Atlanta Hawks: Timberwolves 108, Hawks 103 (updated)
Vivlamore reporting.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Hawks picked up right where they left off – and that’s not a good thing.
After a dreadful second half of a loss to the Celtics Saturday prompted a team meeting, the Hawks started slow in a 108-103 defeat to the Timberwolves Tuesday at the Target Center. In their first game after the meeting, the Hawks never led.
Hawks coach Larry Drew labeled his team’s start “soft.”
“We waited way too late to start playing,” Drew said. “The first half we were soft. Soft. We did not guard very well. I thought physically they did just about anything that they wanted to. We played with no urgency in that first half. I told the guys at halftime, it’s not a sometimes thing. You can’t come out and play sometimes. You’ve got to come out and start the game highly energized. We can’t play normal. We can’t be a team that just sits back and allows other teams to do what they want to do. We have to be the aggressor.”
Drew added that he would hold his players accountable.
“There are some guys in there that are going to be held accountable,” Drew said. “As we move forward, if this thing doesn’t change there are going to have to be some changes. That’s plain and simple. I’m not going to watch our guys come out and start every game and not be energized to play. That’s totally unacceptable.”
When asked who specifically needs to be held accountable for the poor starts, Drew responded: “Everybody. Everybody. I played quite a few people in that first half. Everybody has to be held accountable.”
The Hawks (20-13) have lost a season-long three straight and four of five. They are losing their grip on third place in the Eastern Conference. They are now tied with the Pacers and just a half-game ahead of the Bulls.
The Hawks nearly erased a 17-point deficit. They pulled within one point in the fourth quarter, 104-103, with 36.6 remaining. However, Dante Cunningham scored with 15.9 seconds left and the Hawks then committed a turnover to halt the comeback.
The Timberwolves (16-5) snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Hawks despite playing without Kevin Love.
“It’s probably fair to say,” Hawks center Al Horford said of Drew’s “soft” comment. “I don’t think that we are a soft team but it’s fair to say. I think we came out uninterested. Us, the guys who are playing, I’ll take blame for that. We have a game tomorrow so we have to show we are better tomorrow.”
“I don’t roll with that,” was Josh Smith’s response.
Smith led the Hawks with 21 points. He also finished with 13 rebounds to move into seventh place on the Hawks’ all-time rebound list with 5,027. He surpassed Cliff Hagan (5,019). Lou Williams added 21 points and Horford had 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawks lost for the first time this season with both Smith and Horford had a double-double.
Nikola Pekovic led the Timberwolves with 25 points and 18 rebounds.
The Timberwolves led by as many as 17 points in the first half and took a 58-42 lead into halftime.
The Hawks made only one of their first six shots and never led. They finished with just six first-half assists. Williams paced the Hawks with 12 points in the opening 24 minutes.
“I don’t think we came out with the energy,” Williams said. “We decided to wait until the second half to start playing and it bit us in the butt. I think the first half is when we should have responded when they were playing very well. I thought that would have been a perfect opportunity for us to get ourselves going and get geared up and meet the challenge. We waited too late to do that.”
The Hawks started the third quarter with an 18-8 run to cut their deficit to six points, 66-60. However, the Timberwolves answered with a 13-3 run that was punctuated by Alexey Shved steal and an and-one dunk.
Jeff Teague was called for the foul, one of five on the night to go with just five points.
“They called it,” Teague said of his foul troubles. “That’s the way the whistle blew tonight. It was tough out there tonight.”
The Hawks play again Wednesday at the Cavaliers as the attempt to halt a season-long losing streak.
“(Drew) challenged us at halftime and we responded,” Horford said. “It starts with me. I have to do better, whatever that means, if I have to play harder, whatever it takes. We are going through a little rut right now but we have to stick together.”
- Chris Vivlamore
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* Behind the scenes photo gallery
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259 comments Add your comment
Rusty
January 9th, 2013
12:19 pm
We can help ourself by getting rid of LD. The players look like they are quitting on him.He really is a stupid coach.
The Truth
January 9th, 2013
12:23 pm
Who said the Hawks will be a “fun team to watch” (LoL)?
Seriously though, it’s troubling that Danny isn’t involved in trade talks to shore-up weaknesses on the roster. Perhaps he might be on the down-low but chatter around the league suggests he is not. Clearly there have been enough games played to assess the performance of this unbalance roster by now.
It seems there are no more questions to be answered about the voids on this team. Getting a long rebounding SF that can defend should be top priority, at least a player “like” Damien James. If both he and LD still think Tolliver can fill that role, they are both chasing “fools gold”. As it currently stand, any Hawk player who plays SF, exposes the Hawks to a higher degree of liability and that includes Josh Smith. If No.#1 seeded Miami can shop the market to filled voids with their rebounding issue, clearly the “tied” No.3 seeded Hawks can shop to help their issues as well. Complacency should not be an option.
I understand the notion of reserving financial flexibility for future consideration but you would think there are still options available to “tweak the roster” without much financial burden. With the number of “quality” expiring contracts on this team and motivated NBA teams looking to upgrade, seems like now is the time to move, at least to trade one expiring contract for another. Even a grade “A” d-leaguer might even make a difference should a trade be unattainable.
Something most be done, otherwise, the Hawks will miss an opportunity to be (at least) competitive in the playoff because they are not that far off. If that’s not the goal, then watching the Hawks (going forward) maybe difficult if the recent losses are any indication. The Hawks tougher schedule, their scouting report, the team undersize and unbalance roster and have all converged.
KevinM
January 9th, 2013
12:24 pm
cp, what’s your definition of overreacting? We have LD who has benefitted from a subpar schedule to get us in the upper tier of the East.
We let Boston bully and punk us which helps them and exposes us….see the Minny results.
If we don’t have a leader, where is it going to come from? Not the latter half of the 1st round……JT, JJ, JC2….did I leave anyone out in that run of #1s?
We aren’t Boston or LA. Where has everyone else gotten their talent minus Melo?
What star is clamoring to come play here?
The playoffs currently are an extension of another offseason whee welcome up short.
I pined for us to move everyone but Josh and JT…..is that still a good solution? josh is gonna ask for a lot more than he’s getting now, so DF has a big decision looming….or 10.
I’m ready to go find a new face of the Hawks…….it’s just a shame while we were in the position, we didn’t choose a Rondo or Paul to point us in the right direction.
You gotta get the picks right if you gut the roster….but being Indiana doesn’t look so great either.
W.R.Terrell
January 9th, 2013
12:26 pm
Changes should b made now, this game coming up against Cleveland should be sending a message to all of the players. ZaZa, Ivan and JJ should start and after that make the rest of the players earn their time on the court. Simply rule “Come to play or you will sit”. LD will start the same group but that’s OK and expected I want him gone. DF is on the phones trying to bargain but that’s going to be difficult, every GM in the league sees what we see and probably more. DF has a very hard sell if not an impossible one, he may wind up with packaging Al and Josh together for a good player and draft choices. The “Smoove” is only interested in the points he scored, a few blocks and at least 7 rebounds, hell he figures he’s doing his job, no reason to bench him but anyone he guards usually have a hell of a game. Kyle is a shooter, bring him off the bench, either he has it that night or he doesn’t. I would pull Al and Josh out of the game every time they make an attempt to bring the ball up the court and I would bench the guard who allows that too happen. The HAWKS will not present anything new with the starting lineup as far as the bigs tonight but if I was LD I would make some changes starting 2 weeks ago. I don’t know if he understands that his job is near at end. I say this because if he did then he would be doing some major moves during this game and every game moving forward but he won’t. He believes something that Woody gave up on and that’s the “Smoove” You can’t win games with highlight film.
Buddy Grizzard
January 9th, 2013
12:26 pm
“Danny isn’t involved in trade talks to shore-up weaknesses on the roster.”
He was involved with trade talks with the Kings involving Cousins. Before you post, know.
cp
January 9th, 2013
12:29 pm
Overreacting is trading everybody after a L. Overreacting is sending guys to the all star game after a win. Overreacting is thinking every scrub from other teams can come here and be a star. Like I said moves need to be made but I dont think we need to gut this team. If this upcoming draft was loaded like the one Lebron in then by all means I have no problem with trying to get a lottery pick because of the superstar talent.I do have a problem with gutting the team for a lottery pick and its for a weak draft and we end up with another Marvin Williams. We should not make moves for the sake of making them. No player on this roster should be untochable but you cant trade everybody.
MsDee
January 9th, 2013
12:35 pm
Rod from CP,
I would STILL blame Josh cause HE was the one who SAW the defender get around Horford. Made NO sense to STILL throw that pass in there, ESP since that was our FINAL POSSESSION of the game..now THATS basketball 101!!!
The Truth
January 9th, 2013
12:36 pm
He was involved with trade talks with the Kings involving Cousins. Before you post, know – Buddy
I’m aware of that news. But there is a difference between an inquiry and being seriously engage. Perhaps that’s not the end of the story but “We Shall Sell”
Section 303
January 9th, 2013
12:36 pm
The most alarming thing about these past few weeks is how bad the defense has been. Teams are having no trouble scoring, especially on the guards. We knew going into the season that perimeter defense could be a problem, due to disadvantages in height. However, I never thought the guards would have so much trouble keeping guys infront of them. Opposing guards have no trouble getting to the hoop. Will Bynaum, Rubio, Rondo, pick your opposing guard….I thought speed would be an advantage for the Hawks guards. It isn’t.
Section 303
January 9th, 2013
12:38 pm
Going back to my distain of playing Kyle Korver….another problem I have is I already know he will be a dud in the playoffs. He will miss shots, not guard anyone, and continue to get minutes in the postseason, too.
Section 303
January 9th, 2013
12:41 pm
KevinM, to answer your question (what star is coming to play here?), it will be a star who wants to get paid. There are not many teams with cap flexibility. At some point, if a free agent wants dollars, he will be limited by the cap space teams have available. So, I think the Hawks have a shot at landing a valuable free agent by default. Not many teams will be able to pony up the jack need to land a star player.
That being said, I still take a pass on Dwight Howard. Can’t stand that guy.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
January 9th, 2013
12:48 pm
If we faced a frontline of Yao / Manute Bol / Shawn Bradley at the 3 4 and 5, LD would still start Al at the 5
jlewis
January 9th, 2013
12:51 pm
303, the problem with a “superstar” by default is Dallas and Orlando are ahead of the Hawks because of ownership and no state tax, so that alone makes ATL the third most desirable. They have a lot of cap space also, although I have yet to see cap space hit a jumper or defend.
Rod from College Park
January 9th, 2013
12:51 pm
Swingman912,
Cosign your post. Which I why i stated that we should hold off on all the Hawks are great comments until the schedule picked up, especially with the top eastern conference teams, who know our players. Ths team no matter how well they play in the regular season, will get destroyed in the playoffs. Offensively we can not score. If we are not hitting 3’s we have no other means to score the basketball. Only guy who can consistently score is Lou, and or next best option is Josh. Very easy to make a gameplan to defend this team in a playoff series.
O'Brien
January 9th, 2013
12:52 pm
C-viv,
We appreciate you asking the tough questions.
AJ,
Even Stinger mentioned the big lineup last night, and I initially thought LD would go big tonight. But with no Varejao, that may be his reason for not going big tonight. As a result, I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts the same lineup one more time, since he just threatened changes (publicly) last night. I think he gives them one more game to try and change the way they’ve been playing.
Section 303
January 9th, 2013
12:56 pm
jlewis, I think that’s where Danny Ferry comes in. I was excited when Ferry was hired because he had other options and chose to come here. Ferry is a legit, highly sought GM. I think he puts the Hawks in a good position to lure free agents. Plus, like I said, the Hawks have money to spend that a lot of teams don’t.
I think the Hawks will do just fine in the free agent market for the next few years. They may not always land their top choice, but they will be serious players and land some good talent.
O'Brien
January 9th, 2013
12:58 pm
MsDee,
I think both Josh and Al deserve some blame. Josh could have made a better pass, but Al could have done a better job sealing his man off. And in typical Hawks fashion, one mistake compounded the other.
Astro Joe
January 9th, 2013
1:02 pm
Interesting strategy decision is forthcoming. IMO, there is no clear right/wrong answer that we can judge accurately from the outside, this is all about what someone on the inside feels is needed.
If you want to send a message to the entire team, you consider benching a player for not doing his job. That could be based on production/quantifiable results or based on more subjective things like toughness, effort, execution, etc. All 14 players are reminded of the importance of “doing your job” with that type of move.
The other option is to focus on the game and not so much personnel. In that case, you go with the big line-up that seems to work better and you likely bench Lou Williams. This decision gives you a better chance to compete on the boards AND adds the benefit of giving that second unit a proven scorer to hopefully reduce scoring droughts when the starters need to rest. But since Lou has been paying better than most Hawks over the past 5+ games, this won’t ‘light a fire” under any player to “do his job”.
So LD (and his coaching staff) need to make a decision based on what they feel the team needs most. A strategic change in how they manage the game (with a line-up change) or a kick in the pants to increase focus, effort, hustle and toughness (bench a starter).
These are the kind of decisions that I find fascinating.
O'Brien
January 9th, 2013
1:02 pm
303,
If I’m not mistaken, Dallas and Houston will have salary cap space next season, so that would probably make the Hawks 3rd on some of the big name free agent’s wish lists.
O'Brien
January 9th, 2013
1:05 pm
AJ,
A strategic change in how they manage the game (with a line-up change) or a kick in the pants to increase focus, effort, hustle and toughness (bench a starter)..
Faced with a similar decision last year, LD benched Marvin and started Twin.
jlewis
January 9th, 2013
1:05 pm
303, thats the mystery to me, where does Ferry get all of this credibility and who sought after him? He wasnt a great player and he had arguably the best player in the world and couldnt win. No one comes to play for the GM and check the league, there are many teams that will have cap space. Plus why come play in front of empty seats impersonating fans.
Positive Thinker
January 9th, 2013
1:12 pm
A lot of flame throwing at Hawks players today….funny thing tho….now Harris is the answer to better play….when he was playing everyone was yelling to trade him….short memories….it seems anyone that’s currently playing is torched by Atlanta “so called fans”….seems the rookies are the favorites and the guys that don’t play since there’s not much to be critical about. Must be tough playing for Atlanta if this blog is typical of Atlanta Fans! Sure would like to see some support for the home team!
Astro Joe
January 9th, 2013
1:13 pm
OB, actually, the longer term change was benching Marvin and starting Hinrich (moving Joe to SF). The question is was that a strategy move to improve the ball movement (by increasing the number of capable ball handlers/passers) or was that a kick in the pants to Mellow Marvin? In some ways, that was a “bipartisan” move.
The Truth
January 9th, 2013
1:19 pm
Regarding that crucial inbound play:
As an analog to football when the cornerback reads the eyes of the quarterback and time or jump the route is kind of what Cunningham did to Josh. Josh should have never telegraphed his pass to Al giving Al’s defender an opportunity to make a play on the ball. To make matters worse, left-handed-Josh angle the pass to Al’s left side instead of throwing it in front of him where his defender was shielded for an instance. So the defender (reading Josh eyes) simply came around Al’s left side as if he knew the ball would be there and it was. Honestly, it was a great defensive play but Josh decision to throw to Al was not the best at that moment. Perhaps Lou would have been a better option as he was fighting for separation. With 15 sec left, your “big-baller” and shot-maker scorer usually is the best option.
Astro Joe
January 9th, 2013
1:20 pm
Steve Kyler: There are at least 8 teams that have expressed real interest in Rudy, so there is a marketplace for Memphis Rudy if Memphis wants a deal Twitter @stevekylerNBA
Memphis Grizzlies, Trade, Memphis Rudy
Steve Kyler: Sources say nothing is close and all talks have been very exploratory with no team really offering the deal that gets it done Twitter @stevekylerNBA
=========================
Too many bloggers seem to believe that Ferry picks up the phone and says to the GM on the other side “Hi, I hear you want to trade one of your better players, I will trade you this guy right now, do we have a deal?” Meanwhile, the process is more like what was described above… “exploratory” talks. “Expressing interest”. You don’t start with an actual offer. GMs likely call other GMs and say, “when you’re ready to make a move, let’s talk”. Or maybe “I have some expiring contracts that I would be willing to move if you’re interested”. But I doubt that names are exchanged during the initial phone call.
MsDee
January 9th, 2013
1:22 pm
You guys are forgetting that we have 2 extra bodies who are injured!! Those 2 bodies that were available early on in the season when we were creating steals and causing havoc to the other teams are not available during these tough stretches, esp now that we are at the mid part of the season. U cant expect Teague and Lou (who played his 1st 6 games as a starter 1st time in his career) to continue to have aggressive defense night in and night out!! Another difference I see comparing from our early success til now is that Drew has saw fit to not play Ivan for some very strange reason?? Drew says the “right” things but will NOT back it up with his decision making. Drew’s decision making as a coach is NO DIFFERENCE than Josh decision making as a player..and that’s NOT a compliment! If Drew REALLY want to make an effort to get this team back winning again, he needs to insert Jenkins into the starting line up and place Lou back as 6th man. New and PERMANENT lineup SHOULD be Teague, Jenkins, Josh, Horford, Zaza. Ivan SHOULD sub Zaza then move Horford to center. We MUST keep tough minded players on the floor AT ALL TIMES, Drew, since we are so “soft” and ALL!!
Lastly, I would reverse the roles and give those posts-up push shots to Horford instead of Josh. As much as Josh could get most of his shots in the lane, he cant CONSISTENTLY DO THAT RIGHT!! And Rod from CP, I will give u this concerning Horford. He does have the tendency to look to pass more than take the shot, or maybe drive the ball but based on last night, when he HAD no other choice, he MADE the necessary play and either took the shot and nailed it or took it to his huge defender and, CHECK THIS OUT, he made the bucket. Now, the ONLY reason I see why Horford doesnt take shots but instead looks to pass it is probably due to him sticking with the play the coach called for or the play that the PG called which didnt involve him taking the shot. That could be a good thing or very bad basketball flaw. Either way, im not gonna fought him for carrying out a designed play. Horford KNOWS how to finish around that basket and so it is up to Drew to have Horford touch that ball down low everytime!!
I will say this, I could bet my next pay check that if Josh and Devin’s roles were reversed, we would have BEEN in 2nd place by now!!! The team chemistry flows like milk and honey when Josh is NOT in the lineup!!!!!
MsDee
January 9th, 2013
1:28 pm
“New and PERMANENT lineup SHOULD be Teague, Jenkins, Josh, Horford, Zaza. Ivan SHOULD sub Zaza then move Horford to center.”
The reason I say Jenkins instead of Korver cause Korver is in a very bad slump right now where as Jenkins is hitting those shots with his eyes closed. Korver should continue to get his minutes, just not start the game. Same goes for Lou.
vava74
January 9th, 2013
1:40 pm
I am actually very curious about watching tonight’s game
Went to bed last night nearly at 4AM since I was sure that if LD went with the big line up we would have a chance to pull that one…
And then got up at 7.45… and I am now looking forward to another episode of “Frustrating Hawks’ Ball”…
O'Brien
January 9th, 2013
1:42 pm
Avery Johnson won Coach of the month in October and November, only to be fired in December. LD won COM for December, and the Hawks have begun their slide. Could he be headed down the same road as Avery?
Hawks have 12 games left in January , but that includes a home and home against BK, vs Minny, @ Chicago, @ Spurs, @ Knicks, vs Boston, so I would not be surprised if the Hawks go 6-6 over the next 12 games.
I wonder what the reaction (from LD, DF, fans) would be if they do go 6-6.
Just Joe
January 9th, 2013
1:53 pm
No matter who was on the floor, the pick n roll blew our minds last night. Our guys looked lost. Gave up 108 to Minnesota. Personnel? Coaching? Execution? I say all 3.
Their offense is more like what I want us to look like. LD’s offense features too little pick n roll, and too much off the ball motion. I’ll take the ball in the hands of your PG & your best big man all day long. There’s still room for motion, but pick n roll, pick n pop, and posting up your big man is simple enough for me.
Astro Joe
January 9th, 2013
1:54 pm
Geez, about a week ago, folk were suggesting that LD needed to have a contrat extension placed in front of him. Now…
If Ferry were to fire LD during the season, we would likely get Weiss or Lester Connor as an interim head coach. I doubt that Ferry will make his grand hire with this cast of one-and-done characters on the roster. So if this season is a throw-away (and if Weiss is the interim, I truly believe it officially becomes a throw-away), then go ahead and keep LD until the playoffs conclude. it could give free agents the illusion that the franchise is not in turmoil.
Just Joe
January 9th, 2013
1:57 pm
OB…I think .500 ball THE REST OF THE SEASON is fine with Ferry. Puts Hawks around 44 wins. Hawks continue the “winning culture” (by making the playoffs again) that Ferry wants to establish, and Hawks get a draft pick between 15-20 (maybe 2 if Houston finishes in similar fashion).
O'Brien
January 9th, 2013
2:00 pm
Just joe,
Before the season started, I thought 42 – 48 wins was a possibility, so the Hawks are on target. I think after the hot start, some expectations may have been altered.
jlewis,
He wasn’t a great player and he had arguably the best player in the world and couldnt win..
In Ferry’s 5 years as Cleveland’s GM, Cleveland won 50, 50, 45, 66 and 61 games. They went to the NBA finals once, the ECF once, and the EC semi-finals 3 times. Do you consider that as “couldn’t win”?
Ferry tried to get other stars to come play in Cleveland with LeBron, and that is where he failed, but part of that was because nobody wanted to sign with Cleveland.
That does bring up an interesting point though. In Cleveland, when DF didn’t get the player he wanted (Michael Redd), he ended up overpaying for Larry Hughes. Hopefully he will not make those mistakes here in ATL if he misses out on his primary targets.
O'Brien
January 9th, 2013
2:01 pm
Najeh,
Am I the only one who’d be disappointed if Heyward only hit .272 this year?.
Depends on his other totals (OBP, OPS etc).
The Truth
January 9th, 2013
2:17 pm
“Too many bloggers seem to believe that Ferry picks up the phone and says to the GM on the other side “Hi, I hear you want to trade one of your better players, I will trade you this guy right now, do we have a deal?” Meanwhile, the process is more like what was described above… “exploratory” talks. “Expressing interest”. You don’t start with an actual offer. GMs likely call other GMs and say, “when you’re ready to make a move, let’s talk”. Or maybe “I have some expiring contracts that I would be willing to move if you’re interested”. But I doubt that names are exchanged during the initial phone call.” – AJ
AJ, let’s not be so naive as well. The process could be more “straight talk like” and to the point with an upfront informal offer. For content here is the related comment posted previously by OB:
FTPB
From SI.com;
“Cousins says he understands that in his third year, he is at a crossroads. The Kings are not going to trade him. After his most recent suspension, Boston, Charlotte, Atlanta, Washington and Dallas expressed interest in acquiring Cousins, only to be rebuffed. Cousins is too young, too talented and plays too important a position to give up on now..”
Apparently some kind of offer was made for the Kings to have “Rebuffed” at the Hawks; an offer was made no doubt. I said “We Shall See” because it could be round 1 since the Kings could just be “Phishing” with the concept for now. Maybe Danny “thinking big” trying to land the home run when just “getting a base-hit” may work for now.
Right this minute, this team could really use a “tweak” more then anything else. Home runs hits like a Cousin play maybe too remote since the Kings are looking to cash in big with him while the Hawks are stingy with adding dollars to the roster right now.
O'Brien
January 9th, 2013
2:22 pm
Just heard a commercial for the “Al Horford show” tomorrow at 3:30pm on 680. Since when did Al get a show? Is it a weekly show? I wonder if Rod will be tuning in
Just Joe
January 9th, 2013
2:22 pm
I think what Ferry doesn’t want to see (and some would say he’s seeing it now), is “bad” basketball (poor execution, a lack of effort, a lack of discipline, etc…).
Also, I think he will have to make a trade or two to bring in some kind of help before the deadline, because it’s what veteran players expect the GM to do. He can’t let Josh, Lou, Jeff, ZaZa, or Al (all potential contributors on next year’s squad) think that he doesn’t care about the 2012/13 version of the Hawks (even if he really doesn’t).
Rod from College Park
January 9th, 2013
2:34 pm
“I would STILL blame Josh cause HE was the one who SAW the defender get around Horford. Made NO sense to STILL throw that pass in there, ESP since that was our FINAL POSSESSION of the game..now THATS basketball 101!!!”
I know how you feel MsDee. I would expect you to fell that way. Women have a hard time controlling their emotions, and since you have a thing for Horford he can do no wrong in your eyes. I understand. I have a daughter. What bothers me is the male bloggers here that claim to know the game, and still blame the guy throwing the pass instead of the guy who can not hold post position. I would not expect you to know those things.
Joey
January 9th, 2013
2:35 pm
When your (arguably) toughest guy (Horford) replies to being called soft by saying, “It’s probably fair to say,” buddy, it’s time to panic.
Can anybody say TAILSPIN?”
Joey
January 9th, 2013
2:37 pm
And, I really like Lou, but will he pass the ball to Jenkins?
This season?
Ever?
Rod from College Park
January 9th, 2013
2:41 pm
“As an analog to football when the cornerback reads the eyes of the quarterback and time or jump the route is kind of what Cunningham did to Josh. Josh should have never telegraphed his pass to Al giving Al’s defender an opportunity to make a play on the ball. To make matters worse, left-handed-Josh angle the pass to Al’s left side instead of throwing it in front of him where his defender was shielded for an instance. So the defender (reading Josh eyes) simply came around Al’s left side as if he knew the ball would be there and it was.”
This is a prime example MsDee of what I’m talking about. If you actually knew that game you would understand that if you post correctly, a guy should never be able to come around you without fouling you. It does not matter if the defender read the passers eye’s. Do you see guys coming around Tim Duncan when he post someone? Does the defender not know that they are trying to get the ball to Tim in the post. LOL
Jeff Tillerson
January 9th, 2013
2:42 pm
Larry Drew needs to be fired, I am SICK of never seeing Ivan Johnson, Drew says we are soft and we lack energy then let Zaza and Ivan Johnson play 25 minute EACH, Ivan Johnson brings nothing but energy, hustle, and brute strength! Larry Drew’s rotations have been terrible, Danny Ferry, kick him out like you did Joe Johnson and bust of the century Marvin Williams
Jeff Tillerson
January 9th, 2013
2:43 pm
Josh Smith needs to stop being the point guard. The last possession of the game…PATHETIC
Buddy Grizzard
January 9th, 2013
2:50 pm
LOL Rod making excuses for Josh *surprised*
Buddy Grizzard
January 9th, 2013
2:53 pm
When I coached, I told my players that A. Everybody is a point guard. Point guard just means you’re good enough to pass, shoot or dribble given the situation. If you can’t take care of the ball, you’re going to be waiting for someone else to get you involved in the offense. You don’t want that. You want to be a point guard.
B. It is ALWAYS the passers fault if a pass is not completed. You should throw your passes so well that the ball catches the player instead of the other way around. If Horford was not in position to receive the pass, it’s the responsibility of the passer to choose another teammate to pass to rather than force a pass. Good stuff though Rod.
Astro Joe
January 9th, 2013
2:54 pm
The Truth, you could be rebuffed without making even an informal offer. Kind of like during high school days, you walk over to the new pretty girl with the curly hair and before you open your mouth, she rolls her eyes and walks off. REBIUFFED.
Or maybe that only happened to me.
Rod from College Park
January 9th, 2013
2:58 pm
“LOL Rod making excuses for Josh *surprised*”
Would you rather I talk about how good a defender Kyle Korver and Kirk Hinrich are? In fantasy land maybe that works. This time it’s actually not taking up for a guy, it’s basketball 101. Grandad where you at? We never agree, would like to know what his opinion is on the situation. LOL
Section 303
January 9th, 2013
2:59 pm
jlewis, Ferry had Philly and one other team (can’t think of which one off the top of my head) ready to offer. I took it as a good sign he chose to come be the Hawks GM.
Also, in his defense in Cleveland, Gilbert (the owner) was in “Keep LeBron Mode”. From my understanding, Ferry was making moves to show LeBron the Cavs were serious about winning. Desperate moves, really. In the end, their his moves, but I think the owner was strong arming a lot of them.
Regardless, I’m glad we have Ferry here. I think he will spend the cap money wisely. Also, I agree with those that say a trade is coming this season. Not sure who will be traded, which team/teams are involved, or who we get. I just think one will go down around deadline time.
Astro Joe
January 9th, 2013
3:02 pm
I’m not sure that it is fair to compare a traditional post-up move in the low blocks with that last play. It was an inbounds play, Horford was a good 15 feet from the basket. Yeah, he was in a “post stance” but outside of the paint (as I recall). Given that it was a 3 point deficit, my guess was the play was for Al to catch it and look for either Lou or Korver on the weakside for a pass. Maybe, he could have taken it strong to the rim since there was enough time for a quick 2 and then set-up another last minute possession. But to compare that play to someone like Duncan in the post within 5 feet of the basket isn’t quite fair.
I see fault on both sides, as neither Al or Josh accounted for the defender trying to make a play for the ball. Neither took the extra care to ensure the pass was complete. they were both at fault.
Rod from College Park
January 9th, 2013
3:02 pm
“B. It is ALWAYS the passers fault if a pass is not completed. You should throw your passes so well that the ball catches the player instead of the other way around. If Horford was not in position to receive the pass, it’s the responsibility of the passer to choose another teammate to pass to rather than force a pass. Good stuff though Rod.”
No wonder you don’t coach anymore. That is truly the dumbest thing I’ve ever read. So based on your logic, it’s the passer’s fault when Zaza drops passes. Dude, stick to journalism.