Atlanta Hawks game thread: Harris not settling for jumpers
Vivlamore reporting from Memphis.
Devin Harris is no longer settling for his jump shot. That’s the difference in his play of late, according the Hawks guard.
While Harris has been slowed by knee and toe injuries early this season, he insists that has not been an issue. He just needed a little time to learn his role and get comfortable with his new teammates.
“Now, I’m making a conscious effort of getting into the paint, finishing and doing what I’ve done before to be successful,” Harris said. “I just needed to re-start.”
Harris has started the past four games, including Saturday’s game against the Grizzlies, at shooting guard in place of Kyle Korver.
Larry Drew is seeing the play from Harris that made him an All-Star and had the coach eager to install his up-tempo offense.
“You are starting to see some of the old Devin,” Drew said. “He is getting in the lane. In transition he’s going coast to coast. He is starting to really get in real good basketball shape. With he and Jeff (Teague) both on the floor, or Lou (Williams), it allows us to play totally different because we have two guys who can really break the defense down and that you have to be concerned with going from coast to coast. Yeah, we’ll be smaller but our strength is going to be able to play in the open court. When he’s healthy he makes us much better.”
Harris had season-highs with 15 points and six assists in Friday’s victory over the Wizards. Two of his baskets were driving layups. Harris had 12 points against the Nuggets, including three layups, and 13 points against the Cavaliers, including five layups.
Pushing the tempo is Job No. 1 of Harris – that instruction coming from Drew.
“He tells me when I’m in there my job is to get everybody to run with me,” Harris said. “My job is to push the pace. Obviously, when different guys come in we play different ways but when I’m in there my job is to push the pace.
“I just needed a couple games to focus on how I could be effective with the guys on the court.”
In other news:
* The Hawks started their big lineup against the Grizzlies Saturday, in part because of the matchups and in part because DeShawn Stevenson likely would not play in the second of back-to-back games. Zaza Pachulia, Al Horford, Josh Smith, Teague and Harris started. Stevenson dressed but wasn’t expected to play in the continuing effort to rest the veteran in such situations.
* Korver remained in Atlanta, missing his fourth game, as he continued rehabilitation from back spasms. Drew said Korver would not join the team in time for Monday’s game against the Heat. He said there is a “chance” Korver could join the team in Orlando for a practice Tuesday and game Wednesday.
“The back is feeling better but he has to get in basketball shape,” Drew said.
* Drew said the Grizzlies, the top team in the Western Conference, present a number of issues for the Hawks.
“They are a good basketball team,” Drew said. “They really play well at home. Rudy Gay can really score the basketball. They have a solid inside game with Zach Randolph. Marc Gasol has really come into his own as one of the better big men in the league. Mike Conley is really terrific point guard, really good in the open court, really good off pick and rolls. They are a good team.”
Smith will match up with Gay to start the game.
- Chris Vivlamore
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
294 comments Add your comment
Section 212
December 8th, 2012
10:30 pm
I’m sure the experts are taking another look at this Hawks team. They just need to validate these wins with a winnable game in Miami on Monday
High-sider
December 8th, 2012
10:31 pm
Hawks ballin.
Hawks beat a top-tier team in the Western Conference. LD [Lame Duck] is takin’ care of bidness [sic].
cp
December 8th, 2012
10:31 pm
Great win tonight. Everybody who played contributed. Love the defensive effort tonight especially from Josh and Jeff. Teague had been struggling defensively but has been a lot better these last two games. I guess seeing that bench woke him up. He has to stay this aggressive defensively the rest of the year though. On to Miami.
terrell
December 8th, 2012
10:32 pm
Would rather keep Harris.
Jay Dubu
December 8th, 2012
10:32 pm
This win rectifies the Cleveland loss, so the Hawks’ record is right where it should be.
LD actually has them playing well, so we have to give him some credit.
Sautee
December 8th, 2012
10:33 pm
Slimjr
December 8th, 2012
7:27 pm
Memphis has the best record in Basketball @ 14-3 [.824%]!
Memphis is 9-1 @ Home!
Memphis has won 13 in a row against Eastern Conference Foes!
Can you say:
OH THE HUMANITY?
————————————————————————————
Oh ye of little faith.
soullrenaissance
December 8th, 2012
10:33 pm
Great win on the road against the best in the west. Earn that respect! Keep defense first and we can beat the Heat.
Blast
December 8th, 2012
10:33 pm
What a comeback win, man. These Hawks are for real.
Let’s see how they play versus slumping Miami. After tonite, I think these Hawks can play with anybody in the league. Couple stellar defence with great shooting and solid inside play, the sky is the limit.
cp
December 8th, 2012
10:33 pm
As bad as the gm for the Wizards is he might even throw in a first rounder.
cp
December 8th, 2012
10:34 pm
But I think they will probably just bring Pargo back come to think of it.
kwooden1
December 8th, 2012
10:36 pm
Hugh win by the HAWKS!! Unlike the win against the Clippers, Memphis was playing well and scoring inside! The HAWKS played great defensive and shot the 3 well. It would be great to pickup a good SF in a trade. I like how Harris is playing but he is definitely good trade bait.
GO HAWKS!!
Section 212
December 8th, 2012
10:36 pm
Collectively, we all have got to give LD his coaching props. Perhap this team matches well with LD’s coaching.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 8th, 2012
10:36 pm
Harris hasn’t impressed me, but to be honest, they have played so well together that I don’t know if I want to trade any of the regular rotation players. If they could trade Tolliver and a 2nd rounder for some other team’s end of the bench scrub who might fit this team’s needs a little better (Omri Casspi maybe) I’d be happy.
Jae Evolution
December 8th, 2012
10:36 pm
Keep Harris for what reason, he did almost nothing in 24 minutes.
Blast
December 8th, 2012
10:37 pm
Paul Gasol can not in his wildest dream play the way Josh played tonite.
Rod from College Park
December 8th, 2012
10:38 pm
Glad Stinger choose Josh as the player of the game. Shows he understands the game. He shut down Rudy Gay, and dominated offensively.
Blast
December 8th, 2012
10:39 pm
Nobody wants Pargo. He played well in the regular season, but sucked big time in the playoffs, along with Willie Green.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 8th, 2012
10:40 pm
Hawks 44 rebounds (14 offensive); Grizzlies 40 rebounds (11 offensive).
The Hawks are good at everything except rebounding and getting to the foul line. If they can win the battle on the boards, they are going to be tough to beat in every game.
Section 212
December 8th, 2012
10:42 pm
Other teams are havin problems adjusting to the Hawks rotation of going from 3 guards/2 bigs to 2 guards/3 bigs with just a single sub. Hawks are about the only team in the league who can make that can so quickly without missing a beat.
cp
December 8th, 2012
10:42 pm
Blast he was on the Wizards team earlier in the season. Its not a lot of other options the Wizards have at this point unless they make a trade. So I wouldn’t be shocked if they brought him back until they figure out what to do next.
Honesty
December 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
“Would rather keep Harris.”
I agree
drmaryb.(""_*).
December 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
The NMBERS Don’t Lie!
___________________
Before this fantastic game tonight, I pulled these stats!
Player – Pts – FG% – 3P%
______________________
MVT – 13.7 – .437 – .400
Deron – 16.8 – .390 – .287
Josh – 16.5 – .442 – .353
Joe J – 16.6 – .416 – .354
Mmmmm Hmmmm!
_______________________
Let’s give Coach Drew some street cred … he’s got these boys playng some DEFENSE!
Slim
December 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
Great win
kwooden1
December 8th, 2012
10:48 pm
Najeh, you know in this league you don’t often get something for nothing. Harris has a expiring contract and definitely has game left. Someone might give us a starter level SF for him. I haven’t looked, but I want a guy that is active on the boards and plays great defensive. We’re probably not going to shoot 40%+ from 3 during a tough Playoff series, we need a guy to help out the boards.
GO HAWKS!!
cp
December 8th, 2012
10:50 pm
Devin will be traded. He has a nice expiring contract and its teams already in need of pg help. I dont know what we can get for him but if a team is desperate enough they may give up some nice pieces.
Section 212
December 8th, 2012
10:51 pm
Go Hawks……….Go Falcons!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
December 8th, 2012
10:52 pm
The Melo-less Knicks shoot 32% and lose to the Rose-less Bulls. LD > Woody
Section 212
December 8th, 2012
10:52 pm
Gotta shut it down. See many of you during the Falcons game tomorrow.
Jae Evolution
December 8th, 2012
10:55 pm
Washington and Dallas are both in need of starting guards that can play. Washington has to start Livingston now which is all bad, and Collison hasn’t impressed in Dallas. These teams both have SF’s whose contracts will be expiring after this year in Ariza and Marion and they would help us defensively and on the boards. I understand the chemistry thing, but Harris hasn’t really been a big part of anything we’ve done, he has had a down year in nearly every category. He does give us a lot of speed but like Najeh said earlier he is very indecisive which causes a lot of problems for himself.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 8th, 2012
10:55 pm
Here’s the problem with trading Devin. Teague is a little guy. What happens if he gets injured? Are we going to roll with Lou at PG for 48 minutes? There’s no depth at PG beyond those three, and they all get minutes. As average as Harris is, I’m not sure someone like Pargo off the street can come in and play better.
And since he is average, what SF are we going to get for him who is better than, say, Stevenson?
I agree the SF position is still a bit of a question mark. Before the season I thought it would be a major question mark. But the way this team has played, it’s not a big enough issue to open a hole at another position in my opinion.
I’d rather just sign Astro Joe’s boy Dominic McGuire. Good rebounder, athletic, doesn’t do much else, could give the Hawks 10-15 minutes in a pinch at SF.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 8th, 2012
10:57 pm
If they can get a real difference maker at SF for Devin, of course they should pull the trigger. I’m not sure such a player is available, though.
doc
December 8th, 2012
11:01 pm
love it
just found out hawks beat griz there
F-U to all those doubters this summer
rev style:-)
heh heh
Blast
December 8th, 2012
11:09 pm
If Hawks can beat Heat on Monday, they will own the 2nd best record in the East. Think about it. Early in the season, folks thought Hawks will be a lottery team.
High-sider
December 8th, 2012
11:10 pm
Buddy Grizzard,
I have a suggestion for you. Please consider writing an article [on your "rep atl" site] about [how] this Hawks [team] is “winning on the cheap” and [en]title the article, “Hawks Ballin’ on a Budget.” Consider discussing both the players’ and [the] coaches’ salaries.
High-sider
December 8th, 2012
11:17 pm
[This] Hawks [team] is currently in the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and is only one game behind the first place Knicks. Can you say, “Wow!!!”
http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Cnf.html
Hawks_4_Life
December 8th, 2012
11:20 pm
Great win team, too bad I passed out and missed it
High-sider
December 8th, 2012
11:26 pm
If this [Hawks] squad keeps it up, this team has a chance to “loan” the East two All-Stars ["Smoove" and "Boss"] next February [2013] in Houston [TX].
Blast
December 8th, 2012
11:26 pm
Happy for Lou to be happy being back in Atlanta with the Hawks!
High-sider
December 8th, 2012
11:28 pm
“Smoove” tryin’ to get his “groove back.”
http://www.nba.com/hawks/stats/2012
Najeh Davenpoop
December 8th, 2012
11:33 pm
In 3 games since his missed box-out cost the Hawks the game against Cleveland, Josh is averaging 12 rebounds per game.
drmaryb.(""_*).
December 8th, 2012
11:37 pm
The Best Mistake HE Ever Made!
“In 3 games since his missed box-out cost the Hawks the game against Cleveland, Josh is averaging 12 rebounds per game.” – Najeh -
hawkfan
December 8th, 2012
11:38 pm
just think about it: If we never lost the game to Cleveland on the failed box out, we would be on a 10 game winning streak right now, just crazy!
Hoops-Nation — Kyle Korver has a chance to return Wednesday
December 9th, 2012
3:32 pm
[...] (Chris Vivlamore/Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Comments [...]
Hoops-Nation — Kyle Korver Likely To Return Wednesday
December 9th, 2012
3:36 pm
[...] (Chris Vivlamore/Atlanta Journal-Constitution) [...]