Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Vivlamore reporting.

The Hawks will go with a smaller starting unit against the Nuggets. Jeff Teague, Devin Harris, DeShawn Stevenson, Josh Smith and Al Horford will get the starting assignment against the bigger five from the Nuggets.

“Sometimes you’ve got to roll the dice,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said of his lineup decision. “I’m really going on feel with this. Instead of always adjusting to the other team, sometimes it’s good to go with your guy and see if they adjust to you or see if it works. With the lineup that we are going with I do like the fact that we are a lot faster. We do give up size. At some point in the game that lineup is going to change and we’ll get bigger. I really going with feel on this.

“Some things that I really like about the smaller lineup is the fact that again, particularly at home, we’ll be able to get up and down much better. I would anticipate more pick-and-roll basketball with both Devin and Jeff.”

Also, John Jenkins did make it back from his …

Continue reading Atlanta Hawks game thread: Smaller lineup vs. Nuggets »

Vivlamore reporting before Hawks practice.

Here is a quick look on how rookies John Jenkins and Mike Scott fared in their NBA Development League debut Monday.

Jenkins scored a game-high 22 points as the Bakersfield Jam defeated the Santa Cruz Warriors 102-95. Jenkins shot 8 of 13 from the field, including 1 of 2 from 3-point range, in 29 minutes. He also had three rebounds, three assists and two steals. He had a plus-minus rating of -9.

“I’m behind some great veterans,” Jenkins said of the Hawks in an interview on the team’s Website. “Those guys are teaching me a whole lot, teaching me how to take care of my body, teaching me how to be a pro. Some things I’ve really been trying to learn as a rookie. Guys like Kyle Kover, Anthony Morrow, those guys in particular, are helping my transition to the next level.”

Scott finished with seven points. He was 3 of 8 from the field in 24 minutes. Scott also had two rebounds and two steals and was a minus-16.

Damion James, who was the Hawks …

Continue reading Atlanta Hawks: Jenkins scores 22 points in D-League debut »

Vivlamore reporting.

Rebound and then run. That will be the Hawks game plan against the Cavaliers Friday night at Philips Arena.

The Cavs featured Anderson Varejao, who leads the NBA in rebounding. The Hawks must contain the center, especially from keeping possessions alive on the Cavs’ offensive end.

“We just have to make sure we put on body on him as much as we can,” coach Larry Drew said. “He is the best rebounder in the league right now. The numbers speak for themselves. We just have to make a conscious effort to make sure we get a body on him every single time. He has a knack for getting to the glass and keeping balls alive. He’s just a guy you have to be concerned with and know where he is at all times. It’s going to be important the our big guys are conscious about putting a body on him.

Varejao leads the NBA with 14.9 rebounds a game.

According to Hawks center Al Horford, his team will also need help from the guards, including starters Jeff Teague and Devin Harris. …

Continue reading Atlanta Hawks game thread: Rebound and run against Cavs »

Vivlamore reporting.

Kyle Korver, who is suffering from back spasms, will not play tonight against the Cavaliers. The guard did not participate in the team shootaround Friday morning but was at Philips Arena. Coach Larry Drew confirmed he will be the  inactive player following the workout. Korver missed Tuesday’s practice and left Wednesday’s game against the Bobcats in the third quarter with the injury. The Hawks don’t play again until Wednesday affording Korver plenty of rest.

In Korver’s place, Devin Harris will start at the  shooting guard position. Look for the Hawks to play even more up-tempo with essentially two point guards on the court to start the game.

The rest of the starting lineup will be DeShawn Stevenson at small forward, Josh Smith at power forward and Al Horford at center.

Guard Anthony Morrow, who suffered a quad contusion in Thursday’s practice, participated in the shootaround.  Drew said a decision on Morrow’s status will be made before the game however it …

Continue reading Atlanta Hawks: Korver out, Harris to start vs. Cavs »

Vivlamore reporting with your game thread blog for tonight’s contest against the Bobcats.

Al Horford, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, appreciates the honor but quickly turned the focus to his team Wednesday.

“I think it’s pretty cool but it just shows that when you win you put yourself in a position for things like this,” Horford said following shoot-around prior to tonight’s game against the Bobcats. “It was a good thing, but it was obviously because of our winning streak.”

Horford averaged 16.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 blocks in the four games of the week of Nov. 19-25.

Horford is also one of three Hawks on the NBA All-Star ballot. After being an All-Star for two straight years, Horford missed last year’s game with a torn pectoral muscle. The center quickly turned a question about his desire to return to the All-Star game to focus on the team goal.

“I think it’s nice when you get recognition like that but, I think most important for us, …

Continue reading Atlanta Hawks game thread: Sixth straight win on line »

Vivlamore reporting prior to Hawks practice.

A couple of scheduling changes for the Hawks.

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.

Also, ESPN will not broadcast the Feb. 20 game against the Heat. The network will instead broadcast the Hornets at Cavs game.

- Chris Vivlamore

Continue reading Atlanta Hawks: Hawks-Nuggets moved to ESPN »

Vivlamore reporting.

The Hawks are rolling with five straight victories, the longest current streak in the NBA, and plenty has gone right during the streak.

Al Horford, named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week (Nov. 19-25) Monday, has averaged nearly a double-double in the five wins. Zaza Pachulia and Josh Smith are helping the Hawks dominate in the paint. Jeff Teague has the transition game running at a high speed.

It hasn’t all been perfect. They needed a 3-pointer by Kyle Korver in the final seconds to defeat a winless Wizards team at home. He also hit another from long range late against the Clippers who were making a serious run from a 27-point deficit.

“I think we’ve just played well,” Horford said Monday. “We still have some work to do as a team. We can get better.”

Here is a closer look at what has worked during the current win streak, where the Hawks have outscored the Kings, Magic, Wizards, Bobcats and Clippers by a combined score of 509-452.

Transition

The …

Continue reading Atlanta Hawks: Plenty has gone right during 5-game win streak »

The Hawks are rested for what a few players said could be a dangerous game against Washington at Philips Arena tonight.

The Wizards are the NBA’s only winless team (0-9), which would make them easy enough to overlook. On top of that, the Hawks are facing games at a resurgent Charlotte (5-4), vs. the Clippers (8-2) and vs. Charlotte.

But Al Horford said the Hawks won’t overlook Washington.

“They are hungry for a win,” he said. “They are going to be ready.”

Coach Larry Drew said the Hawks will start Horford, Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver and Devin Harris, the same starting five that defeated Orlando 81-72 on Monday in what was a ragged performance affected by some members of the team being struck by the flu and four games on the West Coast.

“I’m hoping we will be a lot better than we were on Monday night,” Drew said. “(I) didn’t see the sharpness or crispness with our execution.”

Drew gave the Hawks Tuesday off so that the players who have logged a lot of minutes could …

Continue reading Hawks ready for dangerous game against the Wizards »

By Michael Cunningham

There was a real sense of relief among the Hawks when they got off the road and away from the virus that swept through the team on the four-game trip.

After seven days away, most of them spent trying to fend off the bug, the Hawks figured they’d find a safe haven at Philips Arena tonight. The Hawks were healthier but the effects of that West Coast voyage still lingered.

The Hawks eventually shook off a sluggish start and overcame a lackluster finish to pull out an 81-72 victory against the Magic.

“That was a really tough game for us to play,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “I could tell guys were still weary from the West Coast. We didn’t have our legs early. I could see guys gasping for air in the first four minutes. This game was going to have to fight from beginning to end. This Orlando team plays hard and when they are down they just keep coming. I’m very happy that we gutted it out.”

The Magic (3-7) had lost four of five road games but the Hawks (5-4) …

Continue reading Hawks 81, Magic 72 »

The Hawks ended a four-game road swing out West with a 112-96 win over the Kings – Atlanta’s ninth consecutive win against the Kings.

From the AP report:

Kyle Korver scored 22 points, reserve Lou Williams had 21 and the Hawks beat Sacramento 112-96 on Friday night for their ninth consecutive win against the Kings.

Atlanta shot 55 percent, including an 8-for-15 performance from beyond the arc, while recording a season-high point total. The Hawks outrebounded the Kings 42-37 and had 24 assists.

“We can be a real up-and-down team, we know that,” Atlanta coach Larry Drew said. “We preach moving the basketball. We emphasize sharing the basketball and we did a really good job of that. Guys were finding each other all over the place and when we play like that we’re a fun team to watch.”

Continue reading Hawks handle Kings … again »