Atlanta Hawks: New bench rotation during five-game win streak
Vivlamore reporting.
Coach Larry Drew has changed the way he has used his bench during the Hawks’ current five-game win streak. No need to change what has worked he said Tuesday, a day before the Hawks host the Bobcats.
The notable changes have been an increased playing time for the starting unit, more minutes for Ivan Johnson and Anthony Morrow and a decrease in time for Anthony Tolliver.
Drew said the moves are a combination of a changing philosophy and the specific defensive matchups against each opponent.
Johnson is averaging 12.6 minutes and Morrow 12.0 minutes over the win streak, an increase from their early-season time. Tolliver has played under four minutes in the one game in the last five played.
“I used (Tolliver) a lot early and I wasn’t using Ivan at all or limited,” Drew said. “But Ivan has really been playing well. He’s been doing a good job for us coming off the bench bringing toughness, bringing energy. I’m going to stay with what’s working. I’ve already had a talk with Anthony. He’s aware of it. He knows he has to stay ready just in case.”
The Hawks’ bench has been outscored in each of the five wins. It’s a statistic that Drew can live with as long as the reserves bring a defensive presence first.
“Our bench ranks up there defensively,” Drew said. “As I’ve told them before, when they come into the game I want them to come in and think about defending first and then offense second.”
As a team, the Hawks lead the NBA is forced turnovers per game (18.0), are second in opponent field-goal percentage (.427), third in points allowed (92.1) and fifth in steals per game (8.9) and opponent 3-point field-goal percentage (.328).
Injury report
Kyle Korver (stiff back) and Devin Harris (toe) did not practice Tuesday. Drew said there was no need for Korver to aggravate his back at a practice. Drew also said Harris is “feeling much, much better” and expects the guard to play Wednesday after missing last week’s game against the Clippers.
Josh Smith (sore knee) was a limited practice participant and will play against the Bobcats.
Win streak
In the Hawks’ five-game win streak, they have beaten teams with a combined record of 24-41 (going into Tuesday’s NBA schedule). Only the Clippers, at 8-6, are above .500.
ESPN adds game
The Hawks game against the Nuggets on Wednesday, Dec. 5 will now be televised by ESPN and the game time changed to 8 p.m. The game was originally a 7:30 p.m. start. The network dropped the Bulls at Cavs game that night.
Also, ESPN will not broadcast the Feb. 20 game against the Heat. The network will instead broadcast the Hornets at Cavs game.
Game time for the Hawks-Heat will remain 8 p.m. The game is currently not scheduled to be televised. However, it’s under consideration by SportSouth to add the game.
All-Star voting
The first voting update for the NBA All-Star Game will be Dec. 13.
Al Horford, Jeff Teague and Smith are the Hawks’ representatives on the ballot for the game to be played in Houston on Feb. 17. Balloting ends Jan. 14 and the starters will be announced Jan. 17 on TNT. Voting began Nov. 13.
- Chris Vivlamore
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108 comments Add your comment
glw
November 27th, 2012
10:19 pm
The Memphis Grizzlies assigned guard Tony Wroten to the Reno Bighorns, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. Wroten (6-6, 208) has totaled one rebound and one steal in eight minutes through three appearances in his rookie season with Memphis. NBA.com
And to think a lot of people wanting him picked here. With 1st rd picks starting to be assigned to D-League, I wonder how long before the Hawks do the same with Jenkins and or Scott to get some playing time. With the Hawks seemingly in playoff contention, they will never see the floor except for blowouts.
Sameba
November 27th, 2012
10:48 pm
Ken Strickland:
…but it was Drews decision which of these players made the final roster.
———————————————————————————————————
What is such a conclusion based on? Why so sure that it is SOLELY Drews decision??
Grandad
November 27th, 2012
10:50 pm
Slimjr
That was a very nice thing to say.
G`Dad
Najeh Davenpoop
November 27th, 2012
10:57 pm
Ferry may or may not have been the driving force behind Tolliver being signed here, but LD was sitting courtside for an entire season of Ivan last year while Ferry was not, and was in better position to assess Ivan’s obviously superior game. I think it’s safe to say that if anything Ivan should have been given a chance to lose his spot in the rotation to Tolliver, not the other way around. Ivan’s play last year earned him more than DNP-CDs to start this season.
Anyway, LD got it right eventually, so it’s all good.
Slimjr
November 27th, 2012
10:57 pm
keith
November 27th, 2012
5:33 pm
“Perry Jones III was available when the Hawks made their pick. PJ III is a modern day Robert Horry, Rashard Lewis, hybrid. He can flat out ball. 2-3 years from now, we will be sorry”
I believe he’s more skilled than those guys.He’s like a 6′11″ two or three..Just crazy..
BTW, 27 Gm’s passed him up…WoW!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezBEacGh0gA&feature=related
Sameba
November 27th, 2012
11:07 pm
Najeh Davenpoop:
What you say is of course makes sense. But let’s consider this: if DF was the driving force, then Drew could not go against him. So he played Tolliver until that guy got self-destructed (as Ken S. correctly noticed).
And I completely agree with your words: “Anyway, LD got it right eventually, so it’s all good.”
Nate ArchiBALL
November 27th, 2012
11:16 pm
KS – In all probability, the Hawks roster was already set and no matter how well James and Benson played during camp (and they did play pretty good) they were not going to make the squad. No way DF was going to put together a team with Benson (3 NBA games), James (32 NBA games), Jenkins (R) and Scott (R) on the roster.
Slimjr
November 27th, 2012
11:35 pm
Hey my pleasure G’Dad. I look forward to your input.I always come away saying: Hmmmmm
Melvin
November 28th, 2012
12:52 am
I would have rather signed Anthony Randolph over Anthony Tolliver. Heck, I’m guessing Randolph wish he would have signed with the Hawks as well. He played in only 2 of the 15 games this season (13 DNP-CD).
vava74
November 28th, 2012
7:19 am
Sameba:
“…, LD gave interview to our beat writer. He said “Damion deserved to be on the team” or something very similar, do not remember exactly. I consider this as indirect prove that he wanted Damion to be on the team…”
NOPE: this type of commentary by LD is actually very typical of his used car salesman type of speech.
You cannot rely ON ANYTHING which LD says since he ALWAYS contradicts action with words.
He has done it dozens of time. Always (virtually) says the right things and does the opposite.
drmaryb .(""_ ^).
November 28th, 2012
7:24 am
PUT UP OR SHUT UP!
glw Says: November 27th, 2012 at 7:39 pm
I am curious as to why Drew decided to give Tolliver minutes over Ivan in the first place? This team was obviously undersized and you didnt need minutes going to a stretch 4 over a guy who bring you inside toughness and rebounding. Tolliver role is simply play when Josh gets in foul trouble or if the other shooters cant get it going and you need an offensive spark and your hope is he can come in and give you a couple of 3’s. Other than that, he shouldnt see the floor
____________________
To add to others fine points of views re: this Tolliver SPOOF … GM - FERRY, wanted this guy over James & Drew showcased this scrub all the way to the end of the bench. We clearly don’t need this empty suit to anchor this bench. Waive this guy & give James a call!!!
terrell
November 28th, 2012
7:53 am
Why in the world would you play Tolliver over Ivan to begin with? Toughnes? Energy? Ivan brought all of that shizz last year. Wtf LD talking about? Tolliver shouldnt even be on the team. Clown.
terrell
November 28th, 2012
8:08 am
So a team that consists of Kobe, Dwight, and Gasol loses at home to the lowly Pacers. Wow! Who are they gonna fire next? lol
ECF or Bust
November 28th, 2012
8:10 am
Tolliver was some what of an unknown in how he would mesh with the team compared to Ivan. T was new to the team with a proven resume as a rotation guy.
Coach gave him his shot and if he had succeeded he would be playing more. That was a lot of pressure put on Tolliver and he didn’t come prepared.
Coach knew what to expect from Ivan and he is getting it and will continue to get it.
Now the team is back to normal and Tolliver can’t sit and cause ‘TMAC’ type distraction cause he didn’t get a ‘fair shot’.
Coach is smart, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Tolliver will get another shot, it’s a long season. Hopefully he will be ready next time.
Go Hawks.
Samurai Squirrel
November 28th, 2012
8:33 am
James may have deserved to be on the team, but he isn’t and more than likely never will be (if we’re lucky). Might as well forget he was ever in training camp. Can we please just stop talking about him?
Heck, I am getting to the point where I want them to sign him just so he can suck and you guys will realize how idiotic you have been to KEEP talking about him!
Samurai Squirrel
November 28th, 2012
8:37 am
Thanks for answering my questions!
One final one: has Josh Smith been working with Al Horford on his free throw technique at practice? Horford certainly has gotten worse and had to pick it up from somewhere!
Slimjr The Idiot
November 28th, 2012
8:53 am
Hey let’s play Jeff Teague 48 mins every night and we’ll have 75 wins this season.
JROLL1
November 28th, 2012
8:58 am
Anthony Morrow still needs more PT! Every game AMo gets a dnp/cd…Larry has outcoached himself!!!!
Slimjr
November 28th, 2012
9:27 am
42-45mins for Teague should suffice on most nights.. Maybe less with large leads…
He’s got plenty of gas left in the tank for years to come..
Okay Genius. Have a great day!
tiger woo
November 28th, 2012
9:36 am
42 – 45 minutes per is too much for Teague – no need to wear him down when you have capable backups.
ECF or Bust
November 28th, 2012
10:03 am
also might have been a little of Coach reminding Ivan who the boss is..
ag
November 28th, 2012
10:05 am
ND, great point earlier, it is a lot of crappy teams. Hard to play a 5 game schedule with more than 2 contentenders. Playing Washington did skew it a little bit.
Ivan proved himself last year. In earlier stories, LD admitted going to California to visit Ivan. He was also quoted as coming into camp in the best shape of all players. Yet, he earned DNP’s.
Also, let us not forget JT0 averages fewer minutes than all Hawks regular staters. He receives extended minutes only with DH is hurt. The only thing LD should see is playing fewer players actually helps the team. JT0 needs to play 35-40 minutes per game.
Just Joe
November 28th, 2012
10:10 am
LD’s comment regarding “James should have made the team” refers to the 15th roster spot in my opinion. In LD’s mind, it was Ferry’s preference to keep a spot open that cost James a contract, not the fact that Tolliver was chosen over James.
ag
November 28th, 2012
10:22 am
The more I am reading, the evidence may show LD’s hands were tied when coming to Tolliver. Nobody could understand it. Again, Benson gets dumps after scoring 10 points, why? Okay 10 points in a preseason game is not like winning the MVP in the championship, but he had a good game. Also, he had a very good Summer Camp. Yet, DF gave Scott a contract.. not sure why considering, Josh, AL, Ivan and Tolliver playing the same position.
MsDee
November 28th, 2012
10:25 am
Sam aka Samurai Squirrel
“James may have deserved to be on the team, but he isn’t and more than likely never will be (if we’re lucky). Might as well forget he was ever in training camp. Can we please just stop talking about him?
Heck, I am getting to the point where I want them to sign him just so he can suck and you guys will realize how idiotic you have been to KEEP talking about him!”
Dang Squirrel, what did Damion James do to u? Did he still one of your nuts?? U seem to have pretty good b-ball sense but seem to lack it when he comes to a guy like James who FLAT OUT deserved to be playing with the Hawks right about now!! The purpose of trainging camp is to display your abilities in front of the coaching staff in order to make the team. Well, Damion DID just that but got the boot! How can u NOT understand that unless, like I said, Damion stole something from ya..u may want to keep your nuts on a leash next time.
MsDee
November 28th, 2012
10:27 am
Wow, Lakers losing YET again..Might be seeing Dwight in a Hawks uni next season after all!!
MsDee
November 28th, 2012
10:36 am
Lakers has NO BENCH WHAT SO EVER!! Jamison hasn’t been the same since leaving Washington, J Meeks hasnt been the same since leaving Philly, Chris Duhon sucks, Darius Morris who?? Who is that???? And cant count on Kobe putting up numbers like that always..Nash definitely wont be the same being old and now injuried..yep, we may be RIGHT back in the Dwight Howard sweepstakes come next off season since Bynum is good as DONE. Feel kinda bad for Philly….well, maybe NOT!!
Samurai Squirrel
November 28th, 2012
10:44 am
James never did anything to me. I just hate reading the blog every day with people acting like he would be “the answer” for this team. Bringing James in isn’t like bringing in a star (which this team seriously needs if it ever wants to win big). If the Hawks signed him, I would hope he came out and lit the building on fire. I just don’t see that ever happening…
By the way, love that you always quote me as “Sam AKA Samurai Squirrel”.
MsDee
November 28th, 2012
10:46 am
If we continue to play like we have thus far with who we have now while the Lakers continue to have negative drama around them, Dwight would be coo coo NOT to join us. We will STILL have his best friend Josh on the team (since Josh WILL sign), Lou Williams and maybe Anthony Morrow (which I believe we keep since Dwight gave high props about him b4 in an article I read somewhere). While still keeping our 2time ALLSTAR Horford and wonderful backup center in Zaza. Our steady immurging PG Teague and knock em dead shooter in Korver with Ivan the MANEATER backing him up!! WOW, what a team we would have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If Ferry could pull THAT off, oh yea, he would DEFINITELY be evecutive of the year while almost guaranteeing a championship here in the ATL!!!!!
Terrell
November 28th, 2012
10:48 am
Is it Drew or Ferry that can cut players? I believe that power belongs to Ferry and I think he kept Tolliver as a trading assest as compare to James. I bet Drew wanted to keep James as he stated earlier that James should’ve made the team. James would’ve only gotten a little over 300K compared to Tolliver’s 900K-1M. I wouldn’t be suprised if Tolliver along with Harris and possible Morrow are used in a trade.
MsDee
November 28th, 2012
10:49 am
Kool Sam aka Samurai Squirrel
Ray
November 28th, 2012
10:50 am
Did we not learn what happens when players log heavy minutes as the regular season goes on.
If Jeff Teague plays 30-35 per night and then say the 10th game he plays 40 mins that’s cool.
But to consistently play anywhere from above 35 to 42 mins will tax him it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
For crying out loud when Joe Johnson did that why do you think we called for his head. Because on any given night he’d be playing 35-44 mins.
ag
November 28th, 2012
10:51 am
I think James would bring you more than we would ever see in a box score. If James could give me 8 ppg, I would be happy. If he would grab 7 rebounds, again, I would be happy. He pretty much did that in the preseason. His size and hustle is what this team needs.
Stevenson is living off his rep. It is like going to a club and the 50 year old over weight bald guy talking about how many ladies he used to have. Just because he is still in the club, he is no longer pulling those young ladies. Stevenson could not start on NJ last year, why should he start with the Hawks?
Ray
November 28th, 2012
11:14 am
At least Stevenson gives us something Tolliver doesn’t give us a damn thing we see that actually Petro doesn’t give us anything except a useless body out there on the court.
Melvin
November 28th, 2012
11:26 am
MsDee,
If the Hawks sign Howard than I think they may trade Horford. Not b/c Horford is a bad player but his contract money could be spent in another area like upgrading the perimeter/wing players. I think Howard, Josh, ZaZa and Ivan if they all sign could man the paint.
tidog
November 28th, 2012
11:30 am
It’s easier to use coach DNP than to find minutes for the rookies Jenkins and Scott. LD is a farce and changes direction like the wind.
Samurai Squirrel
November 28th, 2012
11:37 am
Everyone always wants to put in the backup quarterback. We are winning. If we are losing, then we would have reason to complain. Why not just sit back and be happy that (surprisingly) we are one of the 4 or 5 best teams in the Eastern Conference? Having James, Benson, or Tolliver out there isn’t going to make a huge difference in how the season goes.
MsDee
November 28th, 2012
11:39 am
Melvin,
The only way I see Ferry trading Horford is if we can to get quality wing and or sf to replace him, other than that, I just dont see Horford going anywhere. We have the money to afford those guys cause remember, we wont have Dwight birds right which means we will be saving a year off his contract unless the Lakers do a sign-n-trade with us for Dwight. Like I stated earlier, the Lakers have noboby we would want so its safe to say Dwight would just be walking out on his own. The only way it would have be tough to keep Horford is if we would try and get CP3 and Howard together but since Teague is (to me) a tab bit better than CP3 right about now, then it makes no sense to try and get him now.
Rusty
November 28th, 2012
11:41 am
The big question regarding ivan was why didn’t LD play him against the celts in the playoffs when we definitely needed a tough guy who could rebound. I really get the feelingthat LD handed that series to them on a silver platter the way he coached.
Rusty
November 28th, 2012
11:45 am
Yea tiger woo the way you always said bad things about JT I know you would like to play him zero minutes.
alex
November 28th, 2012
11:45 am
rather than hawks sign Howard i see we losing josh for nothing signing for glamorous big market LA to play with best friend and i am concern that we don’t extend josh or don’t trade him yet just to get somebody if he prefers LA (heard he on LA radar).
Ken Strickland
November 28th, 2012
11:48 am
NATE ARCHIBALL-During the off season it was reported that LDrew flew to where Ivan was working out to observe his workouts and to talk him into resigning. You’d think that his previous season’s body of work, plus he obviously liked what he saw during his workouts, along with what he did during training camp and exhibition season, would be enough to get him off the bench the 1st part of the season.
I’m beginning to really dislike LDrew because of his habit of ASSUMING all Hawk fans are stupid. Why else would he pretend to be suprised at what IJohnson has done after he finally allowed him to una$$ the bench? And the only reason that happened is because Tolliver was so bad that he had not other choice. He’s now doing to Tolliver what he did to Ivan at the start of the season.
Also, the idea that DFerry wouldn’t have a roster with 2 rookies and 2 players with limited experience doesn’t hold water. Ferry knew this would be a rebuilding yr, and he openly stated his intention of wanting to establish a developmental program for rookies and less experienced players. Now tell me, how can he expect to develop rookies and less experienced players if they aren’t on the roster?
LDrew is the one who’s established his preference for veteran players over rookies and less experienced players. All you have to do is think back and remember how he totally ignored Teague in favor of 2 grossly underachieving vets Teague/Bibby. If not for the team trading Bibby and Hinrich’s injury, Drew would never have given Teague a chance to shine during that Bulls/Hawks playoff series.
Bottomline, it was Drew, not Ferry, that demonstrated his VETERAN PREFERENCE, while Ferry has started his preference for developing rookies and younger players. After all, didn’t Ferry state shortly after the draft that Jenkins and Scott would definitely make the roster?
We had 5 returning players already under contract, plus 2 rookies, and LWilliams, DHarris and KKorver assured of making the roster. With mgt’s unwillingness to eat Petro and Stevenson contracts, that left 5 players competing for 2 slots(Benson, James, Tolliver, Morrow, and Anderson).
ANDERSON-a total wash even though he was given ample opportunity to show what he could do.
BENSON-offered more size, potential, upside, rebounding and DEF ability than Tolliver or Morrow, but he couldn’t shoot 3’s. He had a very good summer league, training camp and preseason.
JAMES-offered size, hustle, and more potential, rebounding, DEF and passing ability than Tolliver or Morrow, but couldn’t shoot 3’s and wasn’t an OFF 1st type of player. He also had a good training camp and dominanted all other FAs as a rebounder, defender and passer during preseason.
LDrew didn’t have much of a choice when it came to who would get the 1st 12 roster spots. However, he certainly made the decision as to who would get the final 2 roster spots, and he chose experience and 3pt shooting ability over size, youth, potential, rebounding and DEF ability. James and Benson were the perfect candidates for DFerry’s desire to develop younger players. James actually played well enough to have earned the starting SF slot, if a more open minded, less biased and one dimensional HC was making the decisions.
Just Joe
November 28th, 2012
11:49 am
Signing Howard and retaining all, or most, of our own free agents would be tough to do.
2013/14 Salaries/Cap Holds:
Horford $12M
LouWill $5M+
Jenkins $1M+
Teague $8M+/-
Smith $15M+
ZaZa $7M+
Korver $7M+
Morrow $6M
Ivan $1M
That’s $62M in salaries/holds (assuming all other free agents are renounced & giving no consideration to 2013 1st rd pick(s)). You’ve got to cut loose over $24M in salaries to be able to offer Dwight $20M+ (or re-sign someone for considerably less than their cap hold). You could renounce everyone but Josh, Al, Jeff, Lou, and Jenkins (roughly $41M against cap), and you still wouldn’t have enough room to offer Dwight $20M.
Ferry is going to have to decide betwen building around Jeff/Josh/Al, or dumping one (possibly 2) of the 3. And then if you do say, dump Al, and sign Dwight, it will likely cost you all but one of ZaZa, Morrow, and Korver, since you’ll only have the MLE to offer.
There’s a lot of change coming between now and July 2013. A salary dump of Al Horford could happen. A sell off of expiring contracts like Morrow, Korver, and Harris is likely.
Samurai Squirrel
November 28th, 2012
12:17 pm
I like you guys, but you have waaay too much time to type up these super long diatribes. Now you’ve got me writing them!
Ken, who do we have on this team that is an actual scorer? Smith thinks he is, but he is more of a hustler who can pick up rebounds and dunk. Horford is a pounder of the rock with a decent stroke, but not much offensive skill otherwise. Williams is a volume shooter who will throw it up there crazily several times a game. Teague is more of a distributer/slasher at this point in his career. Korver cannot create his own shot and relies on screens and picks.
The reason Drew went with the experienced vets (Morrow and Tolliver) is because they offered more scoring potential. Simple as that. Our roster is full of hustlers, but not enough scoring. You can play defense and hustle all you want, but you still have to score a few points at some point in the game!
O'Brien
November 28th, 2012
12:24 pm
I wont get too much into strength of schedule, or it’s early blah blah blah. All I will say is I am happy the Hawks are playing well.
And I wonder where the Horford bashers are. He is leading the team in scoring and rebounding (16 and 9), and has played alot of minutes at PF (and I think Center is his best position).
Just Joe,
If the Hawks get Howard, they would let Zaza go. With D12 getting a max contract, they can’t afford to pay his backup $5-$7 mil. And I think they would also trade Horford.
O'Brien
November 28th, 2012
12:28 pm
Just Joe,
Also, I think they are grooming Jenkins to fill Morrow’s role, so they would let Morrow go (although he is good friends with Josh), and try and resign Korver (imo).
hot.trod.87
November 28th, 2012
12:32 pm
Bring Dwight in and Hawks will be able to get a lot of vet minimum guys who want to win now.. We have cap space to sign 2 max contracts with a Bi-Annual Exception $1.957 million & TPE $1.375 million (Willie Green). 2013: Owed first-rounder (top-14 protected through 2016, converts to a second-rounder with cash in 2017) from Houston Rockets (Joe Johnson, Sasha Vujacic). 2013 – Owed second-rounder (top-40 protected through 2015, unprotected in 2016) from Houston Rockets (David Andersen)…. Hawks have bird rights to Josh, Devin, Zaza, Anthony, Kyle, & Johan next year
tiger woo
November 28th, 2012
12:34 pm
Rusty – I didn’t ay anything bad about J Teague – C’mon, he deserves at least 5 minutes!
tiger woo
November 28th, 2012
12:37 pm
Dwight Howard is over-rated. Shouldn’t the Lakers be dominating now with him and Kobe? ok – I’ll give them a little more time to put it together, but not much more time!
MsDee
November 28th, 2012
12:56 pm
Just Joe
Morrow and Korver are both free agents next season. If we can bring in Howard, those guys wont be asking for much to stay. And Josh would PROBABLY be reasonable with what Ferry would offer him if we get the opportunity to bring in Howard esp if Josh continue to play like he has so far which is NOT TO HIS USUAL SELF. I cant see Josh asking for TOO much with the numbers and FG% averages he is putting up as of now.