Game Thread: Smith out vs. Pacers (updated)
Vivlamore reporting. I’m back from Cleveland and ready for tonight’s game against the Pacers.
The Hawks will be without Josh Smith for tonight’s game against the Pacers due to a strained right hip flexor.
Smith experienced pain in the hip area on Friday and played for most of the game against the Cavaliers. However, he was unable to play in the fourth quarter.
Smith was still not moving well enough to play before Saturday’s game.
“As far as the severity, I don’t know but it’s sore,” coach Larry Drew said. “We finished our walk-through and he’s been having it treated. We wanted to see how he could move out of the floor. He wasn’t moving very well so we decided to shut him down for tonight.”
The Hawks will also be without Devin Harris (sore left foot) for the sixth straight game and Anthony Morrow (right hip strain). Morrow was injured in the first half against the Cavaliers and was unable to continue.
Al Horford (right hip contusion) will start. Ivan Johnson (stomach illness), who missed Friday’s game, will be available off the bench. Drew, however, said he would wait until the game to see if there were any limitations of the two.
* With Smith out, the Hawks will start Zaza Pachulia at center, with the 3-0 guard tandem of Jeff Teague and Lou Williams and Kyle Korver and Horford at forward.
Drew said he thought about going with a smaller lineup, by starting DeShawn Stevenson, but decided to match the height of the Pacers – 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert in particular.
“Roy Hibbert,” Drew said of the reason for a bigger lineup. “We went back and forth about going with the lineup that we have been using our last three wins (Williams at shooting guard). We’ve been going with a smaller lineup and had success with it. I had to make the decision to change it and match up with them. Now, with Josh out, it made my decision a little easier.”
* Drew also said he would likely play rookies John Jenkins and Mike Scott again tonight. Both played eight minutes against the Cavs with Jenkins scoring five points.
“There is a strong possibility they are going to get some more minutes tonight, I tell you that,” Drew said. “I think both guys are chomping at the bit. They want to be out there. They’ve been very patient through this process being rookies and not getting a lot of playing time.”
* Horford has struggled with his free-throw shooting at times this season so the Hawks center looked at video of a recent game to reveal what has been wrong.
Horford watched his attempts from Wednesday’s game against the Pistons, where he went 4 of 8 from the line. One of those attempts, if made, could have prevented overtime.
Horford said he discovered an issue with his release.
“Going back and looking at the (Pistons) game, I’ve gotten away from the little things that make a big difference with my release on the free throw,” Horford said after Friday’s victory over the Cavaliers. “I looked at it on video and there were some bad habits that I’ve fixed in the past but have crept up this year. It’s one of those things that I have to stay on top of and remember and when I do (it right) I feel really good.
“Now, it’s just a matter of I have to keep reminding myself to keep doing it the same way because it feels really good when I shoot it like that.”
Horford made both his free throws Friday night in Cleveland. The makes came with 34.6 seconds remaining and were part of a 9-0 Hawks’ run to close out the game.
For the season, Horford has made 51 of 87 attempts (.586).
Horford is far from the only Hawks player having trouble from the free-throw line this season. The Hawks entered Saturday’s game against the Pacers 28th in the NBA in free-throw shooting, converting just 71.9 percent of their attempts.
- Chris Vivlamore
LATEST NEWS
* Drew acknowledges Smith’s ‘poor shot selection’ late vs. Pistons
* Johnson doubtful vs. Cavs with stomach illness
* Drew speaks to Teague about energy level
* Hawks 126, Pistons 119 (2OT)
* Williams remains in starting lineup
* Hawks have lost two of past three
* Williams ready for return to Philadelphia
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257 comments Add your comment
keith
December 29th, 2012
7:59 pm
LD have to seriously consider bringing Josh off the Bench going forward….much like Stoudemeire in New York……
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:00 pm
The Hawks are playing “GROWN MAN BASKETBALL” tonight ladies!!!!
Sautee
December 29th, 2012
8:01 pm
Melvin,
Right, and they only average 91.7 for the game.
kevkat
December 29th, 2012
8:01 pm
not quite the last shot you’d want
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:02 pm
OUTSTANDING 1ST HALF!!!!
LD MUST seriously consider bringing Josh off the Bench going forward….much like Stoudemeire in New York……What say you fellow Bloggers????
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:05 pm
FTPB
doc, this was Rod FCP rebuttal to Sautee..
Rod from College Park
December 29th, 2012
1:13 am
“Missed all but the last 4 minutes (friend’s wedding) but Rod and slimjr got me thinking about Horford and a lack of taking charges on D. So here’s what I found:
http://hoopdata.com/defrebstats.aspx
According to hoopdata, the league average rate of charges taken is 0.13/ gm.
Horford is at 0.15
Josh is 0.30
“So, while Horford is half as active as Josh, he apparently DOES draw charges every now and then, and above the league average, at that.”
It was a nice try defending your beloved Horford, but the stats don’t express what we were talking about. We are not talking about the rate one draws charges, or the league average. We were talking about Horford stopping dribble penetration by either contesting the shot or stepping in for a charge. First the stats were posted were based on 20 games this year (incomplete), Second the stats don’t tell when the charge was taken. From watching the Hawks, I would assume a lot of Horford’s charges come from defending centers in the post, and getting pushed around, not him stepping in taking charges from penetrating guards. Third even if you did want to try to use the stat to prove anything, it still proves that Josh and Zaza take charges at a higher rate than Al, which actually would prove our point. But again we don’t know when these charges were taken, and even further Zaza will try to draw a charge before he contest. Better than the league average means nothing in our debate. Good try though.”
W.R. Terrell
December 29th, 2012
8:05 pm
This is one entertaining game. The HAWKS have a chance to win if they continue to play in a team mode, watch turnovers and take good shots. This is one entertaining team when “STOOPID” is not in the building.
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:07 pm
Sautee remind me to scroll when you go off on your tangents..Thank you Sir..
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:10 pm
Jenkins is going to be in this league for years.. His jumper is a thing of beauty!
W.R. Terrell
December 29th, 2012
8:10 pm
Folks can say what they want about AL but give me 2 more like him. He bangs, run the floor and grab rebounds and blocks a few shots here and there and as far as taking charges there’s not a lot of primetime players that do.
Mookie Blaylock
December 29th, 2012
8:11 pm
Boy, the Hawks look absolutely horrendous out there without the 3x, virtual, I should have been an All-Star Josh Smith. Hopefully we can crawl back into this one and maybe lose by only 20.
Sameba
December 29th, 2012
8:11 pm
There is just one thing that worries me – teague was a non-factor in the 1st half with his 2 points…
vava74
December 29th, 2012
8:11 pm
DrMaryB,
I am worried. We executed poorly to close the half, Vogel will probably make some adjustments and we can’t hit shots at this rate all night long.
We need Teague to wake up and play substantially better this second half and we need to cut on those turnovers.
Sautee
December 29th, 2012
8:12 pm
My rebuttal to Rod’s rebuttal:
First, Horford is not “beloved” in our household. He’s a basketball player, and while I enjoy watching the sport, my fanhood stops far before “beloved”.
Second, I was NOT trying to defend Horford, but I was surprised by what I found. You conveniently left off the part of my post where I said I thought he’d be below average. That doesn’t sound like a defense to me.
Third, I wasn’t even trying to prove a point of any kind. I just found it curious.
vava74
December 29th, 2012
8:15 pm
by the way, IND has been getting the benefit of the doubt on all plays in the lane in which ATL is on offense.
2 FTs? Zaza and Ivan got whacked a couple of times and Teague had a doubtful play too where I think he got hit in the elbow, had to move the ball way to his left and got stuffed.
Mookie Blaylock
December 29th, 2012
8:16 pm
What a horrible game. People didnt tune in to watch rookies like John Jenkins, we want to see All-Stars on the court like Carmelo, Lebron and Josh Smith. Lord Knows I’d much rather see Josh Smith bombing 3 pointers as opposed to Jenkins…
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:18 pm
BRING JOSH OFF THE BENCH GOING FORWARD LD!!!
LD have to seriously consider bringing Josh off the Bench going forward….much like Stoudemeire in New York……
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:19 pm
MVP KYLE KORVER BOYZZZ!!!!
Rev in Tampa
December 29th, 2012
8:20 pm
Korver is automatic
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:20 pm
Chandler intimidates when he played for Dallas and does also for the Knicks.. Two different teams, two different systems, same type of player at the 5..A player the Hawks could use at the 5 every night.
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:22 pm
Let’s get Ivan back in the game…….Nice roll by Zaza!!!
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:23 pm
ZAZA playing grown man Basketball tonight…….
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:24 pm
Dallas, Knicks = apples and box cars…
Yes I did bring that into the equation Genius!
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:25 pm
Kyle Korver is our “Ray Allen” with much better defense!!!!
Rev in Tampa
December 29th, 2012
8:26 pm
Teague is not filling up the basket, but he is playing a fine game nonetheless. He is bringing lots of ‘energy’ and is facilitating the offense. Four assists.
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:28 pm
Josh Smith has been holding this team back…..The ball moves much better without all-star JOSH!!!
Rev in Tampa
December 29th, 2012
8:29 pm
Al is having a monster game offensively, but he is being abused by West. West is completely canceling out Al’s offensive production.
Sautee
December 29th, 2012
8:29 pm
slim,
Which part of “I wasn’t even trying to compare DAL and NY” did you fail to understand?
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:30 pm
doc @ 19 and 9 it would be a great way to end the old year and bring in the new one?
Who would have thunk besides Ken S. and ESPN [rated the Hawks a two seed at the end of the regular season]?
Rev in Tampa
December 29th, 2012
8:30 pm
My bad, West is not just canceling out Al’s offensive production. He has scored 18 to Al’s 14
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:30 pm
ZAZA FILLING IT UP…..
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
8:32 pm
I think Lou wants to stay in the starting lineup LOL.
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:33 pm
Kyle Korver is playing Big Boy defense tonight!!!!!!!!!!
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
December 29th, 2012
8:33 pm
Organ player jammin
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
8:34 pm
you know, violet palmer does a lot of our games….
High-sider
December 29th, 2012
8:34 pm
So far in tonight’s game, I haven’t seen A) a Hawks’ player take an ill-advised jump shot (Josh), B) a Hawks’ player take a (jump) shot outside (of) his (normal) skill level (Josh), C) a Hawks’ big trying to be (a) “Magic Johnson” and lead the fast break (Josh) and D) a Hawks’ player trying to do too much which usually ends up in that (Hawks’) player making a bad pass and/or committing a(n unnecessary) turnover (Josh).
Melvin
December 29th, 2012
8:36 pm
Pretty move by Lou. I thought he was going to dunk that
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:36 pm
I have not been this excited about Basketball since the Joe Johnson TRADE……This is Big time basketball tonight…
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
8:37 pm
Yep…..Lou doesn’t wanna come off the bench anymore
High-sider
December 29th, 2012
8:37 pm
Oh yeah, btw, I forgot to mention Josh is not playing in tonight’s game (vs. the Pacers).
Mookie Blaylock
December 29th, 2012
8:37 pm
Ferry has to notice how much better this team is playing without Josh Smith, he’s a ball stopper like Joe Johnson, except much less offensively talented than Joe.
Josh for a back to the basket big….coming soon.
Hawks Blog Legend Worldwide Clyde
December 29th, 2012
8:37 pm
Hawks are a deep team when LD decides extend his rotation.
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:37 pm
Wuuuuuuuuusha…
“Al is having a monster game offensively, but he is being abused by West. West is completely canceling out Al’s offensive production.” Rev
Hey Rev, with Al playing his so called natural position [4] nights like this may become the norm for him? Perhaps?
Rev in Tampa
December 29th, 2012
8:38 pm
Hawks could have four players with 20 points. No wonder Teague only have 5 points.
W.R. Terrell
December 29th, 2012
8:38 pm
Is anyone enjoying this 3rd quarter? This is just a fun group of guys to watch, and they are BALLIN right now. GO HAWKS!!!! Win or lose this is a fun game to watch.
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:38 pm
Korver is a KEEEEEEEPPPPPER!!!!
Resign HIM YESTERDAY!
Just Joe
December 29th, 2012
8:39 pm
You have also seen 1 block by the Hawks, our opposition shoot 49% from the field, and we’ve given up 34 pts in the paint.
Rev in Tampa
December 29th, 2012
8:39 pm
All the Hawks starters are in the +30’s & +40’s in the +/-
keith
December 29th, 2012
8:40 pm
IVAN JOHNSON ….GROWN MAN MOVE….
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:40 pm
Al shooting 8 of 9!Wow!