reason for such a wide spread is, in part, because we still aren’t 100 percent sure what we are going to get out of Atlanta this year (but, c’mon, Atlanta has to be at least better than the Bucks and Wizards of the East!). But the other reason is that it really seems like there really isn’t much separating 2 from 8 in the East.
Maybe Philly breaks out. Maybe Brooklyn improves enough that they break out. But otherwise 2-8 seems pretty even this year.
Ken Strickland
October 29th, 2012
1:43 pm
ASTRO JOE-Tolliver didn’t sign a guaranteed contract.
I MUS WRITE-Stevenson started 30gms last yr in Jersey. Although he played on a bad team, his FG% was 28.5% and his 3P% was 28.3%, and he scored a whopping 2.9PPG playing starter mins. Man, that’s worse than Bibby at his worst. In about 20MPG during exhibition season he scored just 5PPG. He played more gms and about the same MPG as James but scored fewer PPG.
Based on his almost total lack of production since last yr, wouldn’t it be more logical to say that Stevenson, not James, is the one who’s most likely to be an OFF, as well as rebounding liability? If we have enough money to pay the 13 guaranteed salaries, plus the salaries of the other 6 players we had in camp, we should certainly be able to afford to carry a 15th contract.
The reason given for carrying only 14 players is the flexibility it affords for us if we decide to sign another player. So, that proves we’re financially capable of carrying an additional contract.
Slimjr
October 29th, 2012
1:55 pm
KenS, the more [nimbers] you display to cement your dissertation referencing Stevenson’s production the previous season, the more I’m inclined to suggest as you have previously stated that this dude is a buster….
MsDee
October 29th, 2012
2:09 pm
In the Detroit game, J.Jenkins had a perfect night shooting 3-3 from the field, 1-1 3pg, 1 AST, & 1 foul in less than 9min finishing with 7pts. Would love it if he could get some quality mins this season but of course that CRAZY thinking on my part, knowing Drew wouldnt do anything smart like that!!
Ken Strickland
October 29th, 2012
3:01 pm
SLIMJR-After seeing DStevenson contribute to Dallas winning the NBA title against the Heat, many Hawks fans seem to have become stuck in neutral when it comes to DStevenson. They insist on believing he’s the same player that he was then, but everything he’s done since the championship series says he’s become a bust.
There’s nothing to suggest he’ll get any better as a scorer, rebounder, passer or defender, but there are definitely signs he’s gotten worse, and many are ignoring an obvious reality in favor of wishful thinking. James outperformed him in almost every OFF and DEF category, especially when it came to much needed rebounding and DEF.
It appears obvious that James has the ability to improve his OFF when playing with PGs like Teague, Harris and Williams, while Stevenson barely averaged the equivalent of one made 3PT FG, or a made 2pt FG and 1 FT in over 20MPG playing with DWill. DStevenson represents this yrs version of the limited, past their prime, and/or one dimensional player we once thrived on signing(EDampier, EThomas, MBibby, JStackhouse, JWilliams and JCollins).
In the past we went out of our way to sign veteran players that were deep in decline just because they would accept min contracts. Now we’ve gone in the opposite direction and started cutting younger more talented and cheaper players in favor of vets with larger contracts.
Ken Strickland
October 29th, 2012
3:10 pm
MSDEE-Drew would much rather ignore the play and production of a younger less experienced player like Jenkins, or even James, and depend on a struggling vet like Stevenson, who didn’t score a single pt during that same gm.
MsDee
October 29th, 2012
3:14 pm
Exactly, KenS
glw
October 29th, 2012
3:21 pm
@ Ken Strickland
I dont think anyone is expecting a whole lot from Stevenson. But Stevenson has a serviceable role on this squad. You comparing Stevenson and James, but the two really had nothing to do with each other. Stevenson is more versatile than James, he can play 2 or 3 and therefore more likely to see PT during the season. I would definitely like to have seen him on the team because he can contribute. Stevenson has shown in camp that he possesses a trait that few on this team lack, outside of Ivan and Zaza and thats a willingness to not back down and play with a chip on his shoulder. So yeah I will take Stevenson on my team all day, everyday. I dont care if he scores 10 pts all year. I know when he is called onto the floor, he is gonna throw and elbow, get in someone’s grill. We need a guy like him, who want let Kobe,DWade and Lebron punk us. James not making the team has more to do with the team carry extra shooters and replicating similar roles in players. So when they decided to go with 14, the last 2 spots came down to Tolliver, Scott and James and James lost out.
Sam
October 29th, 2012
3:44 pm
Couldn’t cut Stevenson b/c you’d have to pay the remainder of his contract he signed during the sign/trade from NJ. I believe that money is guaranteed. Might as well try to get something for your investment. It’s not like our ownership to give someone money and then tell them, “be gone”.
Rusty
October 29th, 2012
3:48 pm
When LD took woodson place I was very happy, LD talked about a faster pace,a new offense going away from iso joe but never lived up to all of his bullcrap , made stupiddisicions & proved himself to not being capable of being an NBA coach & still is here continuing to be stupid.
Grandad
October 29th, 2012
3:58 pm
Here are the questions that Danny Ferry should have
or may actually have asked LD:
Okay LD … we are only going to keep 14 players;
decide between Toliver & James.
Now;
who is the better at:
moving w/o the ball, setting screens;
who is the better on ball defender, which one can best defend the [3],
which one can defend the most positions effectively,
which has the better feet defensively, which stays in stance,
who is the better defensive rebounder, etc.
LD`s answer ……. uhhhhhhh ……. I`ll get back to you on that.
I`m tellin` yawl; If we can see through LD`s methane fog;
surely Ferry can see through it as well.
MsDee
October 29th, 2012
3:59 pm
Chk out this article:
Hawks Practice Report: “Fine-tuning” and Defensive Effort the Focus
The Hawks took to the practice floor Monday with all of their key players available for the first time all training camp. Johan Petro sat out practice with a sore back, but Jeff Teague (ankle) and Zaza Pachulia (ankle) both participated in the full practice. With the final roster set after Damion James and James Anderson were waived, the Hawks can turn their focus and attention to preparing for the season and their opener Friday against the Rockets. Larry Drew was happy with the level of intensity the squad showed during practice, and the word of the day (and focus for the week) is “fine-tune.”
“[The goal for the week] is to really fine-tune what we’ve put in since day one of training camp. I really want to fine-tune everything and for everything to be locked down tight, with everything that we’re doing and that every guy knows exactly what we’re doing. We’ve got some guys that will be playing a couple of positions, so it will be more difficult for them, but I really want to get this thing fine-tuned before we tip this thing off Friday night.”
As for the lineup for Friday, the Hawks have not released any official information, but in watching the groups that were together in practice it appears that Teague, Harris, Korver, Smith and Horford were the group that worked together and should be the opening night starting lineup.
Through their seven preseason games, the Hawks went 3-4, winning all their home games and losing all of their away games. For Drew, it’s mental, and he expects the Hawks to be fine on the road as long as they commit mentally.
“One thing I’ve always preached is learning how to play on the road. I don’t think you can play on the road you play at home. You can’t just play a total freestyle type game on the road; you have to have some discipline to be able to control the rhythm of a game. How do you do that? Good shot selection, number one. You’ve got to limit your turnovers, you’ve got to rebound the basketball and you have to dictate the pace of the game.”
The emphasis remains the defensive side of the ball for Drew and the Hawks, who know their offensive fire-power will be there. Drew continues to harp on keeping the energy level up on defense at all times because that’s what they will have to do in order to compete on the defensive end with their new roster.
“Where we have to become better and become more of a unit is on the defensive end. We have to make more of a commitment as a unit on the defensive end. We have a lot of shooters, we have speed and we have quickness, but I tell these guys every day we cannot hang our hat on just that. We have to be a team that comes out and defends every night, if we do that then we certainly give ourselves a great chance. Every night we step out between the lines we have to be a team that’s totally committed to defend. I am very optimistic [that we have a team that will do that].”
While Drew and the Hawks try to remain focused early in the week on refining their sets, looming in the distance are the Houston Rockets who have a very different look than what was expected after the James Harden trade. The Hawks have not begun preparations directly for the Rockets, but the players know that the challenge just got a little more difficult. Lou Williams, who will likely draw Harden on defense much of his night, spoke briefly about facing Harden.
“We know what he’s capable of, and obviously when you put him on that team he automatically makes that team better with what he can bring to the table. So, we’ll just prepare accordingly and it’ll be a tough task, but starting the season off on our home floor we’ll just have to have ‘it’.”
Lou also joked about Harden, who beat Williams out for sixth-man of the year last season.
“He’s a starter now, so we’ll see what happens with that. My competition just went down a little bit.”
Anthony Morrow didn’t seem too concerned with Harden or the Rockets.
“I’m not really worried about it. Obviously he’s a good player and he’s coming onto a team, I’m not too sure about what they’re going to do, but I know we’ll be ready when they come in.”
He echoed Coach Drew’s sentiments that effort and intensity are the key to the Hawks much maligned defense this year (and didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement for his former clubs).
“It’s pretty good, when we get focused and locked down, when we strap up and get after people, as we did against Dallas and New Orleans. Against Detroit we didn’t really get in that mind-state, so it’s about coming out and doing that every single game as a whole entire team. This is probably the best defensive team I’ve been on top to bottom in terms of the coaches and we’ve got two guys down low in Josh and Al that are great.”
The Truth
October 29th, 2012
4:06 pm
“James not making the team has more to do with the team carry extra shooters and replicating similar roles in players. So when they decided to go with 14, the last 2 spots came down to Tolliver, Scott and James and James lost out.”
I hate to beat a dead horse BUT: With all of the Hawks “extra shooters”, they just added one more, his name is Tolliver. Let’s call that replication #1. Since both Scott and Tolliver are exactly the same player in body type and style of play, let’s call the replication #2.
It a
Astro Joe
October 29th, 2012
4:28 pm
Grandad, hard to play 4 on 5 and win. James was likely an utter non-factor on offense.
Strickland, I don;t recall saying that Tolliver had signed a guranteed contract.
With a 14 man roster, 4 guys will still only get token time. My guess is that those 4 are Petro, Scott, Jenkins and Stevenson. Tolliver, Korver and Josh will likely share the vast majority of the SF minutes.
Also, consider that for all of these “so called shooters”, putting any 2 of the main ones (Korver, Morrow & Jenkins) on the floor at the same time would be a defensive disaster. Tolliver should be a better defender (although not as good a shooter).
doc
October 29th, 2012
4:35 pm
slimj:
“Vic at 32 still has the cannon arm and speed. Even if Philly runs him outta town, he’ll find work..BTW no fumbles yesterday.. Whew..heh heh heh”
well in the season of voting? slimj, you get mine as the most likely candidate to be “the last mv7 apologist standing” award.
heh heh, even m”c”r might have to be quiet. obsession cannot be contained. i know nfl, “not for long” that is.
long season, very few teams can be counted out now as who is hurt or coming back plays a huge part in how the season ends. dings slow you down in a league where size and speed are absolutes. if jones and white stay healthy and they have a healthy rested turner moving into the tournament with home field advantage it could be a good year to be a falcon fan.
this team reminds me of the team in the early 80’s when bart was at his peak. shame they got hurt by the cowboy mystique in the last seconds. they never had back to back to back to back to probably back, winning seasons though.
enjoy it while we can as the times are short.
can you believe the panthers fired fox? stupid, stupid.
doc
October 29th, 2012
4:40 pm
aj we have seen that 4 on 5 with disappearing marvin for years now. i think damian probably would have at least filled that “void”. shoot you could have.
Astro Joe
October 29th, 2012
4:50 pm
doc, so you were hoping for more 4 on 5 (at a lesser cost)? Why not try 5 on 5 (at the same cheap cost) in this transition year?
terrell
October 29th, 2012
4:58 pm
Why is Larry freakin Drew still making personnel decisions around here? smmfgdh. Once again choosing offense over defense. The Hawks already have enough scorers, you clown. Just sayin