Atlanta Hawks: Here come the Heat
Vivlamore reporting. Here is my story advancing the Heat game that will appear in the Friday edition of the AJC.
The Hawks are about to get fire tested.
For here come the Heat.
The defending NBA champions will give these new-look Hawks an indication of just where they stand early this season. With back-to-back dramatic victories, a short-handed road win over the Thunder and a comeback home victory over the Pacers, the Hawks have shown some resiliency. That resolve will be challenged against the Heat and their Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and a strong supporting cast.
“Certainly, Miami is as good as it gets,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “We’ll have to play a really solid game on both ends of the floor. I’m excited and anxious to see how our guys respond to the challenge.”
The Hawks (2-1) want to use the lessons learned from their first three games, including the season-opening loss to the Rockets where despite being outrebounded by a large margin they had a chance to win late.
“That would be a great identity for us to develop,” center Al Horford said the team’s resiliency. “We don’t want to have the reputation that we fold as a team. We are going to keep fighting. We are going to keep playing hard.”
The Heat (4-1), winners of three straight, enter with the Big Three all in the top 14 in the NBA is scoring average. James is fifth at 22.4 points, Wade is 12th at 20.4 and Bosh is 14th at 19.4. James is also tied for ninth in the league with 9.8 rebounds per game.
And the Heat have those rings.
Horford leads the Hawks with 17.7 points per game, tied for 29th in the NBA. However, the Hawks tout a team game, both offensively and defensively. They will need it against the Heat.
Drew said the Hawks match the Heat in their style of play. Both teams are going to look to push the ball in an up-tempo game. The Heat have speed and quickness and are excellent in the open court, especially with James and Wade, Drew said. So, how do you stop them?
Drew said the key will be limiting the Heat and their momentum plays. The Hawks can’t afford to let the Heat reel off points in bunches. The Pacers went on an 18-0 run against the Hawks Wednesday that left them bickering about the officiating and taking ill-advised shots. Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia were hit with technical fouls before the Hawks won the game with an 18-0 run of their own.
“We can’t respond to a run in a negative way,” Drew said. “We have to know how to mash runs and make sure that we maintain our focus. This game is a game of runs. They are a team that is very explosive. They have guys who can go off on any given night. We just have to make sure we go out and focus on what we have to do. Defensively we want to be solid. We want to play our style of ball, getting up and down and getting into an open-court game. We have to be smart with it. We have to be in an attack mode.”
The technical fouls came in the middle of the Pacers’ run that pushed their lead to 12 points. The Hawks managed to regain their focus and start their winning run. That won’t be so easy against the Heat.
Smith said he took responsibility for the call against him and addressed the team about it during a timeout.
“I let the officials get in my head a little bit,” Smith said. “It was a carryover affect. I let the team know that was on me. That was my bad. Everybody just closed our mouths and let our games speak for ourselves.”
Drew said he has yet to decide on a starting lineup against the Heat, who have won three straight against the Hawks. He he is still deciding whether to go with a smaller, quicker unit as he did against the Thunder or a bigger group as he did to match up against the Pacers.
- Chris Vivlamore
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124 comments Add your comment
MsDee
November 9th, 2012
2:34 pm
What is color commentary, Najeh?
ag
November 9th, 2012
2:36 pm
Ken, see my 9:53 posr.. dittto..
Doc, who do you suggest bringing in or would you like to keep Petro?
Ken Strickland
November 9th, 2012
2:51 pm
OBRIEN-Last yr there were many who said Ivan was too short to be effective at C, but he did a very good job of backing up Zaza. I wouldn’t be too quick to pass judgement on what Ivan can and cannot do. Also, we can’t make judgements or lineup decisions based on what the refs might of might not do. Can you say the refs won’t do the same thing if someone other than Ivan guards Lebron?
No player is going to stop Lebron from shooting from the outside, and there aren’t many that can keep him from driving the lane. However, he’s elevated his postup OFF, and that’s where Ivan can have an impact. Also, Ivan is quick strong and physical enough to make Lebron work hard on DEF. And we might get the refs to call a foul or 2 on him for trying to match Ivan’s physicality on DEF
Ivan can also make Lebron work harder to get rebounds. The only other player on our team that can give us what Ivan has the potential to give us against Lebron is JSmith, and we should want him on Bosh and JAnthony.
It looks like MBrown has been fired a 2nd time as a result of a disgruntled player. First it was Lebron, this time it was Kobe. If you saw Kobe’s attitude and reaction after the gm they played against Utah, where he walked off the court and towards the dressing room before the gm ended, you’d know something like this was going to happen.
terrell
November 9th, 2012
2:54 pm
Kobe finally fired Mike Brown. LMAO. Cant believe they hired him in the first place.
MsDee
November 9th, 2012
2:55 pm
Why cant TI be what Jayz is to the Nets..Not so much as investing money towards the Hawks but create some better, unique jerseys. Also, come up with a really DOPE entrance song/rap that could get, not only the players HYPED but us Hawks Fans as well!! We so very NEED a DJ to play upbeat song thru out time outs and what nots..TI, could be THAT guy!!
High-sider
November 9th, 2012
3:01 pm
I got a message from the NBA app on my android just a few minutes that said Mike Brown got fired.
ag
November 9th, 2012
3:02 pm
I remember that game, Ivan played Bosh very well.
Ken Strickland
November 9th, 2012
3:05 pm
AG-That is exactly the lineup I’m advocating we start against Miami. Like SLIMJR said, we need to zone the devil out of their starting lineup. But when they go to their shooters, which include MMiller, NCole, and RLewis, we should man up on them since none of these players can really hurt us off the dribble.
Section 303
November 9th, 2012
3:12 pm
I like watching LeBron play in person. Tonight will be fun. However, the douche-o-meter, in the stands, is off the charts when the Heat come to town. Not looking forward to hanging with the 18-32 year old d-bag from Acworth (or some other local town) wearing a Heat jersey, sideways Heat hat, and acting like he is Heat superfan.
Section 303
November 9th, 2012
3:14 pm
MsDee, TI would have a hard time living up to being Jay-Z. Unlike Jay-Z, TI is put in a jail cell every 6 months or so. Not exactly the guy I would want to be the face of the Hawks.
MsDee
November 9th, 2012
3:19 pm
Mike Brown NOW…Avery Johnson NEXT!! Jayz and crew put TOO much into their new basketball “toy”, The Brookyln Nets, to end up looking like the Lakers..Avery, ya might want to start looking over your shoulders!!
GoHawks
November 9th, 2012
3:21 pm
Hawks are going to win tonight. GOOOOOOOOO HAWKSSSSSSSSSSS
MsDee
November 9th, 2012
3:22 pm
Ouch, section303..again, NOT trying to compare TI to JayZ cause that would be UNCOMPARABLE! Just would like him to come up with some nice Jerseys and a Hype entrance song for the Hawks..thats NOT asking for much.
GoHawks
November 9th, 2012
3:26 pm
OUTKAST made the Hawks song years ago but they not adopt it, Y’all Scared would be the perfect song for the Hawks.
terrell
November 9th, 2012
3:28 pm
DF Might as well keep Uncle Larry on the cheap if he has his eyes on Mike Brown. I hope he’s looking elsewhere.
Slimjr
November 9th, 2012
3:30 pm
TI, will shock some of you. He is a multi-talented individual…..
Mike Brown hire [1-12] including preseason was a disaster..[Woody>WoodyLite>WoddyLite Jr]
The Lakers GM should have promoted Phil Jackson’s right hand man, [Brian Shaw] to lead his Franchise..
They’d be 5-0 right about now…
NORRIS CHUCK
November 9th, 2012
3:32 pm
Shams Charania: After a strong workout, the #Hawks have yet to indicate Kyrylo Fesenko if they’ll sign him, but the big man tells me ATL remain an option. Twitter @ShamsCharania
terrell
November 9th, 2012
3:36 pm
I hope yall know that Jay-Z owns less than 1% of the Nets. Russian guy owns 80%. The other 20% is owned by Jay-Z and about 20 others. They show him and Beyonce so much people start believing he’s the HNIC. lol
terrell
November 9th, 2012
3:39 pm
Still cant believe they traded for JJ. lol. When I watch the Nets play, he looks avg as hell. Thanks DF
Slimjr
November 9th, 2012
3:43 pm
“Clyde, sounds like your game plan is better than what LD often uses. Good luck tonight. And check for the Adam’s apple.” AJ
Hey Astro, Clyde may be in for a shocker after he leaves the [Piano Bar]..
I hear they can shave those [apples] down now.. Uh Oh…… LMAO!!!!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
November 9th, 2012
3:43 pm
“What is color commentary, Najeh?”
Same thing Nique usually does. T.I. and Duane Ferrell will be handling those duties tonight while Bob does play by play, according to a Hawks press release.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 9th, 2012
3:46 pm
“However, the douche-o-meter, in the stands, is off the charts when the Heat come to town. Not looking forward to hanging with the 18-32 year old d-bag from Acworth (or some other local town) wearing a Heat jersey, sideways Heat hat, and acting like he is Heat superfan.”
LMAO this post was fantastic.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 9th, 2012
3:48 pm
T.I. probably doesn’t have the kind of cash on hand to buy an ownership stake in the Hawks, even one as minuscule as what Jay-Z has with the Nets, but I like the idea of recruiting him (and other ATL pop culture figures) to market the Hawks better. Jay-Z gives the Nets credibility with players and fans despite the fact that they have been a garbage franchise for most of their existence. T.I. (as well as The-Dream, Young Jeezy, Jermaine Dupri to name a few others I have seen courtside) could do that for the Hawks, especially in time for the 2013 free agent summer.
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November 12th, 2012
1:52 am
[...] Atlanta Hawks: Here come the Heat The defending NBA winners will give these new-look Hawks an indication of just where they stand early this season. With back-to-back dramatic victories, a short-handed road win over the Thunder and a comeback home victory over the Pacers, the Hawks … Read more on Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]