Atlanta Hawks: Smith out vs. OKC with sprained ankle
Vivlamore reporting from Oklahoma City. Sorry for the latest of the blog but news broke about Josh Smith as I was literally boarding my (delayed) flight.
Oklahoma City — An already tough task just got tougher.
The Hawks play their first road game of the season, against defending Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Sunday, without star Josh Smith. The forward sprained his right ankle in the Hawks’ season-opening loss to Houston Friday and did not travel with the team Saturday. According to a team statement, Smith’s status will be updated as appropriate.
Smith was the Hawks leading scorer last season, appearing in all 66 games. In the loss to the Rockets, Smith had 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Hawks were outrebounded 58-36 against the Rockets with Smith accounting for nearly a third of their boards.
Johan Petro, the 7-foot backup center also did not travel with the team due to a sore back. Petro was inactive against the Rockets.
Already at a size disadvantage, the absence of the 6-foot-9 Smith will present further rebounding problems for the Hawks. Coach Larry Drew did not pin the Friday’s woes on his big men alone.
“There are areas of this game I thought we weren’t very good or polished, particularly on the boards,” Drew said of the loss. “We didn’t do a good job on the boards. And it wasn’t just our big guys. Our perimeters were not in position to chase down long rebounds. Therefore it allowed them second opportunities. They are a big team, (center Omer) Asik he is a task because of his size, but there were a lot of rebounds we didn’t chase them down. That’s not on our big guys. That’s on our perimeters.”
Of particular concern wer the 58 Rockets rebounds, 23 were on the offensive end. That included 17 offensive boards in the first half.
Without Smith, even more will be expected of Al Horford. The center did not have any offensive touches down low in the first half against the Rockets. He finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
According to Horford, it’s going to take time for the new-look roster to get in sync.
“No, I didn’t,” Horford said Friday about his lack of first-half chances. “I’m going to just say it was our first game and our guys are just trying to feel things out and get used to things. I was there. I just need to make myself more available but that was something that I noticed as well. I wasn’t getting the touches.
“We have to do a better job of trusting our offense and running it. It is the first game but we have some work ahead of us.”
There were other issues against the Rockets that will need correcting.
* The Rockets went to the free-throw line 29 times, converting 25 of the chances. By stark contrast, the Hawks went to the free-throw line just 17 times, converting 15 of their chances.
* Drew said his team settled for too many jump shots after some early success.
* There were far too many defensive lapses, especially after a Hawks basket. James Harden, who finished with 45 points for the Rockets, converted many baskets over the top of the Hawks defense.
With all the deficiencies, and a third-quarter deficit that reached 16 points, the Hawks stormed back and briefly took a fourth-quarter lead. The new up-tempo offense led to 33 fast-break points. That is the positive they take from opening night.
“We were able to give up that many offensive rebounds and get outrebound by that wide a margin and still have a shot to win the basketball game,” Smith said Friday. “That shows big resiliency in the team. We have a lot of fight in us. We just have to tweak some things. It’s still early. This is the first game. We are not going to panic. We are going to go back to the drawing back and see what we need to do to succeed.”
The Hawks seek their first road win of the new campaign after losing all four of their exhibitions away from home. A high quality opponent in the Thunder leaves less of a margin for error Sunday.
- Chris Vivlamore
LATEST NEWS
* Smith on verge of statistical milestone
* Smith, Horford are interim captains
* Five things we learned from the preseason
* Teague, Pachulia return to full-contact practice, ready for opener
* Failure not an option for Tolliver
* Hawks ownership ‘extremely’ fortunate to keep stake in team
* Anderson, James waived in final cuts
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111 comments Add your comment
Grandmaster JeJe
November 3rd, 2012
5:37 pm
6″7?
Grandmaster JeJe
November 3rd, 2012
5:39 pm
It’s obvious KD will destroy us, but I’m sure Teague will go Houdini too and get sonned by Westbrook
grimey
November 3rd, 2012
5:43 pm
People believe Smith is 6′7 even though he is clearly taller then ivan and Scott
mike
November 3rd, 2012
5:45 pm
Hope LD puts in Ivan to bang around a little bit. I know he’s small, but he’s effective and he plays mind games with opponents.
Perimeter D has to get better, or they need to trade one of these guards for a decent SF.
MattP
November 3rd, 2012
5:51 pm
Now the question is, who will Drew start with Smith not playing? We will have very little centers so he will probably not start Zaza. He does not like Ivan. I am guessing Tolliver starts at PF… lol.
Grandmaster JeJe
November 3rd, 2012
5:53 pm
We are short on bigs EVERY season. Thats why we get scrubs like Dampier playing mins
Najeh, is our goal to get the Big 2 next summer and if not, rebuild?
Chris Vivlamore
November 3rd, 2012
5:54 pm
JeJe: Fixed it. Typo while crammed in typing on a plane. Thanks for the catch.
Chris Vivlamore
November 3rd, 2012
5:58 pm
Anybody know where to eat in OKC?
jamez
November 3rd, 2012
5:59 pm
why did ivan not play at all yesterday? also why didnt jenkins or morrow play?(i think the last two were dnp-cd’s but wut about ivan??)
Chris Vivlamore
November 3rd, 2012
6:03 pm
jamez: I will ask at tomorrow’s shoot-around.
MattP
November 3rd, 2012
6:04 pm
jamez,
It is Drew, he thinks he knows everything about matchups. Ivan should have definitely played because we were getting killed on the boards and Morrow would not have hurt to give a few minutes early on over Korver to see if he was shooting hot. Expected Drew to ignore Jenkins, we all know Drew does not give rookies a chance.
a bird in the hand>2 in the busch.
November 3rd, 2012
6:07 pm
good. Hawks will do better without his lollygagging and whining to the refs. he is a run killer, did it several times last night. trade him now.
jamez
November 3rd, 2012
6:08 pm
thankc chris v. please reply back here or make an article because i put a fake email address
PEDRO EL GITANO
November 3rd, 2012
6:25 pm
HORFORD 5 REBOTES EN 37 MINUTOS Y LA CULPA NO ES DE NUESTROS HOMBRES ALTOS???????????
!!!!!!!!!!!!! LARRY DREW NO TIENE NINGUNA PERSONALIDAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SuckerFree
November 3rd, 2012
6:28 pm
The Hawks weren’t getting calls going to the basket either…particularly Teague & Lou but Larry Drew shows his ineptitude yet again.
IF he would have put Ivan and Zaza in the game the rebounding would have been more even. Instead this fool puts Anthony Tolliver (really who is this guy??? he’s a scrub) for extended minutes and proves that Larry Drew has no clue. No one can understand his obsession with playing the 12th man (remember Jason Collins??? smh). Anthony Morrow didn’t even play.
Not only that, we had a defensive specialist in our camp at the proper size (6′6 – to 6′8) named Damion James and he could have at the very least bothered James Harden.
By far we will have the smallest backcourt in the league with all these 6 foot point guards.
Rufus1
November 3rd, 2012
6:30 pm
Josh Smith = Mike Vick
All the talent, none of the brains… Now he(Josh) is about to be exposed and his trade value will FALLL!
Korver- 5mil
Marvin-8mil
Korver is half the players, because defense and rebounding MATTER!
glw
November 3rd, 2012
6:30 pm
With Josh hurting and Petro virtually useless, I suspect that Ferry will be making some type of move soon to get some size for this height challenged team.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 3rd, 2012
6:52 pm
To all you ppl saying “it’s just 1 game”:
Do u think our defensive and lack of wings is going to magically be better the rest of the season? No. There’s season reason for concern
Viv, never been to OKC. Let us know what you find. Do you usually reply to fans on twitter?
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
6:53 pm
Tolliver starts! That’s his guy?
Oh the Humanity!
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
6:55 pm
“Without Smith, even more will be expected of Al Horford. The center did not have any offensive touches down low in the first half against the Rockets. He finished with 14 points and five rebounds.” C-Viv
I’m concerned! Oh Boy……
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 3rd, 2012
7:14 pm
Horford doesn’t get many post touches because his post game is mediocre
Buddy Grizzard
November 3rd, 2012
7:14 pm
“Buddy, why do the Hawks seem to miss on guys like Asik?”
I had hoped with Danny Ferry taking over and saying he had final say on this year’s draft pick that the Hawks would get a good player in the deepest draft in recent memory. I really liked PJ3 and Festus Ezeli. I can excuse passing on PJ3 due to the health concerns, but I can’t fathom why a team would pass up a player that could develop into the starting center this team needs for a volume shooter that can’t guard any position at the NBA level.
Ezeli hasn’t done anything yet, but he looks like another player like Asik. They are both raw offensively but physically imposing defensively. Houston has other scorers. They don’t need to post Asik up every other play to generate offense. They need him to eat up rebounds and play defense.
Leon
November 3rd, 2012
7:26 pm
If I were Drew I would start Ivan or Zaza, but they both will get extended minutes. Kover was useless last night. Also, anybody that thinks Lou Williams or Devin Harris is better than Teague is mistaken. Teague’s defense is head and shoulders better than the other two. They may be better perimeter shooters, but that is about it.
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
7:39 pm
Lin took Teague’s lunch money, guess he aint overrated either? Hmmmmmm
Dude almost dropped a triple-doubble! Huh?
Jae Evolution
November 3rd, 2012
7:44 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH8stctEEYQ
Draft this guy next year, please.
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
7:45 pm
Agree Buddy, the Jenkins pick could have been better served with a Big! Jenkins is not the answer this year or next..That’s why he’ll be glued to the bench as long as Larry Leisure is coaching..
Horford needs go ball out and grab 18- 25 rebounds tomorrow against the Western Conference Champs!
No more excuses! His buddy Josh will not be there to hold his hands…
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
7:48 pm
Do not be shocked if Kover and Tolliver start against the champs!
Rusty
November 3rd, 2012
7:53 pm
Lin is a hard guy to stop,JT is by far our best pg,now if the big dummy would just get out of his face & would only keep him in the lineup he will be very good.
Rusty
November 3rd, 2012
7:56 pm
Mr Ferry please straighten out your dummy LD.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2012
7:57 pm
“Najeh, is our goal to get the Big 2 next summer and if not, rebuild?”
Probably, although “rebuild” isn’t going to take 8 years in the hands of a competent GM. I would be surprised if Ferry doesn’t trade one or two of the veterans on this roster (Korver, Morrow, etc.) for draft picks halfway through the season.
Scoop
November 3rd, 2012
8:02 pm
I would bet money on the Hawks beating OKC!!
I have argued for two years that Smoove is a liability on any team AND HE HAS SHOWED NO IMPROVEMENT THIS SEASON!
Same ol’ same ol’ with Smoove: turnover-prone, terrible shot selection (as bad as a turnover), and shoddy 1-on-1 defense. Smoove is a good weak side shot blocker, but a terrible post defender. Hes too soft.
The Rockets realize this! Did anyone notice CARLOS DELFINO guarding Josh the entire 2nd half? And what does josh do…he settled for jumpers, b/c hes soft. What’s more, he literally complains more than anybody ive ever seen! This negative attitude rubs off on the team. I.E. the argument he and Lou Williams got into in 4th quarter when we couldnt even inbound the ball.
Our lineup vs OKC will be Zaza, Horford, Korver, Stephenson, Teague. I like this much better than our opening lineup. Horford can play his natural position and can be focus of offense w/o Smoove whining for the ball.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
November 3rd, 2012
8:02 pm
“There are areas of this game I thought we weren’t very good or polished, particularly on the boards,” Drew said of the loss. “We didn’t do a good job on the boards. And it wasn’t just our big guys. Our perimeters were not in position to chase down long rebounds. Therefore it allowed them second opportunities. They are a big team, (center Omer) Asik he is a task because of his size, but there were a lot of rebounds we didn’t chase them down. That’s not on our big guys. That’s on our perimeters.”
Ok this LD dude needs a drug test forreal. He is delusional saying stuff like this. I told yall he does not have the heart to blame Horford or Zaza for anything. Just blame everything on the guards. SMGDH
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2012
8:06 pm
Toronto just dropped 35 points on the Nets in the first quarter.
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
8:10 pm
Larry just threw his guards under the bus!!!!!!!!!!! Poor Larry. Asik is just too big for the Hawks? OMG!!!!!!
But he left out one guy? Hmmmmmmm
.
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
8:15 pm
The bigs gave up 23 some odd offensive rebounds and he blames the guards?
Is Trailways still operational?
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 3rd, 2012
8:16 pm
I’m ready to see us draft some real players. Enough of these cupcake picks
High-sider
November 3rd, 2012
8:31 pm
He’s ballin’ [you blog] folks.
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/top_plays/2012/11/02/20121102-top10.nba – @1:56 – 2:08
Jim Mora Sr.
November 3rd, 2012
8:32 pm
Can the Hawks just sign Damion James already?
Chris Vivlamore
November 3rd, 2012
8:36 pm
JeJe: I try to reply to fans on Twitter. Sometimes it’s easier than the blog because this gets some many comments that it’s hard to keep up with all of them.
hawksordie
November 3rd, 2012
8:38 pm
It is NOT OUR PICKS ..THAT AINT THE PROBLEM GUYS!!! John Jenkins and MIJE SCOTT ARE VERY NBA READY ! Believe that!! It is LARRY DREWS FAULT WITH HIS IDIOTIC ROTATION METHOD!! He is an idiot that couldnt get a rec league team a championship trophy im telling u guys !! He is probably a decent man but ciach wise he IS NOT BRIGHT!! All the bad calls he not once got on the refs butts!!! And tgat is huge !! If they woulda called those calls on popovich or phil jackson tgey woulda BEENNNNN THROWN OUT THE GAME OR TECHD UP!! Then the refs respect them from then on period..no body respects weakness in sports
hawksordie
November 3rd, 2012
8:41 pm
Why would u dnp cd ANY of players much less new n young talent!! Thats ignorant n stupid I would at least try jenkins scott morrow n ALL THE PLAYERS THATS WHY THEY ARE THERE DUHHH WAT A FREAKIN DUMMY ld is ..wowwwww
Alex
November 3rd, 2012
8:43 pm
He needs to let Ivan or ZaZa start against OKC. Let Horford take on Ibaka, and let ZaZa bang with Perkins and Ivan outhustle Collison. Also, Tolliver needs to be glued to the bench…let Scott play.
keith
November 3rd, 2012
9:01 pm
If i am the Hawks GM i would be on the phone with Eddy Currys’ agent. He can not be worse than our current group of Bigs. Curry is not a good defensive player, however, he can score ad-nauseam.
Low Risk-High reward….
hawksordie
November 3rd, 2012
9:15 pm
Al horford is good ok.so he had a half a## game ..he definitely will redeem.his self period calm down hirford smith teague and all the players arent the problem at all its the COACH GUYS!! Get it thru your head man its the coachhhhhhh with his offbeat rotations and poor matchup recognition.. Period
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2012
9:31 pm
Danny Ferry had a “town hall meeting” with the season ticket holders before yesterday’s game, and someone on the Peachtree Hoops blog posted a recap. Worth a read.
Ken Strickland
November 3rd, 2012
9:32 pm
As many things that went wrong last night, including both players and coaching, some good things happened that many are overlooking. We could have easily won that gm if we had better coaching and player utilization, which would have had a positive effect on our rebounding and DEF. Right now, I’m wondering if Drew will try to contain Durant with a SF rotation of Korver, Tolliver and Stevenson.
Ivan should start, since his size, strength, and physicality would give Durant problems. Durant is primarily a jumpshooter without much of a post gm, so his height advantage won’t pose much of a problem for Ivan. This would also be a good opportunity to give Scott some burn. Let’s face it, no one can stop Durant from shooting his jumper. You just have to hope he’s not hitting it consistently.
While Durant was the Thunder’s best scorer, Harden was their best OFF player overall. He certainly did more than just shoot jumpers. Without him, they have few penetrators other than Westbrook. This should be an interesting gm considering the height advantage they have. Fortunately, they don’t have any postup threats, so they rely heavily on jumpshooting, which neutralizes their height advantage.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2012
9:40 pm
The teams have changed from March, but the result is still the same — Dominic McGuire still getting offensive boards over Joe in crunch time in this Raptors-Nets game.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2012
9:41 pm
And there appears to be some sort of rule in Brooklyn that the DJ can only play songs that are at least 10 years old.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
November 3rd, 2012
9:44 pm
FIRE LAME DUCK
TheBusiness
November 3rd, 2012
9:44 pm
Did the Lamester really just blame the rebounding on the GUARDs not being in the right position on the perimeter to catch long rebounds??? A drug test is too good for him . He needs a full friggin psych Eval!! Didn’t the GM in New Orleans coach the team a few yrs back?? Ferry you better pull your sweats out buddy. Josh who has always said he was a very fast healer, walked off the floor the other night, but now he has sprained ankle and didn’t even travel with the team??? This stinks really bad already and it’s not even rotten yet.
phil
November 3rd, 2012
9:46 pm
This team is going to be awful….really, really bad.
No way you can win with Idiot Josh and all the other garbage players on this roster.
sameba
November 3rd, 2012
9:52 pm
Watching Portland vs Rockets, 3rd quarter, Harden having few missed layups, his shots blocked or missed…
sameba
November 3rd, 2012
9:53 pm
Also he had at least two turnovers…
phil
November 3rd, 2012
9:55 pm
A sprained ankle?
Bull.
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
9:57 pm
In two weeks if this team has only 2 or 3 wins it will be a major disappointment..I thought they had a shot at the 2 or 3 seed? I’m concerned…
I expect a double digit loss tomorrow without their leader Josh Smith not even traveling with the team..Man that hurts…
Rumor
November 3rd, 2012
10:01 pm
We will put Al on Durant and that should shut Durant down. By the way, I got a bridge for sale…
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
10:06 pm
The Rockets up 6, Harden with only 22… 7mins Left
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
10:09 pm
Ivan or Al cant guard this 6′11″ small forward..They’ll foul out before the half..
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2012
10:16 pm
Joe Johnson 5/13 FG, 3/4 FT, 1/2 3FG, 14 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 TO. Brooklyn 107, Toronto 100
Slimjr
November 3rd, 2012
10:18 pm
Houston is about to go 3-0! Wow!
Melvin
November 3rd, 2012
10:32 pm
Harden looks gassed tonight. He stuck on 22pts, I lost count but I think he missed his last 8 shots and a couple of turnovers. yikes
O'Brien
November 3rd, 2012
10:35 pm
FTPB,
AJ,
I think this was the first time in 6 years that the Hawks lost a season opener.
O'Brien
November 3rd, 2012
10:39 pm
Drew said his team settled for too many jump shots after some early success..
Different players, same result. We have been hearing this ever since LD took over.
And I agree the Hawks will take some time to gel, because they have 9 new players. But Houston has 11 new players. 11.
As for the game last night, it is unacceptable for Horford to have only 5 rebs in 37 minutes. Why did Ivan not play? And we could have used James to see if he would give us rebounding from the SF position.
paian
November 3rd, 2012
10:44 pm
whomever keeps talking about getting eddy curry, the mavs picked him up already
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2012
10:53 pm
Houston loses their home opener by 10 to Portland. James Harden 8/24, 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block. Nicolas Batum has the size and length to make him work for his looks. I would think his line tonight is probably what he’s going to average at the end of the season, with better shooting percentage and a couple of turnovers fewer.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 3rd, 2012
11:03 pm
Marvin Williams 4/9, 8 points, 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover.
Buddy Grizzard
November 3rd, 2012
11:25 pm
That one alley oop that Lin tried to force at the end of regulation cost them the game. They didn’t have enough left in the tank to beat Portland in OT… shouldn’t have blown it at the end of regulation.
Melvin
November 3rd, 2012
11:26 pm
Najeh,
I watched the 2nd half of that Rockets/Trailblazer game. Harden missed at least his last 9 shots (i lost count). You can tell he didn’t have his legs the entire game. He had no problem scoring on Batum and Matthews before fatigue got the best of him in the 4th/overtime….
kwooden1
November 3rd, 2012
11:52 pm
Najeh, I’m not sure at what point in the game you were are looking but Marvin ended up with 29 and 9assists
If he keeps this up, we’ll really know what kind of coaching we’ve had for the last 7 years.
Melvin
November 4th, 2012
12:06 am
kwooden1,
Unless you are being sarcastic, Mo Williams had 20pts and 9assists
Melvin
November 4th, 2012
12:19 am
Najeh,
That was a very informative link to the Town Hall meeting with Danny Ferry. I’m glad he acknowledge that the Hawks are undersized, not championship caliber and in transition. I have confidence that’s he’s going to build a better team than his predecessors. I think if we resigned Josh than he’s going to trade Al. I wouldn’t be surprise if he makes some type of trade this season but I expect him to really transform this team next season.Oh, I was really impress that he said he’s going to make this team championship caliber in 2 years….
High-sider
November 4th, 2012
12:39 am
@kwooden1
kwooden1
November 3rd, 2012k
Najeh, I’m not sure at what point in the game you were are looking but Marvin ended up with 29 and 9assists
If he keeps this up, we’ll really know what kind of coaching we’ve had for the last 7 years.
————————————————————————————————
Ma. Williams is Marvin Williams and Mo. Williams is Mo [Maurice] Williams. Mo Williams “put up” 29pts and 9asts not Marvin Williams.
http://www.nba.com/games/20121103/UTASAS/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021200035#nbaGIboxscore
Big Ray
November 4th, 2012
1:49 am
1) Great link by Najeh Davenpoop at 9:31 pm yesterday…
2) Al has his work cut out for him on Sunday.
3) We’re going to lose by 30.
4) LD will hate it, but he’ll have to play Ivan in this game. Ivan will look good, but get frustrated and eventually foul out.
Big Ray
November 4th, 2012
1:53 am
Interesting that Ferry seems taken with John Jenkins. Hope he’s right. Kid won’t get to play this year….
Ferry says he figures folks will be mad at him soon enough. I also think two things about that statement need to get some folks prepared:
1) Ferry is committed and unafraid. He’ll make whatever moves he thinks can help build this team the best possible way, into a championship contender.
2) When it’s all said and done, I can’t see both Josh and Al on this roster. When the dust settles, some folks are gonna be mad…..
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 4th, 2012
3:07 am
Northcyde from PeachtreeHoops. I agreebwith every single word point in this post.
“Ferry is taking a page from the “Rick Sund School of Spin Doctoring” I see.
He doesn’t like “ball stoppers”, but he brings in Lou Williams, who looks to shoot everytime he touches the ball.
He doesn’t want players that are one dimensional, but he brings in Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver.
He doesn’t think we need to be the biggest team, even though it was CLEAR last night that Houston’s size with Asik bothered the hell out of us. And you can NEVER use Miami as an example, when Lebron is a 6-8 . . 250 lbs freakish athlete who can literally play 4 positions, Wade is one of the strongest SGs in the league at 6-4 . . 225 lbs, and Bosh is a proven All-Star caliber big man who can play PF or C at 6-11 .. 235 lbs.
He loves Jenkins and Scott, but every move he made during the offseason pretty much assured that they wouldn’t play this year . . unless this team was in “give up” mode.
And somebody tell Mr. Ferry that even if we kept JJ, here would’ve been the guys under contract going into 2013 – 14
Johnson: 21.47 million
Horford: 12 million
Lou: 5.25 million
Jenkins: 1.26 million
Total: 39.98 million
Roughly 19 million under the salary cap.
Decisions would have to be made on Smith, Teague, Zaza, and Ivan. If all are renounced, you still have enough room to make a run at Howard or CP3 or Bynum.
Instead, we’re now looking at a situation in which the free agent pool is rapidly drying up, we may not be able to make a play for the big 3 free agents, and we might have to overpay to even keep Josh Smith.
Trading JJ for scraps is cool, only if you have a legit plan of action to build the team. Sorry, but I’m not for some Euro-crap style of team in ATL. That style works for San Antonio because they still have an elite big man at center, and an elite PG who can score the basketball.
Ferry has a lot of work to do. A LOT.”
vava74
November 4th, 2012
5:44 am
Astro Joe:
“I’m not saying that Joe held every start SG below their average, but I don’t recall watching Wade or Roy or Iverson or any other great SG in the past 8 years walk into our arena and blister the Hawks like Harden did last night. Not only did Joe relish the chance to defend guys like that but he also forced them to play defense on the opposite end.
When was the last time the Hawks lost a home opener? Seems like it has been a while.”
It had been 6 years in a row.
Astro Joe
“Teague slept walked through the first half. He, Devin and Lou were too busy trying to get out on the break to worry about things like blocking out Lin from grabbing easy rebounds. Just a lack of focus and attention to detail.. as if they are rookies in the league. Shameful.”
That is what happens when as coach you don’t cherish guys like Ivan and Damion James.
You don’t send the right message to the roster.
Back in his days, LD was a speedy guard who could shoot and score and now as a coach that is what he likes. He should check however the win-loss record of the teams for which he started to know the result.
Bring Bill Laimbeer pronto. He will tell these guys how the bad boyz worked their butts off every single night.
vava74
November 4th, 2012
6:21 am
Josh’s 4th quarter against HOU:
Josh Smith
Stint 4 12:00 0
FG 4-6 3FG 0-1
PF 1
Reb 3
Zaza’s 4th quarter against HOU:
Zaza Pachulia
Stint 4 10:55 0
FG 1-1
FT 3-4 PF 3
Reb 4 Off 1
Horford’s 4th Quarter against HOU (playing PF 7 out of 8 minutes):
Al Horford
Stint 4 8:47 -4
FG 0-1
PF 1
Reb 2
TO 1
Zaza was on the floor playing C for 7 out of 8 minutes which Horford played in the 4th so he must have been playing PF opposite Patterson and Morris.
What is Horford’s excuse this time? He was not getting touches? What about rebounding and blocking? ONE PERSONAL FOUL?
Co-captain and supposedly the “leader”, the guy with “heart”…
That’s unacceptable production and effort.
Someone call Donovan so he can call him out as a shadow of what he was when he left Florida.
Just Joe
November 4th, 2012
8:12 am
I’m willing to get behind Ferry’s comments rather than looking too hard at his moves so far. I believe guys like Korver, Morrow, and Harris will all be gone by the trade deadline, providing playing time in the second half for John Jenkins. Lou was signed below market in my opinion (less years than Jamal and Courtney Lee), and should be capable of adapting to Ferry’s system (he’s good as either a short term or long term investment in my opinion). I expect Horford to stick until the offseason no matter what (gives Ferry the option to keep him, trade him for a lottery pick, or use him for a sign-and-trade free agent pick up). I’m not completely sold on him wanting to re-sign Josh, but we’ll see. I think Ferry’s only mistake to date was cutting Damion James. He’ll need to pull off a trade or signing soon for me to be convinced he had a plan there vs. just a firm mandate of no more than 14 players.
Transition year IMO. Evaluating Drew, Teague, Josh, and Al. The lottery wouldn’t break my heart. Hoping Houston gets the 8th seed out West too.
Ken Strickland
November 4th, 2012
9:25 am
The only thing that really bothered me about our season opener, other than the loss, was LDrew
1-pulling a WOODSON by paying lip service to DEF while making OFF and jumpshooting a unquestioned priority over DEF and rebounding.
2-demonstrating a definitely preference for veterans over younger less experienced players even if the younger legs and talent was needed.
3-Allowing JSmoove to continue taking too many of the same illadvised jumpers he’s become known for rather than making his anchor his A$$ in the lane.
I agree with LDrew’s comment about our guards not stepping up in the rebounding dept. There were a lot of long rebounds that that hit the floor and Houston out hustled us for. That was uncalled for since we had the superior speed and quickness in that area.
However, I wouldn’t exempt our frontline people for not doing a better job, even though Drew’s refusal to put a rebounder like MScott or IJohnson in the gm at SF contribute to that. MScott would have been a better choice at SF than Korver, Stevenson or Tolliver, for rebounding purposes, while still providing Drew with the jumpshooting and scoring ability he seems obsessed with.
But there’s no way Drew could go against his Woodson instilled bias against rookies by giving one a chance to outperform a vet. It will be interesting to see what move he makes with Smoove out. Will he stick with his OFF first, veteran preference no matter what approach at SF by sticking with the rotation of Tolliver, Korver and Stevenson, or will he finally go with DEF and rebounding and give Ivan and/or Scott a chance?
Slimjr
November 4th, 2012
9:42 am
Larry’s starting lineup against the WC Champs:
1-Teague
2-Harris
3-Korver
4-Tolliver
5-Horford
Not surprising that the Hawks guards are not dominating the boards.
Their #1 Captain and leader will be missed terribly tonight! This game may become real ugly real fast…
Al appears to be trying to morph his game into a [LaMarcus Aldridge] type of game. He attempted a step back jumper for the 1st time I ever recalled on Friday night..It appears the [old] Al is gone for good…Hmmm
NORRIS CHUCK
November 4th, 2012
9:44 am
Ken,
I agree with what you said. But im not too much worried about this season. Drew will be gone next year and the birds have lots of finacial flexability to get much better.
Drew is not the type of coach for Josh, excuse me, let me correct myself, he is the perfect coach that Josh wants. The kind of coach that wont bother him while he is jacking up shots.
Once management realizes the following 3 things need to happen:
1. move Josh – this guy is a cancer!
2. Fire Drew – clueless and stubborn
3. Get more balanced by adding some bulk and a proven SF(the Hawks seem to be the only team in the NBA without a SF)
then they will be making some progress.
NORRIS CHUCK
November 4th, 2012
9:51 am
I dont know what the love affair is with Josh Smith. Yeah the guy is talented but a head case and management continues to put up with his antics.
Keeping Josh Smith around is like have a beautiful sexy wife who cheats on you but you keep taking her back and she knows you want do anything about it.
I would rather have a pretty and smart wife who is loyal and respectfull anyday.
And i tell all the Josh lovers, if he is so great then why is the NBA and fans NOT putting him in the All-star game year in and year out??? For one, nobody wants to watch airballs and crybabies in an all-star game.
Booker.T
November 4th, 2012
9:59 am
It still amazes me that Larry Drew gets paid to coach……smh
Buddy Grizzard
November 4th, 2012
10:22 am
“The Hawks planned on staying the course, with Joe Johnson headlining their team, if Rick Sund had decided to commit to a new long-term deal to stay on as general manager.”
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-07-21/news/32779785_1_jeremy-lin-linsanity-rockets/2
KevinM
November 4th, 2012
11:14 am
3D asks Joe after the Brooklyn game what does it feel like to actually have a PG to finally play with……..Joe is 4th leading scorer and has no room for his shoe collection in Brooklyn.
Buddy, that one is obvious because Sund never did anything that required much action to take. Thanks to whomever made that call to move Sund into ‘formal’ retirement.
We now have to be Houston creative to remake this roster. As long as Josh thinks he’s a SF, you can move him out of here as well. Danny said we aren’t a championship team and Josh is going to make Danny’s decision to resign him easy if he has more games like this.
And I’ll let Slim keep the Al-update rollin for us.
Man did we miss Petro too huh?
Melvin
November 4th, 2012
11:19 am
Buddy,
Rick Sund was robbing this franchise blind and cheating the fans. He basically did nothing but kept Billy Knight core group together. I believe given the chance, BK would have broken up this core group a couple of years ago. I recall Billy King (Nets GM) saying this summer that Joe Johnson was not even on his radar until Ferry call him his first day on the job with the Hawks. For many years, folks around here were led to believe that Johnson and Marvin contract was immovable but that was proven wrong when the Hawks hired a guy who’s willing to be creative and not remain status quo. Knowing what I know now, it’s not surprising that Sund has been in the NBA for over 30yrs and not won a NBA championship in any capacity. This guy is clueless.
KevinM
November 4th, 2012
11:29 am
From Buddy’s link:
“But when Sund declined to stay long-term, the Hawks brought in former Cavs GM Danny Ferry to replace him as their chief decision-maker, with Sund now serving as Ferry’s adviser. Ferry was willing to make changes and that’s the only reason Johnson became expendable.”
Well, I’m sure that Danny is looking for advice from Sund….complete non-sense.
Buddy Grizzard
November 4th, 2012
11:30 am
Melvin, you weren’t lead to believe that by me:
http://www.hoopinionblog.com/2012/03/comparing-twilight-of-two-hawks-eras-by.html
keith
November 4th, 2012
11:35 am
I
keith
November 4th, 2012
11:40 am
In crunch time, our leaders seem scared. this is not a matter of talent but a matter of courage and confidence. I would take less talented players who have heart. Right now, Lou Williams appears to be the player on this team with the “MOST” heart. I now believe that LOU WILLIAMS should start and finish at the 2 on this team.
Melvin
November 4th, 2012
11:51 am
Teague says he wants a contract extension…
http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-sunday-teague-motivated-by-contract-snub/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nba-sunday-teague-%20motivated-by-contract-snub
KevinM
November 4th, 2012
11:55 am
For the Eddy Curry inquiries: from hoopshype:
Alex Kennedy: The Mavericks will waive Eddy Curry. Just as I said when the Spurs released Curry last week, don’t be surprised if another team signs him.
Curry running out of teams quickly. If you can’t make it in Miami, I’m guessing you are more trouble than you’re worth.
Jlewis
November 4th, 2012
11:58 am
Najeh and others. Points is not what always makes a great player. You can hate on JJ all you want, Brooklyn will win and he’s still getting almost $22 mil a year. JJ was never the problem with this team, it’s Josh and Teague, no bigs or bench. He’s not here to blame, so it(s) all coming to the surface.
ag
November 4th, 2012
12:26 pm
I also expect Tolliver to start in place of Josh. I bet he starts Stevenson also. If I were coaching
Teague – Harris
Jenkins – Lou
Ivan – Korver
Scott – Tolliver
Horford – ZaZa
If Horford does not go for 20, I will be very disappointed.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 4th, 2012
12:27 pm
How does Ferry plan on building contender in next 2 years??
darrell starks
November 4th, 2012
12:30 pm
Hawks lose by 30points tonight.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 4th, 2012
12:30 pm
What exactly does Sund do these days for us? Is he even in Atlanta?
Smh
darrell starks
November 4th, 2012
12:35 pm
This should be the Hawks starting lineup to night.
STARTERS TEAGUE, LOU, MORROW, HORFORD, ZAZA
BENCH DEVIN, JENKINS, KORVER, IVAN
RESERVE STEVENSON, SCOTT
TOLLIVER AND PETRO IS CUT AFTER TONIGHT
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
keith
November 4th, 2012
12:38 pm
I agree with all on Tolliver. Anthony Tolliver should be cut. When Josh returns healthy, Allow Al to come off the Bench. Devin and Al will provide a nice 1-2 punch off the bench.
keith
November 4th, 2012
12:43 pm
I strongly believe that Danny Ferry is tanking this season in order to get into the draft. He knows that he will never win a championship with the players that we have. We have a ton of B type players and a few C type players. Some think that Josh is a Type A player, HE IS NOT! STOP IT!
darrell starks
November 4th, 2012
12:43 pm
I still don’t understand the hate for Horford on this blog ?
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
November 4th, 2012
12:47 pm
Keith i totally agree with you on Danny i believe he is trying to tank this season, but why should he is my biggest ?
Hawks have a good team if only LD understand on what to do.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
keith
November 4th, 2012
12:56 pm
darrell
I think that for whatever reason, superstars do not want to play for the Hawks. We can only obtain a superstar through the draft. We may be 3-4 years away from a deep playoff run with what we have +the draft.
darrell starks
November 4th, 2012
12:56 pm
If Danny could find a backup center behind Zaza, and finally move Horford to play PF and Josh at SF then watch this team become successful.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
keith
November 4th, 2012
12:59 pm
darrell
for whatever the reason, superstars do not want to play for the Atlanta Hawks organization. Danny knows the quickest way to get better is thru the draft. (see Spurs organization)
tyger
November 4th, 2012
1:36 pm
Marvin Williams 21pts 3reb 1blk 7-13FG 2-3 3PM 30min v Dallas
alex
November 4th, 2012
1:45 pm
if this organization not sucks from the head off ownership everybody like to play for Atlanta, because it’s one off the biggest markets in USA specially for black players, and secondary, never been ferry admirer, in my opinion he don’t now what he doing, let me repeat midgets never going to win basketball games, foresee another six miserable years under ferry, and they not going to fire him because asg cheap. remember wadell in thrashers. see you at the end off the season when record to be around 30 win and attendance to be around 5 thousand including players family members, asg and ferry.
Just Joe
November 4th, 2012
1:47 pm
Marvin Williams 11 pts and 3 rebs per game. 43% shooting. 30% from 3. Averaging 27 minutes per game. Looks like same old Marvin to me.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 4th, 2012
1:50 pm
What is Ferry’s plan to compete within 2 years???
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 4th, 2012
1:51 pm
I change my mind 25 times a game whether Smoove should get an extension from us
ag
November 4th, 2012
1:55 pm
Joe said it was nice having a high IQ player with him. What was he saying about Teague and Bibby?