Atlanta Hawks: Teague, Pachulia back, ready for opener
Vivlamore reporting from Hawks practice.
Jeff Teague and Zaza Pachulia, who both missed the final two exhibition games with sprained left ankles, returned to full-contact practice for the Hawks Monday. They are expected to play in Friday’s regular-season opener against the Rockets.
Teague said he can still feel some soreness in the ankle but it is improving every day. The point guard declared himself a go.
Pachulia has been limited much of the preseason, first with a groin injury and then the ankle. The center appeared in just three exhibition games.
“Right now, I’m doing my best to get back as quick as possible with my timing, my legs,” Pachulia said. “I haven’t had too much time to run and work on my legs. I’m trying to get back in good shape.”
Center Johan Petro did not practice Monday with what coach Larry Drew called a sore back. Petro would be an early candidate to the one player the team must declare inactive for the season opener.
Drew was pleased by the return of Teague and Pachulia for it finally gave him a chance to practice with a full complement of regular players.
“It gave us a chance to get lineups that we had envisioned throughout the preseason,” Drew said.
Based on Monday’s practice, a starting lineup of Teague, Devin Harris, Kyle Korver, Josh Smith and Al Horford appears likely. However, Drew could manipulate the lineup based on matchups against the Rockets.
Still more offense to implement
Drew said the majority of Monday’s practice was spent going over offensive schemes that have already been implemented.
“[We want to] make sure every guy understands exactly what we are doing on both ends of the floor, particularly defensively,” Drew said. “To really fine tune what we put in from day one of training camp. … I want everything to be lock-down tight and every guy knows exactly what we are doing.”
Drew said the task was also important because several players are learning multiple positions, most notably players like DeShawn Stevenson, Anthony Tolliver and Korver.
Drew said the entire offensive playbook has yet to be installed, a process that will continue into the regular season.
The process of preparing specifically for Houston will not begin for another day or two.
All in
Drew brought his team together Sunday, the first practice after making the final roster cuts, and told them to get a good look at those who were left.
“I really want them to look around and see who is standing in that circle,” Drew said. “This is the group that is going to go to battle. We have to have each others back from start to finish. They were in total agreement. They know it’s a long season. There are going to be some peaks and some valleys. There are going to be some tough times. There are going to be some good times. We have to be able to ride an emotional roller coaster and endure and persevere, weather the storms.”
Drew said he was pleased with the players’ reactions to his comments.
“We are ready,” Teague said of the team’s mindset. “We are all in. Nobody was holding their head down, looking to the right trying to figure out what was going to happen. We all bought in.”
- Chris Vivlamore
LATEST NEWS
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* Video: Hawks still implementing new offense
* Injury update, Petro frustrated
* Many options at small forward
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102 comments Add your comment
keith
October 29th, 2012
11:31 pm
We could use a guy like Al Jefferson. He would be a perfect center that would allow Al to slide over to the 4. I would give up Josh for Jefferson. Jefferson shooting % will be better than Josh’s.
paian
October 30th, 2012
12:03 am
why would you want more offense that we don’t need..
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
October 30th, 2012
2:26 am
TheBusiness
October 29th, 2012
10:33 pm
LD stands for Lame Duck. He won’t even make it through the year. This group of NBA midgets will take some serious azz whoopings this year. It’s gonna be ugly. The owners said that the deal to sell the team falling through was a great thing. For who???? What a cluster…
I love it. Yall are making me proud.
Just Joe
October 30th, 2012
6:00 am
Big Ray…..There’s nothing wrong with drafting a legit shooter at #23, and I expect John Jenkins to remain a fan favorite for many years. The Hawks will just have to learn how to use him. What did this 21 yr old do in summer league? Shot 50% from the field, but turned it over too much. What did he do in preseason? Shot 50% from the field, with only one turnover through 4 games. He’s also got the length to be a decent defender (6′8″ wingspan). Unlike Marvin, this was not a bad pick.
vava74
October 30th, 2012
6:18 am
Sautee,
I would gladly explain, but you would not pay attention to the explanation.
First, I mentioned “culture” as well.
Second, you can’t ignore that there are genetic differences between humans as a whole group and within humanity, between races.
Races exist and races have different characteristics IN GENERAL, however, I emphasised that this did not mean that everyone should not have equal opportunities.
Also, if you reject that race and culture have a role on why there are so many jews in the financial world (if we look at population/positions held ratio), then you can only explain that as the result of “collusion”… which in the end is waaay more discriminatory than me saying that jews as a culture and a race are money oriented.
vava74
October 30th, 2012
6:37 am
But I will leave this matter to rest.
You are not interested in debating something for the sake of arguing points of view.
You are free to consider me a bigot and a racist but I can assure you that you are 100% off on that one.
I don’t look at people from a racial perspective at a personal level, however, at a business level its normal to profile people.
For instance, marketing profiles people: age, gender, race, social status.
You prepare marketing strategies, create products, based on your target population.
I have no problem acknowledging that Portuguese are genetically and culturally averse to organization, working within a team, … but on the other hand, its a known trait that Portuguese are particularly talented at improvising and finding quick fixes (we are in general “clever” but not “structurally intelligent”).
Whopper Dawg
October 30th, 2012
7:35 am
Could you please delay the opener until someone cares?
ECF or Bust!
October 30th, 2012
8:27 am
I can’t wait for the season to start. It will be a long one, unlike last year. It will be interesting to see if the Hawks will wear down as the season progresses. I think this is one of the deepest teams the Hawks have ever. It will be up to Coach and the system to get production out of guys who will be sitting on the bench alot of the time or all that depth does us no good. We don’t need 5 Tmac over there fuming and pouting, making googoo eyes when they don’t get to play. now Petro ‘hurt’ after tmacin about court time! dejas vu all over again! Coach gotta clean that stuff up, I don’t want to hear any more players saying they don’t know what their role is. This can be a great year for the Hawks but the onus is on the coaching staff to utilize the bounty of Ferry.
Sam
October 30th, 2012
8:30 am
On a real NBA team, the only players who would possibly start would be Horford and Smith. Williams would be a 6th man candidate. Teague, Harris, Korver, Morrow, and Pachulia would be end-of-the-bench kinda guys. We’re thinking they could be starters for us! We’re in trouble folks.
I would take the 5th seed in the playoffs any day of the week and twice on Sunday (so I could watch more games).
For the future of the franchise, it might not be the worst thing in the world to end up in the lottery.
paian
October 30th, 2012
9:16 am
Sam what is a real nba team to you? So devin harris nor teague is a starter potential, haha. What player is suited to start for a “real nba team”? Teague is in the top 15 and devin is in the top 30 at the pg position.
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
9:33 am
Shams Charania: Word out of Colorado — where he has been training since being cut by #Bulls — is Kyrylo Fesenko will work out for the #Hawks on Tuesday. Twitter @ShamsCharania
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
9:34 am
My My My Danny Ferry up to his old tricks again…what about 7′1 Kyrylo Fesenko, u guys???
Terrell
October 30th, 2012
9:35 am
Najeh Davenpoop
The thing with Petro is that he is an asset in terms of trading him away. With James, his contract would’ve be minimal at best. With Petro you’re paying him 3 million in his final year of his contract and he becomes tradable in January I believe. We all know somebody is not going to be happy with their team and will look to trade for Petro and others in their final years because they can take them off their books next year. There’s a chance that Petro could net us a player better than James.
myrak43
October 30th, 2012
9:51 am
Shams Charania: Word out of Colorado — where he has been training since being cut by #Bulls — is Kyrylo Fesenko will work out for the #Hawks on Tuesday. Twitter @ShamsCharania
this would be a good move. young Center that can rebound and block shots. I like it.
paian
October 30th, 2012
9:55 am
that kyrylo guy is who the hawks was eyeing last season i think
Sautee
October 30th, 2012
10:00 am
“Sautee,
I would gladly explain, but you would not pay attention to the explanation.
First, I mentioned “culture” as well.
Second, you can’t ignore that there are genetic differences between humans as a whole group and within humanity, between race” – vava74
vava, you are backing up so fast you’re bound to fall on your ass. Yes, you mentioned “culture”, and I’ll give you that most races have cultural orientations in some or other areas.
But you ALSO said that they were GENETICALLY money oriented, which I find not only amusing but impossible. I want to hear from you just exactly HOW you think it’s possible for ANY race of people to be “genetically money oriented”.
To say that you could explain, but I wouldn’t pay attention is just a BS way of trying to escape the corner you have painted yourself into by trying to justify your bias.
Don’t think I’ll go away on this. Either you give your explanation, or I’ll keep reminding you until you do.
Or, you could admit that you are wrong. Your choice.
I MUS WRITE
October 30th, 2012
10:03 am
So Damion James gets cut and the blog is in an uproar….For What? If he was that good he would have been on a roster, any roster. If he did make the team he would have played sparingly so this is no big deal.
Ms Dee- I mention Kyle Frisenco a few months back -if were looking for a big body capable of protecting the rim enforcer style hes our guy. Id prefer him to that stiff Petro.
I think Stevenson is gonna suprise some people this year, I dont care what his shooting percentage was last yr or his -/+ numbers. I know what I get with him,Agressive Defense/streaky scorer. If he has to play starter minutes then he may not look so good but coming off the bench for 15-20 a game is perfect for him. LD loves his vets so i expect to see dude get sum burn. Its amazing how people held out hope that Marvin would be something but bash a guy like Stevenson who is and has been a better player imo.
Lets let john Jenkins play in an NBA game first before we start labeling him a bust or the next Marvin. Assinine to label a guy based on his” Summer League” performance.
Just Joe
October 30th, 2012
10:20 am
The Bulls were forced to cut Fesenko because they have a hard cap in place for this season (used part of their MLE this summer on Hinrich I believe). The Bulls liked Fesenko, and supposedly are wanting to sign him once they get deep enough in to the season that his salary would fit under the hard cap.
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
10:24 am
Im definitely liking the Kyle Frisenco invite, esp if its true what Just Joe mentioned concerning why the Bulls couldnt keep him. I know also, Horford is liking the idea as well.
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
10:26 am
Where is all this coming from?
Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks – Smith will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and he has made it clear that he’s going to test the market and explore his options. If the Hawks aren’t confident that they can re-sign Smith, they may decide to trade him rather than lose him without receiving anything in return. Smith has said all of the right things and seems content with the direction of the franchise. Even though they traded away Joe Johnson this offseason, Smith understood that the move gives the Hawks more flexibility going forward, and he was happy that the team brought in shooters such as Lou Williams, Anthony Morrow, Kyle Korver and John Jenkins to surround himself and Al Horford. Smith demanded a trade last year – he had grown frustrated with the organization because he didn’t feel they were committed to building a contender – but Atlanta wasn’t ready to part ways with their star forward. In February, the Hawks will have a tough decision to make. Atlanta would prefer to keep Smith and continue to build around him, but trading him is the right move if he’s planning to walk as a free agent. HoopsWorld
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2012
10:33 am
VALVA74-You need to stop and realize that you’re making an absolute ASS of yourself with the totally unrealistic and biased comments you’ve been making. There are a lot of reasons for a person or persons, culture etc, to be money oriented, but genetics definitely isn’t one of them. You’re attempting to take the science of genetics to a cartoon level.
Man, there are genetic differences between mother and child, brother and sister. Tell me, is that money making gene you’ve discovered recessive or dominant? How does that work, since Jews are one of the most genetically mixed group of people on this earth? You do know that there are Black, White, Mongoloid, and semitic jews, which takes their genetic blueprint all over the map.
The oldest practicing Jews/Hebrews are located in East and West Africa. The longest running unbroken line of devine rule in recorded history is the Falasha, or Ethiopia Jews/Hebrews, which started with the union of Solomon and Seba/Sheba, who produced Menelik 1. Did the original Jews/Hebrews possess this money making gene? And if not, how and from whom did they acquire it?
paian
October 30th, 2012
10:33 am
Him and zaza may become pals b/c their countries are very close together
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
10:37 am
paian,
U may be right even tho I remember one game against Utah, him and Zaza were NO friends. Mann, Kyle Fresenko were banging Zaza like Zaza had stole something from him. If he makes the team, hopefully they both could be put that same medicine to test on their opponent!
paian
October 30th, 2012
10:44 am
haha, I hope so b/c they are both bruisers. One difference I know between them is that fresenko can finish at the rim better than zaza
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
11:04 am
U right about that, fo sho
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
11:11 am
Mann, Fresenko has a pretty good post game..quick step baseline move and a running hook shot in the lane..also, Harris might put in a good word to get him since they both came from Utah.
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2012
11:37 am
I MUS WRITE-The so called uproar isn’t because James was that good as an overall player. However, he was that good at doing 3 things this team needs most, namely rebounding, hustle and DEF, and he did those things at a position of need. The attributes Korver and Tolliver bring are basically limited to outside shooting, which we already have in abundance with Horford, Morrow, Jenkins, Harris, Williams and Scott.
So the uproar is over us holding onto players(Stevenson/Tolliver) who’s attributes duplicate what we already have while cutting a player who’s attributes represent what we definitely need. James has tons of potential that can be developed, while Stevenson has regressed to the point of being a potential liability. Tolliver might be able to play 2 positions, but he brings the same attributes(jumpshooting) and limitations(DEF & rebounding) to each position.
It appears that Drew is so obsessed with outside shooting that he’s foresaken DEF and rebounding, by not only cutting James, but by starting Korver at SF. We all know Korver is an excellent long range shooter, but we also know he’s a DEF and rebounding liability. That’s putting a whole lot of pressure on Josh and Horford as far as rebounding and DEF.
Without adequate rebounding we can’t effectively become the uptempo running team Drew says he wants. Besides, since making the cuts, all we’ve heard from Drew is how he’s still installing his OFF, or how it will take part of the season to completely install his OFF, or how he wants his players to have a solid grasp of his OFF. There hasn’t been one mention of his DEF, or how he’s working on his DEF, or how he wants his players to have a solid grasp of his DEF.
I hope Ferry fires his butt sooner rather than later. This team needs more DEF and rebounding from it’s frontline, not more long range shooting, and we’ve cut 2 players(Benson/James) with the potential/ability to provide both.
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
11:42 am
KenS,
What are your thts on Fresenko? He can play hard-nose DEF and rebounds..plus he is 7′1..I believe if Ferry keeps Fresenko, I thk Ferry will eat Petro 3mil and let him walk.
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
11:43 am
I thk Ferry will eat Petro 3mil and let him walk just so he can STILL keep an extra roster spot open for future trades
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
11:45 am
OUCH!!
Marc J. Spears: Pacers forward Danny Granger has continued soreness in his left knee and will be out indefinitely. He will get a second opinion. Twitter @SpearsNBAYahoo
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2012
12:35 pm
MSDEE-Hardnosed DEF and rebounding, hell yes I’d go for it. That’s the real reason I’m pissed about Drew cutting James in favor of Stevenson and Tolliver. Ferry won’t have to eat Petro’s salary to sign Fresenko. Since he’ll have to pay Petro if he cuts him, he can keep them both since we are under the 15 player max. it wouldn’t cost us a penny more whether we kept or cut him.
It looks like Philly has a situation with Bynum that’s simular to what Indy is going through with Granger. Both have balky knees, and Bynum’s knee hasn’t allowed him to engage in a full practice. Leg injuries, especially knees and ankles, don’t allow players to get into or remain in top condition.
Therefore, even when they return, they’ll be limited by poor conditioning. The longer they remain out, the tougher it’ll be for them to get back their conditioning. Team practices are limited after the regular season starts.
i_am_soulstar
October 30th, 2012
12:37 pm
Hawks are working out Fesenko today.
i_am_soulstar
October 30th, 2012
12:38 pm
<<<late
i_am_soulstar
October 30th, 2012
12:39 pm
We could do a lot worse with a back up center. Having more depth at center would allow us to go with the Zaza, Josh, Horford, Devin, Teague line-up that everyone on here seems to be into.
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2012
12:46 pm
I hope Fresenko and Zaza don’t have personal issues based on ethnic hatreds and dislikes which have existed for some time in the Baltic Republics. I remember when VDivac and another Euro player had problems over those types of issues. I’m not certain, but I believe they came together, talked it over, and resolved those issues.
Very often ethnic, cultural and/or religious issues can create more hatred and violent reactions than anything motivated by racism. We’ve seen that played out in Africa, Europe and Asia throughout history.
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
12:50 pm
KenS,
I thk Ferry will eat Petro 3mil and let him walk just so he can STILL keep an extra roster spot open for future trades
Section 303
October 30th, 2012
12:56 pm
I cannot wait, cannot wait for Friday night!! Anxious for this season to begin. Calling my shot….Hawks finish Top 4 in the East.
Also…season ticket holders get to meet with Danny Ferry prior to Friday’s tip. I am looking forward to that as well. I have a bit of a mancrush on Danny Ferry these days.
paian
October 30th, 2012
1:10 pm
Vdivvac and his friend didnt solve their issues b/c his friend died in a car accident before he could ever resolve it i think, and that was because their countries was at war or something. They had a video of the story that played on espn one day.
paian
October 30th, 2012
1:13 pm
looks like Georgia and Ukraine are friends so there shouldnt be any dispute between the two
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia–Ukraine_relations
Ken Strickland
October 30th, 2012
1:33 pm
PAIAN-Thanks for that info. Soviet Georgia-Ukraine and the rest of the Baltic Republics were heavily influenced by the Moors, many of whom settled in these areas after being driven out of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sicily and Southern France.
They also introduced Islam into these areas, which, under the guise of Ethnic cleansing, ended up being a key reason for the genocide that took place. We saw a simular type of genocide take place in Africa, except it was the Muslims killing Christians instead of the other way around, like in Europe.
MsDee
October 30th, 2012
1:36 pm
Chris Vivlamore @ajchawks
Rookie Mike Scott missed #Hawks practice today with flu-like symptoms. Johan Petro (back) also out.
cp
October 30th, 2012
1:43 pm
Im not a fan of Marvin but he’s a better player than Stevenson. Marvin might have been a disappointment but I would take him over Stevenson right now without hesitation. I’m really starting to wonder if some of you have seen Stevenson play recently. He gives you nothing offensively and his defense is severely overrated on here.I dont care how tough he is if he cant produce. Some of you are too caught up in what he did in the finals. And in my opinion it was more about what Lebron didn’t do against the Mavs rather than what Stevenson did to him.
2 FOR JOHN DREW
October 30th, 2012
1:47 pm
Are you guys serious …. about this Fesenko guy being worked out by the Hawks. OMG, I thought y’all were just messing around. Having this guy would really change the dynamic of this team.
Stop Ignoring Reality
October 30th, 2012
1:59 pm
I told y’all earlier and LD proved me right:
Starters:
Jeff Teague
Devin Harris
Kyle Korver
Josh Smith
Al Horford
———————————-Bench:
Louis Williams
John Jenkins
Anthony Morrow
Ivan Johnson
Zaza Pachulia
….and please stop all of the LD trolling. It’s getting on my neves and dude is 3x the coach Woodson was and any other coach the Hawks have had in the last ten years (Lon Kruger)
Stop Ignoring Reality
October 30th, 2012
2:02 pm
Fes!? Heck Yeah, bring him on! Waive Petro’s French Fry Azz NOW!
Stop Ignoring Reality
October 30th, 2012
2:04 pm
Lol, Jenkins will get his playing time. Jenkins should be ahead of Stevenson in the rotation unless Melo/Lebron is in town.
DS
October 30th, 2012
2:04 pm
So Fesenko was the reason Damion James didn’t make it…don’t ever doubt the man. All praise the Ferry!
Stop Ignoring Reality
October 30th, 2012
2:12 pm
Smh…some of y’all act like Damion James was the second coming of Josh Childress LOL! Dude can’t dribble, can’t shoot, and conversely can’t stretch the floor for us. Heck even Childress could handle the rock and hit the open J….and even he still negatively affected our offensive flow/spacing, while cloggoing the lane for smoove/Al
prison mike
October 30th, 2012
2:17 pm
Very intrigued by the russian marshmallow man. Petro can’t be waived, he will be used as trade filler.
dylan
October 30th, 2012
2:44 pm
Actually, there’s no such thing as a Jew, under the constraints of their own law. To be Jewish (in the true religious sense of the word) you must be able to trace your lineage back to one of the 12 sons of jacob…..which no one can because all the records and geneologies were burned by Rome. So TECHNICALLY, it is impossible to be racist against a Jew, because they are not a viable “race”. Besides the fact Judaism is a religion and not a race. That would be comparable to saying Christians or Muslims are a race, which they are not. Its possible to be PREJUDICED, but not RACIST (if people don’t understand that there is no “true” Jew anymore) because the RACE would be black, white, middle eastern, eastern European, etc.
Anyway, back to basketball. Jenkins is a case of the hawks looking to the future. Not that they necessarily think Jenkins will be better than pj3, but that pj3’s knees will not hold up long, and his will be a short career. So why waste a first round pick on someone with rapidly degenerating knees, when you can get someone who can fill a legitimate need; being a great shooter, and being that number 2 option that forces defenses to stay honest because of his pure stroke. The kids gunna be good. Maybe not elite, but he will always be able to shoot the lights out. I compare him more to a ray Allen or (and this is an absolute best case) a Reggie miller.