Atlanta Hawks: Sixers 99, Hawks 80 (updated)
Vivlamore reporting.
PHILADELPHIA — The Hawks are limping toward Christmas. And it’s a pronounced limp.
The Hawks lost for the third time in four games by dropping a 99-80 decision to the 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center Friday. In all three losses the Hawks have trailed by at least 17 points. The lone win in the stretch was an overtime victory over the three-win Wizards.
This loss has coach Larry Drew considering a change to his starting lineup.
“I’m very concerned,” Drew said. “I’m so concerned that I’ve got to think about the lineup now. That’s three out of four (losses) but I’m more concerned about our energy. That is what concerns me the most. I can take losing but if we don’t bring the energy, if we don’t bring the juice, that’s when I really have to look at things and I’m certainly going to do that. I may have to take a look at our lineup.”
It doesn’t get easier for the Hawks before some off time. The Hawks complete a stretch of four games in five days by hosting the Central Division leading Bulls Saturday. The Hawks then won’t play again until the day after Christmas. They’ll need to make good use of the downtime.
“I really didn’t see this type of performance coming,” Drew said. “I really thought our guys would play with a lot more energy and a more sense of urgency.”
The Hawks (15-9) have now lost six straight games to the Sixers, including all three meetings last season. Through 24 games this season, the Hawks are one loss worse than last season’s 16-8 mark at this point. The Hawks entered the game with the best road record in the Eastern Conference.
Josh Smith had 17 points, 13 coming in the first quarter, for the Hawks. Lou Williams, who played his first six seasons with the Sixers, scored 13 points. Al Horford finished with seven points on 2-of-10 shooting.
“I don’t know if it’s necessarily energy,” Horford said of the recent issues. “I think we need to stay true to what has been working for us and it’s moving the ball of offense, sharing the ball offensively and playing good team defense. I think that it was very obvious that we didn’t do that as we have in the past. We have to get back on track.”
Evan Turner led the Sixers with a game-high 21 points. Thaddeus Young finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Sixers (13-14), who snapped a five-game losing streak, opened up a 22-point late lead in the fourth quarter. A Mike Scott basket with 5:58 remaining was only the second field goal for the Hawks up until that point of the final period.
With the substantial lead, and sitting at 99 points, the Sixers dribbled out the final 23 seconds of the game much to the dismay of the crowd. The home fans booed for one more basket as they were entitled to a free Big Mac from McDonalds when the Sixers hit the century mark. That was the only disappointing thing about the night for the 18,061 in attendance.
The Hawks trailed by as many as 15 points in the third quarter as the Sixers took a 69-54 lead. Williams scored 10 straight points for the Hawks to close the quarter and they trailed by eight going into the final 12 minutes. However, the Sixers went on a 16-5 run to start the final quarter and it was time for the Hawks’ reserves to finish out the game.
“The second half we just didn’t have the energy,” Drew said. “We just did not bring it. For whatever reason and I’ve got to find out because we are not a very good team if we do not play with energy.”
The Sixers led by as many as nine points in both the first and second quarters. They took at 51-45 lead into halftime.
The Hawks used an 11-0 run to erase the near double-digit deficit in the second quarter. Zaza Pachulia and Ivan Johnson scored every point. Pachulia scored the first seven points. The Sixers used an 8-0 run near the end of the second to get a cushion, softened only when Pachulia hit a jumper at the buzzer.
“One of the things is we are trying to do a lot of isolations and things like that,” Horford said. “When we are most effective is when we are continually moving the ball, we are cutting to the basket and we are attacking. That’s when we are at our best. On defense, we just have to do a better job period.”
For the second straight game, Drew was denied his 100th career victory.
- Chris Vivlamore
LATEST NEWS
* Hawks have lost two of past three
* Williams ready for return to Philadelphia
* Morrow out, Stevenson questionable vs. Wizards
* A look at the Hawks at the season’s quarter mark
* Hawks look to put worst loss behind them
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199 comments Add your comment
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
December 22nd, 2012
3:27 am
“I really didn’t see this type of performance coming,” Drew said. “I really thought our guys would play with a lot more energy and a more sense of urgency.”
*****
How many times has he said this in the last 24 months???????
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
December 22nd, 2012
3:34 am
FIRE LD
SSDS
NO ENERGY. NO URGENCY. SOFT TEAM
REHIRE WEISS
High-sider
December 22nd, 2012
3:54 am
Najeh Davenpoop,
“I don’t give two watery cholera sh-ts about your supposed credentials, dude.” – Najeh Davenpoop @9:24pm, 12/21/2012
That’s an ironic (and interesting) comment coming from a blogger who goes by the name/handle “Najeh Daven-poop.”
DoUI (Dept. of Unintended Irony), where ya at on this one [sic]?
vava74
December 22nd, 2012
5:08 am
O’brien Says:
December 22nd, 2012 at 12:33 am
“And what is LD talking about, changing the lineup. Hasn’t he used multiple different lineups this year? Therefore, he is already changing lineups (especially when he tries to match up with the opponents).”
lol! That’s LD! The used car salesman! Always something to say, always something meaningless…
vava74
December 22nd, 2012
5:11 am
Rod from College Park
December 22nd, 2012
1:13 am
“Hawks beat the good teams in the West because they shot the ball well, and those teams really did not scout the Hawks well. The good teams in the East, (CHI, BOS, NY, NJ) have seen us enough to know how to defend Josh and Horford. The Scouting report has been updated on the Hawks. Man up on Josh and Horford, and don’t leave the shooters. Let’s see if Leisure Suit Larry can adjust.”
Ding!
I said precisely this some 8 or 9 games ago in the middle of our winning streak.
Johnny
December 22nd, 2012
5:11 am
Al horford has to cut strong to the basket instead of bringing the ball up like a pg. In a fast break. During the win streak that worked so well and he scored a lot of points.
Today against the Bulls. I am curious who will guard luol Deng. This guy is really big and can score the basketball. I guess LD will go with the big lineup with Josh guarding Deng.
doc
December 22nd, 2012
6:08 am
No rest for the weary:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/22/sports/basketball/knicks-fall-behind-early-and-cant-catch-bulls.html?nl=todaysheadlines&adxnnl=1&emc=edit_th_20121222&adxnnlx=1356174022-+WRV1lR327rIQMW7BEv26A
Here come da bulls.
doc
December 22nd, 2012
6:28 am
Banking and finance?
Statistics in banking?
Arbitrage and derivatives?
How to sell your soul and mother too?
Banking and finance, funny statistics and funny money may have ruined our economy and our children’s future. Cred just went downhill to talk anything about predictability, even in basketball.
Say it aint so high sider. Really lousy credentials in these desperate times.
LouWill83
December 22nd, 2012
6:53 am
Al Horford or David West?? and Why
Just Joe
December 22nd, 2012
6:59 am
Horford: age & ability to give you minutes at center
Admiral SnAckbar
December 22nd, 2012
7:41 am
starts in the middle for the Hawks.
gotta get Z is minutes.
minutes=nimbers for Zaza.
then fit the rest in accordingly.
Just Joe
December 22nd, 2012
8:00 am
Can’t comment a whole lot on last night because I only watched the last 5 minutes. (Box score question though). Teague only attempted one 2-pt shot in 22 minutes of play??? That’s it? Took three 3-pointers and never went to the line.
One other observation. Teague’s fouls are up. 5 against Washington. 4 against OKC. 4 last night. Hopefully this means he’s putting more effort in on defense and not just being sloppy.
It all starts and ends with the PG in my book. Also, 7 total rebounds in Teague’s last 5 games. When LD starts talking about lineup changes, Teague is the guy that has to watch out.
atlanta sprit group will move to seattle soon
December 22nd, 2012
8:06 am
Hey No worrys we goin move to seattle when new arena is done cause we be askin for a new Phillps arena 2 Now..after all we killed ever a chance get a NHL are Minor league in the place….Man if we own Gwinnett gladitors we have them moved to another city too….But we can’t screw you fans with High prices and lame NBA folks….enjoy 2013 Just keep payin and you get rob by us!
W.R. Terrell
December 22nd, 2012
8:37 am
Get ready for another dumb game. After the “Smoove”, screws the HAWKS to get his points with bad passing and dumb turnovers the Bulls will be on their way. Then again, Sameba figures Josh can do things singlehandedly, boy, no wonder the HAWKS are consistently believing nonsense
O'brien
December 22nd, 2012
8:55 am
Just joe,
I think Teague is being sloppy on defense, and sometimes when he gets beat (not moving his feet well), he gets called for the reach in. But part if it is he aggressively goes for steals, and that costs him at times.
O'brien
December 22nd, 2012
9:05 am
I think ferry should trade morrow for a SF, and LD should give Jenkins Morrow’s minutes (especially if this is a transition year). Will Jenkins have his ups and downs? Sure. But That way, Jenkins will be ready for an increased role next year. And next year, sign Dwight, resign Korver, and have him and Jenkins be the shooters.
Najeh,
If josh can’t convince dwight to come here, then having Morrow won’t make a difference (IMO).
Just Joe
December 22nd, 2012
9:20 am
OB…I think Ferry needs to trade Horford and Teague, and try to get some real value back.
POTF
December 22nd, 2012
9:24 am
To the HAWKS: Please go to Winnepeg too.
Chief
December 22nd, 2012
9:25 am
Atlanta has a basketball team?
rellis43
December 22nd, 2012
9:43 am
Did we not get away from the iso whoever???We have the #1 shooter from the SEC for the last 2 years andY did they draft him?? he’s not getting any minutes. Y?? Y did they draft himWhat’s he deal about not laying rokies. dumb, dumb, dumb.
Slimjr
December 22nd, 2012
10:09 am
On a positive note after the beat-down last night:
Allstar Al had 3 blocks…He took off the Knee pads after reading the blog..Looks like he’s trying not to play flat footed anymore to play quicker..
Al is going to have to start putting up 20 and 10 every night. With his new found mobility why not?
Slimjr
December 22nd, 2012
10:13 am
“OB…I think Ferry needs to trade Horford and Teague, and try to get some real value back.” -Just Joe
Danny allegedly already tried to ship these two out of here and was rejected..Maybe their value is not as lofty to most NBA GM’s as we would like?
Slimjr
December 22nd, 2012
10:15 am
Another loss tonight would make it 4 of 5.
Lousy…
O'brien
December 22nd, 2012
10:16 am
Just joe,
Teague is a restricted free agent this year, so I doubt the hawks would get a good deal for him, and with him being so young, im not ready to give up on him (unless a team overpays).
And now is not the time to trade horford. The time to trade him will be in the offseason, depending on what we can do in free agency and the trade market.
Slimjr
December 22nd, 2012
10:19 am
Teague fouls are on the rise because he is going up against quality pt guards who are able to blow by him and get their shots anytime they want to. ..
O'brien
December 22nd, 2012
10:19 am
Slim,
Where did u read Ferry “allegedly” tried to trade Jeff? I remember reading Sacramento was open to trading for Teague, but Rick said no.
And where did u read ferry tried to trade horford? Are you talking about the trade for Dwight that the Magic turned down?
If u want to talk about somebody’s value being down, let’s talk about your boy A’mare
O'brien
December 22nd, 2012
10:21 am
And I am going on record…I think hawks win tonight, because they will shoot a decent % from 3. Lets hope I’m right.
keith
December 22nd, 2012
10:23 am
Passion for Basketball
The manner in which the New York vs Chicago Basketball game played out is indicative of how “CHAMPIONSHIP BASKETBALL” is played. Can you for even ONE moment imagining JOSH SMITH or AL HORFORD displaying the kind of passion you saw from MELO, NOAH, OR TYSON CHANDLER last night????? NO WAY!!! OUR GUYS GET PUNKED OUT!!!!
Slimjr
December 22nd, 2012
10:24 am
Word on the street, Teague and AllStar Al were offered as part of a trade offer to land D12 from Orlando this past off season..Of course Danny was asked that point blank and he denied it on the air at 790 the zone.
keith
December 22nd, 2012
10:34 am
MYOPIC MIDGET MONKEY MINDS
There are far too many Myopic, Monkey, Midget minds, on this Blog, who cannot see the forest for the trees. This group that believes that Al Horford can lead you to an NBA Championship, they are absolutely Absurd!!! Josh Smith is a more athletic “Bruce Bowen”, however, Josh THINKS he is a SUPERSTAR, and he’s not a SUPERSTAR. Both of these guys are pretty good complimentary pieces and nothing more than that!!! Bottom line is this, if we are going to improve this Basketball team, definitely one of them must go, maybe BOTH????
What say you???
Slimjr
December 22nd, 2012
10:37 am
I believe the Knicks were down 22 pts, with about 8 mins left on the clock and made a ferocious comeback to pull within 4 as time ran out…
Once A’mare returns fully healthy. They should be able to handle Chicago and turn the tide…
Slimjr
December 22nd, 2012
10:40 am
Guard play is not going to beat Chicago. Josh and Al are going to have too get it done
keith
December 22nd, 2012
10:43 am
Who is a better basketball player, David West or Al Horford??? Joakim Noah or Al Horford???
Carl Landry or Al Horford??? Carlos Boozer or Al Horford??? Chris Bosh or Al Horford??? Kevin Garnett or Al Horford???Tyson Chandler or Al Horford??? Amare Stoudemeire or Al Horford???
Need i say more?????????????????
keith
December 22nd, 2012
10:49 am
IMO Zaza Pachulia earned a starting role last night, PERIOD. Zaza Paculia should be the starting center for this Basketball team going forward, no matter who we play, LARRY DREW,and i hope you are reading this!!! Larry Drew is pulling a Rex Ryan type deal on Ivan and Zaza…
hfc95
December 22nd, 2012
10:52 am
Heres my diagnosis concerning our recent skid..
If we dont start Teague and Devin we dont put the same pressure on the defense to defend our dribble drive with teague and harris and when those two are attacking ealry it forces the opposing team to sag off our shooters and get to the lane. when we start deshawn and korver together it means teague is the only driver and we cant rely on him like that as it is quite clear he is not looking to become a consistent 15 and 7 PG. Its kinda sad to say but devin is desperatley needed on this team with his handles and ability to get to the rim.
Also when Josh was the hot hand in the 1st quarter with 13, LD didnt put him back in the game until the 6 min mark in the 2nd qtr!! Josh should have had 20+ by halftime but LD didnt put him back in quick enough to properly continue his scoring for us. Its as if LD assumes a guy can sit on the bench half a qtr and continue to score like he was no problem.
I would predict a loss tonight vs CHI but I think Jeff will show up tonight because he will want to show his lil bro up and put up 20 on kirk. Korver may get us 15(all 3s) and AL will play out of his mind with rebounds(15+). Hawks 95 Bulls 89
keith
December 22nd, 2012
11:06 am
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
December 21st, 2012
9:13 pm
I’m sorry but Horford quit on us tonight.
He has quit on this team many times before. When you earn 12 million dollars per season, you do not have the “Right to Quit” Winners NEVER quit!!!
SteveW
December 22nd, 2012
11:11 am
Philly had better players top to bottom. End of story. They had lost five in a row because Holiday and Turner had been out. Philly is more talented than the Hawks. Wish they weren’t, but its just a fact.
And starting ZaZa gives us our best chance to win nitely. Not ideal, but he just does. Trade some combination of our wing guys and picks for DWill and Aminu maybe. Still have Jenkins and maybe Morrow at the 2, along with Lou. Make Devin Harris your fulltime backup Pg. Balances the team, and players know their roles.
Sign Fesenko, Benson, Dampier or somebody if you don’t think Petro can backup ZaZa.
O'brien
December 22nd, 2012
11:39 am
Slim,
It was also alleged that the reason Orlando turned down Ferry’s trade inquiry is because they did not want to trade Dwight to a division foe, so ferry may not have even gotten the chance to present his trade proposal.
As for A’mare, he said is willing to come off the bench, and I think that’s what Woody should do, at least initially. As for the Knicks, I think they rely too much on the 3’s (kinda like the Hawks).
cp
December 22nd, 2012
12:03 pm
Teague picked up two touch fouls last night. I thought one was a real bad call. Defensively he wasn’t bad last night he just got in foul trouble. Jrue hit two difficult shots over him last night. At half Jrue only had two more points than Teague but some of these cats on here were talking about Jrue was dominating. Sometimes I wonder if guys are even watching the same game. Teague’s problem is consistency. He played well against OKC but didnt do much last night because of foul trouble.
Whats annoying about cats on here is that they wait until certain players have bad games to talk about trading them or how trash they are.. And its the same 3 players each time, Teague, Al, and Josh. If they play well then certain posters on here say nothing but as soon as they have a bad game its time to trade them. Quite comical really.
LD needs to go to the big lineup and just stick with it. Stevenson has been better than I thought he would be but when it was reported the Nets were offering Gerald Green I said then they should take him instead of Stevenson. We really need a sf in here.
And I’m sorry but outside of 3 games this season Devin Harris has been terrible. I thought he would be beneficial to have on the court with Lou with the second unit but if you follow the games it seems that whenever we have a lead and those two come in the lead quickly disappears. LD has to let Lou be a scorer and stop letting him initiate the offense. Lou is not a pg and whenever he is asked to be the pg the offense sputters. LD didnt learn from his misuse of Jamal because he is doing the same thing to Lou. And I like Lou but man his shot selection and decision making is terrible.
And how freaking hard is it for our bigs to give the damn pg the ball and fill the lanes on the break.
keith
December 22nd, 2012
12:25 pm
If you could put Al’s brain in Josh’s body, then you would have a pretty good power forward……..
keith
December 22nd, 2012
12:36 pm
Our guys as “Wizard of Oz characters”
Josh= “the Scarecrow” Al= “The Cowardly Lion” Jeff = ” The Tin man”
Our “core leadership” is in desperate need of a visit to meet the Wizard! Josh could use the Brain, Al could use a whole lot of Courage, and Jeff could use a Heart!!!! Quite frankly, they all could use some heart…
Rusty
December 22nd, 2012
12:37 pm
CP everything you just said is 100% correct.
Rusty
December 22nd, 2012
12:39 pm
The main problem on this team is LD,he doesn’t make the team play as a team.
Swingman912
December 22nd, 2012
12:43 pm
CP,
I couldnt have said it better myself. Completely cosign. I know Al and Smoove have good passing ability, but thats isnt thier job on the break. Bigs are supposed to run the lanes, and when they bring the ball up Hawks end up with a bad shot or an unnecessary 3. I think that would help Teague’s play as well. He should bring the ball up EVERYTIME, initiate the offense EVERYTIME, and if he doesnt LD should say something EVERYTIME. Your PG has to be a leader, even if he isnt the best player on the team. Teague almost has to have a Westbrook mentality. Say what you want about Russ Westbrook, but you know what youre getting. Agressive play for 48 min.
Rusty
December 22nd, 2012
1:00 pm
Swingman912 isn’t it quite obvious by now that LD doesn’t want JT to control the offense,LD shows that he doesn’t even want JT on the floor,no matter what JT does LD will find fault with it.
keith
December 22nd, 2012
1:00 pm
Having said all that i have said before, Kyle Korver has been a “tremendous’ asset to our Basketball team. John Jenkins should be on our 2nd unit. We need to find a way to move Johan Petro, someway, somehow….
Melvin
December 22nd, 2012
1:00 pm
The Bulls may be without Deng and Noah tonight.
“A second win this season against the conference-leading New York Knicks on Friday night went a long way towards establishing that, but it was a costly win for Chicago, who may have lost Luol Deng to injury and could potentially lose Joakim Noah to a suspension.”
Read more at http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-saturday-bulls-lose-noah-deng/#4loDybSyIWfpXTHS.99
O'brien
December 22nd, 2012
1:06 pm
Hawks do not respond well when their opponent is missing key players
Swingman912
December 22nd, 2012
1:11 pm
Rusty,
You’re right. He snatches him out so early in the first, and doesnt allow him to get in a groove. Do you think LD is gone after this year?
High-sider
December 22nd, 2012
1:21 pm
To: doc
—————————————————————–
doc
December 22nd, 2012
6:28 am
Banking and finance?
Statistics in banking?
Arbitrage and derivatives?
How to sell your soul and mother too?
Banking and finance, funny statistics and funny money may have ruined our economy and our children’s future. Cred just went downhill to talk anything about predictability, even in basketball.
Say it aint so high sider. Really lousy credentials in these desperate times.
———————————————————————————-
I will respond using my best “‘doc’ writing style” impersonation. This response is (probably) not “apropos” since his (doc’s) above post used capital letters at the beginning of sentences, lacked the usual numerous misspellings, run-on and fragment sentences and other grammatical/punctuation errors and was (really) comprehensible, but I will give it a try nonetheless.
doc, do you still cash your checks at a bank or at one of those “check cashng” places [sic]? do you depost your money at a bank or keep it in safe at your house or place of residnce [sic]? do you still have investmnts (e.g., cd’s, mony mrkt accts, time doposits, sticks & bonds, retirment accts, 401K plns, etc.) [sic]? don’t blame/judge the field of study (finance & banking) by the “crooks” who manipulted the (financial) system [sic]. doc, can i judge the medical profession by the doctors, nurses and other medical professionls involved in the ‘notorious’ “tuskegee experimnt” [sic]? can i aslo [sic] judge the medical professin by the medical personel involved in the medical experimnts perfrmed on the jews during the (jewish) holocaust [sic]? now, doc, do you understand where i’m coming from? you get “my drift” [sic]? doc, do you also get this writng style [sic]? kinda funny…hehe [sic]
I’m just kidding with you, doc. (LOL)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apropos