The Hawks lose on a night when losing seemed impossible
Mike Woodson and Jason Kidd after the bizarre bumping. (AP photo by Gregory Smith)
I kept asking the question, and nobody really had an answer. How do you lose this game? How do you lose on a night when you led by 13 points with 5 1/2 minutes left? How do you lose on the night you had played some of your best basketball in two months if not 20 years?
Said Al Horford: “We were at home. All the factors were lined up. I don’t think we’re the kind of team that blows a lead, even though we blew one at Golden State [on Sunday].”
They blew this 13-point lead even worse than they blew that 18-point lead. They blew this one as bad as a good team ever blows a game. They blew this because Dallas coach Rick Carlisle waited until the end to throw up a zone defense, and the Hawks’ coach waited until the final two minutes of regulation to get called for a personal foul.
OK, so technically it was a technical foul, but it involved a collision with a player. Mike Woodson bumped Jason Kidd while the Dallas guard was dribbling down the left sideline with the Hawks leading by two points. Kidd stuck out his elbow to draw contact, but there was no question Woodson was in the wrong.
Said Mike Bibby, who had answered two of Kidd’s three fourth-quarter treys with 3-pointers of his own: “[Woodson] was on the court.”
Said Woodson: “[Kidd] made a heck of a play. I’m not going to get into a [spitting] match with him … He did what he had to do, and it didn’t favor our team. I’ve got to take the hit for it.”
Instructive choice of words: Take the hit.
Horford again: “It was tough. Jason Kidd really changed things for them.”
Kidd is 36, a half-dozen years past his prime, but he willed his team to this victory in a way reminiscent of a young Earvin Johnson. Kidd’s line: 19 points, 17 assists, 16 rebounds. He shrugged off a wretched third quarter — he took eight shots, missing seven — and over the final five minutes of regulation had nine points, three assists and four rebounds.
And where were the Hawks? Missing their shots, missing their composure, missing in action. Over the game’s final 10 1/2 minutes (counting overtime) they scored 13 points. The Mavs dusted off their zone — Jamal Crawford: “They saved it for the end; that was smart on their part” — and the Hawks could do nothing against it.
Horford: “They couldn’t guard us one-on-one.”
But that’s the point. The Mavs overrode their weakness. As Woodson noted, the Hawks “controlled the game until the six- or seven-minute mark.” Then they threw it away.
Let’s not sugarcoat it. This was a bad, bad loss. Aired on ESPN, it offered the Hawks a chance to prove their bona fides against one of the best teams from the West, and they played really well up until the point where they fell flat.
“We’ve been blowing some leads,” Woodson said, and the inability for a basketball team to close out a game is as crushing as a baseball club that hands the ball to its closer and watches him blow the save.
“We’re a team that can handle adversity,” Crawford said. “We’ll bounce back.”
As bold as those words were, they rang hollow this night. A really good team doesn’t lose games like this, and that’s what the Hawks aspire to become and, for tantalizing stretches, seem to be. But how do you lose on a night when a technical foul against your coach for brushing the opposing point guard is the difference between winning in regulation and walking off with various manifestations of egg — scrambled, poached, everything except sunny-side-up — on your face.
Said Josh Smith: “You can’t lose a game like that.”
No, you can’t. But they did.
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222 comments Add your comment
JeJe
February 27th, 2010
9:06 am
I told you all this too: No one on this team commits a hard foul. No one will send a message to the other team that we aren’t scared.
The Mavs have guys like Caron, DAMPIER, and Haywood who will commit that hard foul. We have Joe Smith who looks like he is fasting
jeffrey d
February 27th, 2010
9:12 am
Every coach wanders on to the court yelling instructions
But not when a live player is right next to him. Woody should have never made it that close
PMC
February 27th, 2010
9:15 am
You had better be careful mark… some of this could be perceived as “negative”. You wouldn’t want to wind up on the wrong side of some Tweets….
ajw
February 27th, 2010
9:16 am
Starting Sunday – 5 games in 7 nights. gonna have to use the bench.
JeJe
February 27th, 2010
9:24 am
WHY CAN’T THIS TEAM EXECUTE IN THE 4TH?
doc
February 27th, 2010
9:37 am
aj, you have officially lost it on your 11 pm post?
we have talked on about how we dont have an answer to a zone most nights. no offense, now is that because of the players? it is also one of the long pet peeves of woody standing on or near the court in his wooden indian stance affectionately called the BWAF by our manny t for years. like what is he doing on the court ever much less on a night where he cost us momentum and got out smarted by an all star guard as he calls it and a coach that has had coy honors as well as a few winning seasons?
i want so to believe in him but he is choking like a dog down the stretch dude. admit it before your condition worsens and you become as much of a mockery as woody might. no answer in phoenix was it? no response against golden state and now no response in 10 minutes to a zone plus having a very stupid call made on him. how can you really defend it? i want our coach out smarting someone not being out smarted.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
February 27th, 2010
9:40 am
JeJe, kinda hard to execute while being executed.
Ken Oliver
February 27th, 2010
9:42 am
so you still feel the hawks are a legit team. which team will show up. the one that loses to underlings of one that loses to the big boys.
Mike I like black, but if you can’t do it then “hit the road Mike and don’t cha come back no more no more no more” Plus you got your money. “go head take the money and run” IF HAWKS’ FANS DON’T KNOW IT THERE IS A MUTINY, WOODY DON’T KNOW IT YET. HE’S ON THE PLANK. AND CAPTAIN BLIGH AIN’T PLAYING JUST LIKE BLACKBEARD. MIKE DONT KNOW HOW TO BE A NUT CUTTER, EVERY COACH, HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE, PRO GOT TO HAVE SOME NUT CUTTER IN HIM. MIKE’S AFRAID. DON’T BE MAD WITH ME I’M JUST SAYING
To AJC Senior Editor
February 27th, 2010
9:44 am
Why do the AJC continue to allow posters, such as the “Anthonys” of the world, to name call using such language as “Hood Rats and “Thugs” but don’t get band from the site. Yet, if someone should call either the Falcons/Braves/Hawks GMs clueless or dumb they get band. You do know that “Hood Rat” and “Thug” is the new “N” word?
Ken
February 27th, 2010
9:49 am
KIDD DID NOT DO BUSH LEAGUE STUFF. THAT’S WHAT REAL BALLERS DO. ANYTHING TO HELP THE TEAM WIN. HE SAW A EASY POINT AND POTENTIAL GAME CHANGER AND MADE IT HAPPEN. ANYONE WHO BLAME JASON MAY AS WELL COACH ON MIKE STAFF. PLUS WOODY NEED TO SIT HIS ASS DOWN HE AIN’T DOING -HIT BUT SHOWING OFF HIS SUIT. AND IT DON’T APPEAR THE HAWKS ARE LISTENING TO HIM ANYWAY. KUDOS TO J-KIDD, MAYBE MIKE BIBBY CAN LEARN FROM HIM. JOSH IS NOTHING LIKE HIS UNCLES AND DAD, PETE, BOOKER AND AL, THOSE WERE REAL KILLERS WITH A BALL
Panther08
February 27th, 2010
9:53 am
Here is the problem with the Hawks…..We don’t have a Superstar!!!! Some may say Joe Johnson is our superstar…no he is not. I agree that he is an All-Star..but he doesn’t have what it takes to be a superstar. Example…where was he in the 4th quarter of the game last night. When the Mavs went to the Zone Defense, he should have been penetrating the zone. Ask yourself this question…Do you think Lebron, Kobe, or Dwayne would have stood outside the 3 point line against a zone? Joe Johnson is simply not as aggressive as we need him to be. I don’t blame Woodson because he can’t go on the floor and play for them. A lot of rebounds the Mavs got the Hawks simply did not box out at all. Message to Joe Johnson: GET AGGRESSIVE OR LEAVE TOWN!!!
Trey
February 27th, 2010
9:54 am
Stunned why? Because they lost again with a late lead? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Hello.
Dan Kolb's Mom
February 27th, 2010
9:57 am
who freakin cares. its the Hawks. Even when they do well they are a joke. You can thank the Atlanta Spirit organization for running this franchise into the ground and keeping it there. As long as they are pulling the strings I will never support the Hawks or the Thrashers.
jay dubu
February 27th, 2010
10:08 am
The Hawks looked tired and worn out last night on defence, and some offensive set as well. There were several times that they allowed Dallas players to take uncontested shots. On offense, they stood around a lot.
Sometimes,
Sutton's Fro
February 27th, 2010
10:16 am
Kidd’s move WAS bush league, even if he was technically correct. But coaches are on the court during play ALL THE TIME!! Carlisle was, just like Woody. It’s like line lane changes in hocey: each team lets the other make line changes, so that they’ll get the same respect in return.
Kidd manipulated a situation that is generally given mutual consideration in order to get a free throw, and he shoved Woody into the scorer’s table to boot! It was a punk-ass move and totally unprofessional.
Having said all that, I don’t think it had any bearing on the outcome of the game. What lost this game was the Hawks’ inability to push back against the Mavs’ zone D. I’m sitting there watching 4 Hawks players standing outside the 3-point arc, screaming “Cut!! Move!! Break to the Hoop!! Do SOMETHING!!” They not only gave up on inside scoring, they were also totally out of position for offensive rebounds.
Until they get a new head coach (or the NBA shortens games to 3 quarters), this is the best the Hawks will ever be. They’ll usually beat the bad teams, and occasionally beat the good ones. Fifty wins, make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs — maybe even conference finals, and then go home.
Bangkapi Ajarn
February 27th, 2010
10:19 am
I see lots of anti Kidd remarks here, but lets be fair – he made a smart play, analogous to the UGA center hiking the ball before the snap count is completed IF he sees encroachment to draw an offsides penalty. Mark, I doubt your readers (or at least bloggers) would complain so much then (well, maybe the Techies–)
Heads up play by a top flight PG, bottom line. I wouldn’t be adverse to see this draw more leaguewide aggressive issuing of T’s when coaches go onto the court during play for any reason!
Regards Woodson, if he really wanted to put his stamp on the game, instead of being outsmarted by KIdd he should have called a TO when the lead was evaporating, change the personnel on the floor, something to deflect the momentum of the Mavericks.
Hawkman
February 27th, 2010
10:20 am
Like I say, this team probably won’t win a championship as currently constructed. Either they need to make a coaching change or find better players – or both. A coaching change may or may not be the answer, and adding a true stud would seem unlikely given their cap situation and draft position this year.
I love these Hawks and want to believe they can win but it is what it is. These Hawks lack enough discipline as a group to close out games and noone on their current roster can take control of a game – much less a series…i.e, Lebron, Wade, Kobe, etc…
Mid-Morning Buzz: Saturday, February 27 | Outdoor sports, camping, tenis, golf
February 27th, 2010
10:26 am
[...] Hawks lose on a night when losing seemed impossible, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mark Bradley The Buzz: Bradley wondered, how do you lose that game? [...]
bruce mac
February 27th, 2010
10:38 am
Who cares, NBA is boring and goes on forever. LA and Cavs play for Championship by July 4. At least the Braves and Falcons are competitive and well managed. Have the Thrashers left town yet, please take the Hawks with you.
j
February 27th, 2010
10:51 am
i still dont get how this was an awful loss? All great teams are going to come back from huge deficits. The hawks came back after the first quarter and the mavs came back down the stretch. The Mavs just took out the Lakers earlier this week, was that an awful loss for the Lakers … no, Mavs are playing well right now. Does our coaching suck, yes. we all want the Hawks to win every game but in an 80 game season, thats not going to happen. They’ll snap back from this. You guys analyze things way too much. the game was exiciting all the way through and, win or lose, thats what i want to see. you can blame the loss on anything you want (just like that loss on the road to the Cavs two months ago where the officials DID screw us on that one) but there is still plenty of basketball left and a bigger test against Orlando coming up.
Lets not analyze this … it was a loss against a great team that went down to the wire. Move on and Go Hawks!
j
February 27th, 2010
10:52 am
bruce mac, a little biased huh? and baseball doesn’t go on forever either? that really is a jackass comment made by one
willwalker
February 27th, 2010
10:55 am
From Dallas: Don’t whine, folks… and be glad you’ve got one of the best young teams in the league. You got snookered by a crafty old vet tonight, but you’ll get past it. Your time is coming, and soon, so lighten up. Kidd just gave you a great story to tell your grandkids.
j
February 27th, 2010
10:56 am
Marvin is a waste of money and space … how does he start for this team? i hope they use him as trade bait this summer
freshd
February 27th, 2010
10:57 am
Billy Knight was right, the hawks should have fired WOODROW two years ago, but the so called SPIRIT cheerleaders were in love with their below average coach. It does not matter who Rick Sund brings in to play for the hawks, Mr. Potatohead Woodson will not play them. Its pathetic when J Kidd gets 15 or 16 rebounds over the hawks so called big men.
JeJe
February 27th, 2010
11:09 am
Marvin as trade bait? Who the hell wants this guy?
he can’t even break 10 ppg lately. If he has 14, people think he had a good guy
The worst part is that Marvin problem isn’t even upset that he sucks
Worst contract ever
crabapplejoe
February 27th, 2010
11:14 am
How do you write an article wondering about how the home team lost a basketball game and omit the fact that someone from the other team put in 37 points? Who was covering Dirk? If Kobe or Lebron put in 37 against the Hawks would you omit their names from the article? geez
JeJe
February 27th, 2010
11:46 am
I would say we have a favorable schedule coming up, but knowing the Hawks, we’ll lose to Miami and the Knicks and probably every other team that’s owned us this year
Skydawg
February 27th, 2010
11:58 am
It’s very easy to see how they lost this game. Mike Woodson is the coach. Enough said.
JD
February 27th, 2010
11:58 am
I am going to be the point on this: Jason Kidd is a punk beotch.
lexluther
February 27th, 2010
12:00 pm
I’m sick of their #@$!
lexluther
February 27th, 2010
12:03 pm
I learn in pop warner ball that the way to beat a zone is to attack it. Penetrate and dish. What in the hell do you have to do to become a coach in the NBA. There is no excuse to the way Mike Woodson coach this team. No excuse. Getting him out of Atlanta would be in a word HUGE!!!!!!
CapedCrusader
February 27th, 2010
12:06 pm
It wasnt just Woodsens fault the Hawks lost. Woodsen did not score any points. Woodsen wasnt a player who failed to put the ball in the basket. Woodsen was one reason but the Hawks team lost the game last night but he wasnt the main reason. Woodsen didnt blow a 13-point lead with about 7 minutes to play. Kidd should have been thrown out of the game for purposely trying to hit woodsen and cause the technical foul. The Hawks were so foolish that they thought they could sit on a 13-point lead without 7 minutes left in the game. Seven minutes is an eternity in the nba. Whoever is coaching the Hawks should have made them aware of that fact. An nba team can score 30 points in minutes. Ive seen teams score 40 in a quarter. For some strange reason when the Hawks had a comfortable lead, THEY STOPPED EXECUTING (what gave them the lead in the first place). In addition, they suddently went cold and you could tell by the way they were running their offense (THEY WERE IN PANIC MODE). I knew the Hawks were going to lose that game as soon as Woodsen drew the technical foul, i knew it was going to be a Hawks loss. That was a smart play by Kidd, but it should have been nullified because Kid purposely went after woodsen and Kidd should have been thrown out of the game at that point, with the Hawks shooting a technical foul. The hawks will never amount to anything as long as they have Mike Woodsen as their coach. Mike Woodsen can coach the Hawks to 37 wins but that it about as far as he can go. Woodsen was lucky the Hawks won 47 games last season and had nothing to do with it. The Hawks need Avery Johnson, Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello or Don Nelson to coach them with the current players that they have on their roster. Woodsen is not a good fit for the current group of Hawks players. The Hawks did play like hoodrats last night and its true THEY DONT DESERVE ANYTHING, but to be swept out of the playoffs in the first round!
rICK sUND
February 27th, 2010
12:06 pm
JEJE WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND BASKETBALL. THIS IS OBVIOUS.
PaulWinchester
February 27th, 2010
12:13 pm
If Jamal Crawford wants to sit back and hoist 3-pointers all game he should just start launching from half court. As soon as he comes across the time line at the half court, mid court line just start launching your missiles from there. Crawford thinks just because he sometimes makes a few pretty rainbow 3s he can continue shooting them all game. He needs to understand that a 3-pointer is a “LOW PERCENTAGE SHOT”. Drive to the basket and use a shooting range of 0-20′. 30′ out is too far out unless you have unlimited range like LaBron James, Kobe Bryant or George “Ice Man” Gervin. If you are not one of these three players, you need to shoot within your range without making a fool of yourself.
daddydog1988
February 27th, 2010
12:21 pm
Nothing wrong with Kidd’s actions. He was helping his team win. This play was just a snapshot of Hawk’s coaching weakness. The Hawks win on their talent. When they need coaching help, it is nowhere to be found.
Mitch
February 27th, 2010
12:25 pm
Does Coach Woodson deserves credit for steadily improving the team or is it more because the players have grown up more each year?
The repeated meltdowns in the 4th quarter can no longer be seen as a coincidence. There are several common reasons why the team wilts and these need to be fixed or the Hawks may not even get past the Raptors or Bulls in the first round. Here are some of the reasons:
1. The Hawks play almost every 4th quarter as if they are playing the first game of a back-to-back…in short, they start resting on both ends of the floor, which is why even lowly teams like the Knicks and Warriors go on scoring tears and win the games. This team is mentally soft and that falls on the head coach and his staff.
2. The Hawks have one of the worst defensive guard tandems in the NBA in Bibby and Johnson, which is why the Nate Robinsons, Stephan Currys and the Jason Kidds can take over games and win them. Bibby is a phantom defender and Johnson is a lazy reacher who commits senseless fouls down the stretch that cost the team at some of the worst times.
3. With the game on the line, both Coach Woodson’s and Josh Smith’s collars get extra tight. Woodson lacks the authority and seemingly the wisdom to insist that the team play extra hard on defense and that it doesn’t go into the “prevent” offense (all 1 on 1s and no ball movement). As for Smith, he can be scoring well for three quarters, but when the team does finally move the ball in the 4th quarter it invariably winds up in Smoove’s hand and he rushes and forces shots and goes “aw shucks” and trots back on defense. What he should be instructed to do is set up in the short corner and off the catch, take one power dribble and dunk the ball…that’s it in the 4th quarter. Especially on last possession inbounds plays, Smoove is allowed to camp out beyond the three point line and how many times does he get the ball? A lot? Yup. Why? Every team in the NBA wants him to throw up one of his patented hoisted bricks with the game on the line. But, Woody enables this.
The other reason to put Smoove in the short corner is that when shots go up he can crash the boards…dunks and putbacks, dunks and putbacks. That’s it for now in the 4th quarter.
Honestly, even though you hate to take him off the floor for defensive reasons, Woodson really needs to take Smith off the floor late in games until he can stick to a simple short corner role he can produce in.
4. Marvin Williams, while now mostly a forgotten option on offense, which IMO has set the team back a little because Marvin was driving and shooting with more authority at times in the past, and now looks tentative, but he MUST at this point in his career be a better and stronger defender and rebounder, yet he is still not there. This is where I question Woodson and his staff, for not at least bringing this part of his game along. He is the key defensively for ever beating the Cavs…who else can guard LBJ?
5. Because Woodson’s substitutions are so erratic from game to game, he often overplays the starters and they look fatigued in the 4th quarter.
6. The Joe Show. It worked in the Boston 7 game playoff series becuse the team had little options then and Joe was on fire, but now it has backfired on Woody and the team. The rest of the team stops in its tracks and becomes spectators…and it puts a screeching halt to the flow and momentum of the game. Plus, Joe’s empty expressions do little to fire anyone up, unlike LeBron and others who electrify everyone around them, like Jason Kidd did last night.
7. The best defensive guards need to play at times. Jeff Teague could be a very good defensive guard, but Woodson can’t see beyond his own eyebrows the reasons not only to play this kid, but to give him confidence. Look at the way D-Coll is playing in New Orleans. Reality: he wouldn’t get any PT with Woody. If you don’t come to Woody as a rookie starter, he will sit you and give you every reason to doubt your game.
j
February 27th, 2010
12:33 pm
i think it is time to see woodson gone … this team deserves better … too much talent to be wasted on this type of coach.
j
February 27th, 2010
12:34 pm
i’m sure some team will take marvin, same as how we got rid of salim, sheldon & acie
Michael Adams
February 27th, 2010
12:42 pm
The hawks blew this game by being lazy in the last 6 minutes and with yet again bad coaching by Woodson. The hawks settled for jump shots instead of attacking the basket and dallas played harder and got all the rebounds in the last 6 minutes. Woodson should have called some time outs to get his team focused and to run some plays inside instead of being a fan watching his team take jump shots. And Joe Johnson should have been called for atleast 3 fouls for throwing elbows. The refs gave us every chance to win this game and we still blew it. Mark its easy to see why we lost this game. Im digusted with our Atlanta sports teams. They have no heart in crunch time.
Trey
February 27th, 2010
12:50 pm
Why no gt basketball blog today? I wanted to laugh at ph’s claim they are playing the best bball and barely beating lowly bc.
Anthony
February 27th, 2010
12:55 pm
The Hawks will always be a joke. It’s easy to look down on them for their lack of fan support on it’s own. But when you add that the Hawks as a frachise hasn’t ever won anything worth talking about, it makes me feel stupid that I’ve watched them at all hoping for something difference. This team is going down the same road that Smith/Deke teams went… Squeaking by or losing in the first round only to get whipped by a 2nd round team just like Charlotte and NY whipped the Hawks in the playoffs back in the late 90’s.
It will always be the same old thing with this team. 2nd round playoff whippings at best.
LOSER COACH
February 27th, 2010
1:17 pm
I HAVE A FRIEND IN A DIFFERENT SPORT(FOOTBALL) WHO WON A CHAMPIONSHIP! YEAR’S LATER I BECAME ANGRY WITH A CERTAIN COACH WHO REMIND’S ME ALOT OF WOODY! MY BUDDY ASK ME ONE SIMPLE QUESTION THAT I WILL NOW ASK OF THE PEOPLE ON THIS BLOG…..WHAT HAS WOODY EVER WON??!! AS A PLAYER OR COACH WHAT HAS HE WON??!! NOTHING IS THE ANSWER!! THAT SAID IT’S B/C HE’S NEVER WON ANYTHING HE DOES NOT KNOW HOW,THEREFORE HE WON’T!!!
LatrelleSpreewell
February 27th, 2010
1:18 pm
I know a lot of fans out there today are MAD as hell about the Hawks and rightfully so. The Hawks had a chance to salt away two games in February (Golden State) and (Dallas) in games they had big leads in but blew the leads in the fourth quarter to take defeat. It hurts because we are desparately trying to catch Orlando who rarely ever loses and these games that we have in the bag just to give away are games we can never get back or make up in the standings in order to make up ground on Orlando. When you look back on this season, its a season we SHOULD have won the southeast division, but were going to lose the division crown to Orlando because we cant hold onto to games that we have won, but CHOKE AWAY in the fourth quarter just to hand the games over to teams we should have beaten. Sound like a familar recipe? The Hawks did this 20 times a couple of seasons ago the year they first made the playoffs under woodsen when they won 37 games. That year, they could have won 57 games but blew at least 20 games that they had leads in the third and fourth quarter just to distintegrate like gun powder in the final quarter. IT LOOKS TO ME THAT THE HAWKS HAVE GONE BACK TO THEIR OLD WAYS OF BLOWING LEADS AGAIN LATE IN BALLGAMES. If they continue this, they wont ever win 40 games this year. They’ll probably finish below .500 at 40-42 or 39-43, when they EASILY COULD HAVE WON 60 GAMES THIS YEAR with the way they started out at 19-6, had they just not choked away the season!
Kelvin
February 27th, 2010
1:46 pm
I don’t see the Hawks making it to the Eastern Conference Finals as some have suggested they might earlier in the season. I would not be surprised if they don’t make it out of the first round of the playoffs. But even if they do this team is clearly not good enough to beat either Cleveland or Orlando. I think it should be clear by now to anyone with even a slight knowledge of the game of basketball knows that Al Horford is better suited at the 4 spot, but so is Josh Smith, this team gets very little offensively from the 3 spot (Marvin Williams) and even less defensively, and Mike Bibby, a decent outside shooter, but gets abused on the defensive end of the court. This team was built to make the playoffs, which in a weak conference like the east is not saying a lot, but not built to go any further than that.
Jacovny
February 27th, 2010
1:57 pm
Hey cry-babies:
Your coach admitted he was on the floor. Your point guard admitted your coach was on the floor. You’re the only ones living in denial. “Bush league”? Kidd didn’t hurt anyone or break rules; rather, he took advantage of rules which he evidently knew better than YOUR coach. That’s what great players DO. If Tony Romo snaps the ball when he sees a Falcons player jump off-sides and draws a penalty out of it, do you call that “bush-league” as well? Grow up.
ReverandRight
February 27th, 2010
2:14 pm
What was Woody Woodpecker doing on the floor last night? He should have known to stay off the court unless he was going to suit up and try to help the Hawks win the game. Woodsen should be replaced by Avery Johnson. Avery is the best coach available right now and would do wonders with the Hawks roster. He coached the Spurs to a title with Tim Duncan and is a marvelous basketball mind, the best of unemployed ex-coaches right now. He would make an immediatate impact on the Hawks and would elevate the Hawks instantly to an elite status: on the same level with Denver, Dallas, Lakers, Orlando, Cavs and Boston. That is what Avery Johnson will do for the Hawks. Put them on the same level as those teams and really compete against them instead of always getting blown out by them all the time.
Dirty Red
February 27th, 2010
2:34 pm
Haters please don’t come to the game when the playoffs start you may deliver some bad luck.
So please stay home!!
E43
February 27th, 2010
2:52 pm
this fanbase needs to calm down. im a life long die hard fan of atlanta teams even through the hawks 16 loss season and i appreciate all the hawks on the roster. from all horford to randolph.
were still on pace to win 50games even with the Alleged shortcoming of bibby marvin and the bench. bibby is paid to spread the ball and shoot threes which he does very wel.l hes deffense when he came and today hasnt changed.i don think this fanbase understands how (get blown out by the clippers)horrible the hawks are without him. as for marvin, hes paid to play F. not sf or pf. The bench doesnt even see enough minutes for you to earn the right to blame anything on them. there was a time joe was sitting on the bench while his counter part was getting all the praise.calm down fanbase. i think that these hawks have given the fanbase more wins than they can handle. too many people are just getting too picky. kind of like the lakers when kobe is playing then he goes down and their fanbase looses all hope.
Sam
February 27th, 2010
3:18 pm
Didn’t see the game or anything…but keeping up with the Hawks for years….
Yeah Woodson…overall sucks….he needs to go…..he’s had enough time to prove himself……but he hasn’t.
Marvin Williams is a SUCKY BUST!!!! He needs to go too!!! So do Zsa Zsa “Gabor” Pachulia and Joe johnson..Joe Johnson is soft)
The Hawks can do good things with the right mindset…but as of right now they are soft…..this has to do with the coach and the mindset of the fans.
The fans see the winning record numbers and jump on the bandwagon…
The players read their press clippings and go to Magic City.
Too many whorish loose women in the ATL…and the ATL pro athletes are all over them.
That’s what’s wrong with the Falcons and the Hawks.
GT/Falcons fan
February 27th, 2010
3:28 pm
Question….where were Horford and Josh Smith tonite….they sure werent in the paint on either end.