There was a time not too long ago when a Friday and a Sunday game would mean that Hawks fans would have to find something fun to do on Saturday to compensate.
But these (17-6) Hawks are not the same weekend killers as their aughts sharing brethren. These Hawks took two undermanned, underdefensive teams (Raptors, Nets) and disassembled them with aggressive play on both ends, solid rebounding, and depth.
The latter part is amazing to those who have seen the Hawks pinch a penny over the last two decades when it came to quality minutes off the bench. As long time Hawk Mike Fratello marveled from the Nets broadcast booth Sunday night, "This team is deep and talented!" We know, we can't believe that Mr. Fratello was talking about the hometeam either.
Yet, there they were, doing as top reserve Jamal Crawford said a few games ago---wearing teams out. The Nets came out Sunday shooting far above their 41 percent standard for their woeful season and had the lead by two points with a little more than (5) minutes to play in the half. Then the Nets turned their head and were down by (12) when the half ended.
Yup, the Hawks are that kind of team. The team that kills you for settling for jump shots all night. A team that makes you pay when you go 1-7 over a stretch when your hot hand cools. You know, a strong playoff caliber team.
The Hawks showed poise and patience over the weekend and have (2) wins over lesser teams and have given the starters some extra Gatorade time as a reward. In previous seasons, these were games that might have had to use Joe Johnson and company 34+ minutes each to put away, but on both occasions the only players to log major minutes were off the bench, something that has to be better come April/May than in seasons past.
You Know They Call Him The Streak
Mo Evans hit seven of nine threes over the weekend and displayed some seriously quick hops on a pair of finishes. Just saying. When he is going like he was against TOR and NJ, he is mighty fine luxury to have bombing away out of that corner he loves so much.
Teams are gameplanning for Josh Smith's game inside. That's a major development for the Hawks this season and is a result of the change and maintaining of a "I'm better on the inside" in hardwood attitude for Smith. It's the reason his assist rate (8 more assists over the weekend) and many other numbers are at career highs this season. Hoopinion has done a great bit on monitoring on his site around just how much of a difference it's making on his productivity---and is answering a great deal of folks who hypothesized that the Hawks would be much better off if Smith dropped the Reggie Miller act and used his size and length to get easier hoops. Now--on to making free throws.
(Sidenote: The play of the weekend for THHB was the run-out 3 on 1 against the Nets when Josh could have tried to force a drive to the hoop and would likely have been fouled but missed a shot, but instead threaded a perfect bounce pass to Mike Bibby who quickly offered up a return to Smoove for the jam. To say it was picture perfect is saying too little--hopefully a snapshot of even more growth from Smith.)
We wholeheartedly agree again with Mike Fratello that the culture and execution of this team improved significantly when the Hawks made the move to get Bibby. Yes, he's a thorn in the defensive flesh, but wow--having a real point guard on the floor has made everything go. We all know this, which is why few were surprised that the Hawks re-upped with the vet, but it bears a reminder that his introduction to the team is when the franchise turned the corner.
Speaking of point guards---Jeff Teague continues to impress in his minutes off the bench. His quick hands are lethal (his steal from Rafer Alston and subsequent throw down was a close second to the Smith/Bibby play on the THHB corkboard) and his confidence is growing. He got a little loose late in the game against the Nets and made a rare careless pass, but he is getting better with every game out there. He reminds us of Jason Terry---as quick as Jet, a lesser shooter, but a more convincing distributor/decision maker/point guard than #31. How much of an impact he will make ultimately (meaning career) will probably be based on how dependable his shot becomes, but he is making us less morose about missing out on Ty Lawson every game.
The Nets had some success early getting inside and scoring on the Hawks until they lapsed (translation: forgot to keep doing it) and the Hawks took advantage. Atlanta was below their seasonal shot blocking average over the weekend games and in particular against the Nets, both Al Horford and Smith shied away from contesting aggressive drives to the hoop due to foul trouble. Not having Joe Smith off the bench to thwart shots didn't help as the Hawks elected to go small (three guards) without Smith and Marvin Williams (upset stomach) to go to.Something to keep an eye on against better teams with size.
Horford plays the bigger guys fine defensively, but still rushes his shot or takes awkward angles when against a big--though he made an adjustment against Brook Lopez (who has game) and started to use his nice face up jump shot to lure the big out and then go around him and get contact. Yet another piece that's improving for the Hawks and is making for difficult matchups for the opposition. And credit the Hawks backcourt for being very good in these games in recognizing mismatches and going right to them to exploit. And yes, once again, it's odd to watch a game and hear the opposing announcers lauding the Hawks as the example of a fundamentally sound team doing those "little things" to win.
Odd in this case = good. As in a really good weekend that made Saturday seem to drag. THHB calls that another nice development.
Showing posts with label Raptors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Raptors. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
We Celebrate
Here at THHB, there is much to celebrate--let us count the ways.
We Celebrate....
First, obviously, a massive ball sharing experiment that left the Toronto Raptors lying in a pathetic mess on the Philips Arena floor. This ball sharing episode led to (37) assists and put (9) players in double figures, something that hasn't happened to the Hawks since 1987--leading to a 146-115 blowout Wednesday night.
The absolute dominance of Al Horford. Chris Bosh is going to get a lot of money next summer when he becomes a free agent--and rightfully so. Horford made Bosh disappear by backing him down relentlessly and scoring and then smothering him on the defensive end as well, holding the all-star to (2) points for the entire game. Horford did what All-Star big men are supposed to do, dominate the game physically and get the other team's bigs into foul trouble. He also turned on the jets in transition and blistered Toronto repeatedly on his way to (24) points on (12) shots.
The presence of a competent NBA bench. Joe Smith may not get more minutes than Solomon Jones did last season, and we can debate the relevance of such a role on the team, but there is no arguing that Smith provides what we in the technical labs of THHB call "oodles" more than Jones may ever hope to acheive on a basketball floor. Yes, the Raptors were lost defensively---but Smith unleashed a variety of offensive scores and used his length very well in his (12) point, (5) rebound showing. Toss in the play of Jamal Crawford (16) and Zaza Pachulia (11) and you have quite the talent stew brewing off the bench.
We celebrate Jeff Teague seperately because he is what the Hawks haven't had at the point since Mookie Blaylock played golf in the ATL---a fast, quick handed point who can distribute efficiently and score. Teague is what old time scouts would call "sudden" on the floor. He looks calm and still and then---wham---he bursts with quickness to the basket or steals the ball and away we go. Where his ceiling is in unclear at this point, but one of the silver linings in a very golden cloud last night was that Teague had (22) minutes to do his thing and it was good.
The outside shooting of Mike Bibby. Who would guess that Bibby would have been perfect last night, if not for a dead ball free throw miss (4-4, 4-4, 0-1, 12 points, 5 assists, 22 minutes)? Among the Raptors many boo-boos defensively last night was leaving the Hawks point guard wide open with little attempt to deter.
The return this season of the shot blocking Josh Smith. We noted often last season that something was amiss from Smith in terms of shot deterrence and seeing him in full throttle shot denial this season underscores that even more. When he is active on that end, it wreaks havoc inside for teams--and good things follow for the Hawks.
The wonderfulness that is team rebounding. Here is where the Hawks have to look every game as a key to victory. If they protect the boards, with their offensive talent, they will end up winning. The Hawks failed to do this against Detroit and paid a heavy price at both ends. In their losses in general this is the case. Failure to stop defensively has led to stale offensive possessions and the cycle feeds itself constantly until the final buzzer. In this game, the Hawks outrebounded Toronto 51-29 and displayed a dedication to crashing the boards---from Marvin Williams all the way down to Randolph Morris.
The embracing of ball movement in this game was wonderful. Penetration, pass, pass again, drive, pass, score was in full effect in this blowout. Since this is not the first game that Hawks have had success not dribbling a hole in the floor every time down THHB asks why the team fails to make this their own personal basketball theme in every game?
Some of it is leadership--in that the biggest culprit is Joe Johnson--the supposed leader of this club. It was Johnson who in this game ground the team to a halt once again in the first quarter when he inexplicably took a quick 3pt shot (defended, mind you) when the team was killing the Raptors early inside. For someone who decries selfish play, this move by a leader of the team was perplexing. Taking a cue from Johnson, the team temporarily suspended ball movement for the jump shot fever. It was the only time that Toronto was in the game.
At the same time we celebrate all the positives of Johnson's game--of which there is much to shout about. (12) points, (6) rebounds and (11) assists in a mere (26) minutes shows that his temporary lapse of reason offensively was just that--for this night. Joe doesn't need to do this all by himself--even if at times he may want to.
Finally, we celebrate what this team can be when it's all going the right way--and it most certainly was Wednesday night. We hope they internalize how easy games are when you apply to knockout punch early (when it presents itself) and can get needed playoff rest late in the game. This team has all the talent to go far into the playoffs---only its own boundaries presented by their defensive rebounding and offensive ball movement prevent them from realizing their full potential on given nights.
Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachulia, Joe Smith, Jeff Teague, Maurice Evans, Randolph Morris--take a bow--we celebrate you today.
THHB appreciates that the Raptors and Hawks joined us in celebrating the birthday week of this blog's founder (December 4th). A finer present could not have been offered. Fruit cakes and gag gifts can be left gift-wrapped in the Comments Area.
We Celebrate....
First, obviously, a massive ball sharing experiment that left the Toronto Raptors lying in a pathetic mess on the Philips Arena floor. This ball sharing episode led to (37) assists and put (9) players in double figures, something that hasn't happened to the Hawks since 1987--leading to a 146-115 blowout Wednesday night.
The absolute dominance of Al Horford. Chris Bosh is going to get a lot of money next summer when he becomes a free agent--and rightfully so. Horford made Bosh disappear by backing him down relentlessly and scoring and then smothering him on the defensive end as well, holding the all-star to (2) points for the entire game. Horford did what All-Star big men are supposed to do, dominate the game physically and get the other team's bigs into foul trouble. He also turned on the jets in transition and blistered Toronto repeatedly on his way to (24) points on (12) shots.
The presence of a competent NBA bench. Joe Smith may not get more minutes than Solomon Jones did last season, and we can debate the relevance of such a role on the team, but there is no arguing that Smith provides what we in the technical labs of THHB call "oodles" more than Jones may ever hope to acheive on a basketball floor. Yes, the Raptors were lost defensively---but Smith unleashed a variety of offensive scores and used his length very well in his (12) point, (5) rebound showing. Toss in the play of Jamal Crawford (16) and Zaza Pachulia (11) and you have quite the talent stew brewing off the bench.
We celebrate Jeff Teague seperately because he is what the Hawks haven't had at the point since Mookie Blaylock played golf in the ATL---a fast, quick handed point who can distribute efficiently and score. Teague is what old time scouts would call "sudden" on the floor. He looks calm and still and then---wham---he bursts with quickness to the basket or steals the ball and away we go. Where his ceiling is in unclear at this point, but one of the silver linings in a very golden cloud last night was that Teague had (22) minutes to do his thing and it was good.
The outside shooting of Mike Bibby. Who would guess that Bibby would have been perfect last night, if not for a dead ball free throw miss (4-4, 4-4, 0-1, 12 points, 5 assists, 22 minutes)? Among the Raptors many boo-boos defensively last night was leaving the Hawks point guard wide open with little attempt to deter.
The return this season of the shot blocking Josh Smith. We noted often last season that something was amiss from Smith in terms of shot deterrence and seeing him in full throttle shot denial this season underscores that even more. When he is active on that end, it wreaks havoc inside for teams--and good things follow for the Hawks.
The wonderfulness that is team rebounding. Here is where the Hawks have to look every game as a key to victory. If they protect the boards, with their offensive talent, they will end up winning. The Hawks failed to do this against Detroit and paid a heavy price at both ends. In their losses in general this is the case. Failure to stop defensively has led to stale offensive possessions and the cycle feeds itself constantly until the final buzzer. In this game, the Hawks outrebounded Toronto 51-29 and displayed a dedication to crashing the boards---from Marvin Williams all the way down to Randolph Morris.
The embracing of ball movement in this game was wonderful. Penetration, pass, pass again, drive, pass, score was in full effect in this blowout. Since this is not the first game that Hawks have had success not dribbling a hole in the floor every time down THHB asks why the team fails to make this their own personal basketball theme in every game?
Some of it is leadership--in that the biggest culprit is Joe Johnson--the supposed leader of this club. It was Johnson who in this game ground the team to a halt once again in the first quarter when he inexplicably took a quick 3pt shot (defended, mind you) when the team was killing the Raptors early inside. For someone who decries selfish play, this move by a leader of the team was perplexing. Taking a cue from Johnson, the team temporarily suspended ball movement for the jump shot fever. It was the only time that Toronto was in the game.
At the same time we celebrate all the positives of Johnson's game--of which there is much to shout about. (12) points, (6) rebounds and (11) assists in a mere (26) minutes shows that his temporary lapse of reason offensively was just that--for this night. Joe doesn't need to do this all by himself--even if at times he may want to.
Finally, we celebrate what this team can be when it's all going the right way--and it most certainly was Wednesday night. We hope they internalize how easy games are when you apply to knockout punch early (when it presents itself) and can get needed playoff rest late in the game. This team has all the talent to go far into the playoffs---only its own boundaries presented by their defensive rebounding and offensive ball movement prevent them from realizing their full potential on given nights.
Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachulia, Joe Smith, Jeff Teague, Maurice Evans, Randolph Morris--take a bow--we celebrate you today.
THHB appreciates that the Raptors and Hawks joined us in celebrating the birthday week of this blog's founder (December 4th). A finer present could not have been offered. Fruit cakes and gag gifts can be left gift-wrapped in the Comments Area.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Caution: Positive!
We could be a huge wet blanket and dwell on the fact that the Hawks needed most of the (11) threes they hit Tuesday night to take out the post season excluded Toronto Raptors, 118-110.
That they shot (50) percent from extra point, which included a buy-a-lottery-ticket (3) out of (5) from Josh Smith, shouldn't give Hawks fans any reason to believe that they have cured the checklist (collect them all!) of flaws we have listed over the course of the season and rolled up into the "Status Quo" entry from Monday.
But---even when we were in the role of the Raptors in years past, eliminated, lottery bound---we enjoyed watching the Birds win---and even in what may be fool's gold of a road win, it's always good to see.
So, we are not going to be the party poopers of the victory, instead, we're busting out the noise makers and gonna hand out gold stars to the guys for their part in the win.
We saw Mike Woodson play not one, but TWO starters with (2) fouls in the first half. Both Al Horford and Joe Johnson picked up their 3rd fouls, leaving Hoopinion to comment on Twitter that it may be the last time we see such an occurance. They also observed, quite cleverly, that it says that Woodson may care more about not giving up (60) points in the first half than about picking up those "awful" third fouls. (And it worked! Only -57- points for TOR in the first half)
We went the other way, hoping that, if Horford and Johnson didn't come close to fouling out, that it may permanently change Woodson's habits on the matter. The result? Horford and Johnson both finished with three fouls. Come on, Woody--admit it, you're cured, right?
Despite the "foul trouble", Al Horford actually looked like he drew the offensive straw in this game as his teammates looked for Al on the baseline when they drove and got a few plays in the post as well. Now, it wasn't a plethora of plays--in fact Al took just (8) shots, making (5)---but it seemed as if they weren't treating him like Mark Eaton out there---which is nice.
Josh Smith nearly pitched a complete game (46 1/2 minutes out of 48)--He was named player of the game, but we couldn't really figure out what Smith did, other than pile up numbers that came with the minutes, except that he didn't sabotage the game--though there were times that you wondered if Smith was going to blow the Hawks' chances of winning with his shenanigans. When the Hawks were making their run in the third quarter, Smith turned it over, gave up a hoop, and was complaining to the officials after a "missed" call. But sometimes it turns up good for Josh despite all that, and when he was late getting back after complaining, Joe got a quick rebound and launched to the conveniently stationed Smith, who had an easy slam. Maybe we don't know so much?
RFM and Mo Evans made the HHB forget about Josh Childress for a night. But just one, Chill---
The Hawks made (82) percent of their free throws, making it a 50/50/80 night with only (7) turnovers---and the game was still in doubt against a non-playoff team---might have meant the defense was lacking, but hey, we're wrapping it up positive here!
Zaza Pachulia can draw a foul and grab an offensive rebound. We're not saying that's the extent of his skills, but those are the ones that jump out at you immediately when you watch the guy, night after night. (11) points in (16) minutes on (3-5, 5-6) with his only rebound being offensive.
They're Not Saying Boo, They're Saying Boo-urns
Peachtree Hoops, who the HHB thought might have been trapped under furniture--turns out it's matrimony--"penned" a terrific article on being a fan of the Hawks. It's a classic tale of not wanting to settle for mediocrity, yet also wanting to maintain perspective about the road the team has travelled and wanting to enjoy that as well.
We're not saying, we're just saying---check it out.
Your Body is a Twitterland
We're gonna have to face it, we're addicted to Twitter.
Especially when you have Speedy Claxton on going off about the Hawks not suiting him up when they didn't even have (12) to play with.
Especially when the apparently fun Zaza Pachulia gets on board and reminds us he played a season in Milwaukee and says that it's hard to get a double-double in (16) minutes, but he'll take his (11) point effort and a win.
And, of course, when the Hawks Blogging Nation gets behind it and tweets, extending the intelligent (cough), witty (hack), informational (choke!) banter past even the soft lines of a blog.
Bottom line, it's good times---feel free to follow us and/or all the others in the Hawks world and beyond---it is definitely worthwhile.
The HHB offers no guarantees of intelligent, witty, or informational material--Suggestions for such content can be offered to us in the Comments Area.
That they shot (50) percent from extra point, which included a buy-a-lottery-ticket (3) out of (5) from Josh Smith, shouldn't give Hawks fans any reason to believe that they have cured the checklist (collect them all!) of flaws we have listed over the course of the season and rolled up into the "Status Quo" entry from Monday.
But---even when we were in the role of the Raptors in years past, eliminated, lottery bound---we enjoyed watching the Birds win---and even in what may be fool's gold of a road win, it's always good to see.
So, we are not going to be the party poopers of the victory, instead, we're busting out the noise makers and gonna hand out gold stars to the guys for their part in the win.
We saw Mike Woodson play not one, but TWO starters with (2) fouls in the first half. Both Al Horford and Joe Johnson picked up their 3rd fouls, leaving Hoopinion to comment on Twitter that it may be the last time we see such an occurance. They also observed, quite cleverly, that it says that Woodson may care more about not giving up (60) points in the first half than about picking up those "awful" third fouls. (And it worked! Only -57- points for TOR in the first half)
We went the other way, hoping that, if Horford and Johnson didn't come close to fouling out, that it may permanently change Woodson's habits on the matter. The result? Horford and Johnson both finished with three fouls. Come on, Woody--admit it, you're cured, right?
Despite the "foul trouble", Al Horford actually looked like he drew the offensive straw in this game as his teammates looked for Al on the baseline when they drove and got a few plays in the post as well. Now, it wasn't a plethora of plays--in fact Al took just (8) shots, making (5)---but it seemed as if they weren't treating him like Mark Eaton out there---which is nice.
Josh Smith nearly pitched a complete game (46 1/2 minutes out of 48)--He was named player of the game, but we couldn't really figure out what Smith did, other than pile up numbers that came with the minutes, except that he didn't sabotage the game--though there were times that you wondered if Smith was going to blow the Hawks' chances of winning with his shenanigans. When the Hawks were making their run in the third quarter, Smith turned it over, gave up a hoop, and was complaining to the officials after a "missed" call. But sometimes it turns up good for Josh despite all that, and when he was late getting back after complaining, Joe got a quick rebound and launched to the conveniently stationed Smith, who had an easy slam. Maybe we don't know so much?
RFM and Mo Evans made the HHB forget about Josh Childress for a night. But just one, Chill---
The Hawks made (82) percent of their free throws, making it a 50/50/80 night with only (7) turnovers---and the game was still in doubt against a non-playoff team---might have meant the defense was lacking, but hey, we're wrapping it up positive here!
Zaza Pachulia can draw a foul and grab an offensive rebound. We're not saying that's the extent of his skills, but those are the ones that jump out at you immediately when you watch the guy, night after night. (11) points in (16) minutes on (3-5, 5-6) with his only rebound being offensive.
They're Not Saying Boo, They're Saying Boo-urns
Peachtree Hoops, who the HHB thought might have been trapped under furniture--turns out it's matrimony--"penned" a terrific article on being a fan of the Hawks. It's a classic tale of not wanting to settle for mediocrity, yet also wanting to maintain perspective about the road the team has travelled and wanting to enjoy that as well.
We're not saying, we're just saying---check it out.
Your Body is a Twitterland
We're gonna have to face it, we're addicted to Twitter.
Especially when you have Speedy Claxton on going off about the Hawks not suiting him up when they didn't even have (12) to play with.
Especially when the apparently fun Zaza Pachulia gets on board and reminds us he played a season in Milwaukee and says that it's hard to get a double-double in (16) minutes, but he'll take his (11) point effort and a win.
And, of course, when the Hawks Blogging Nation gets behind it and tweets, extending the intelligent (cough), witty (hack), informational (choke!) banter past even the soft lines of a blog.
Bottom line, it's good times---feel free to follow us and/or all the others in the Hawks world and beyond---it is definitely worthwhile.
The HHB offers no guarantees of intelligent, witty, or informational material--Suggestions for such content can be offered to us in the Comments Area.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Killer Sauce Defined
Oh, sure---we could dwell on the slopfest that might have been the first 24 minutes of the game, but hey, all we asked the Hawks for was 24 minutes of heck---and that's what we got in the MLK Day special at the arena against the weakened Raptors, 87-84.
We could share the misery of watching as the Birds seemed to be going for an airball record in the game, with everybody from Mike Bibby to Thomas Gardner whiffed from everywhere on the floor.
(Sidenote: Really? Thomas Gardner? Listen, we get that Marvin Williams was out as was Al Horford, but shouldn't we really have seen Mario West out there instead? West has at least seen game action more regularly than Gardner, who was last seen cleaning up against New Jersey---on November 15th. Seriously, it wasn't the time to make sure that Tommy's parents got to see him get into the game---stuff like that might make the team feel like the game isn't as challenging as it surely seemed to be at that point in the game. End Note.)
We could point out (once again) that the team must believe that a rope-a-dope defense is what wins for them---simply letting the other team land punch after punch before coming on strong late in games. Either the Raptors wore out or the Hawks decided to step up defensively in the second half, leaving the 51 point first half behind and limiting the visitors to 33 in the second half. Since Toronto, who we thought was a good 3-pt shooting team, had zero at the half, we can't believe they wore out, unless they weren't used to scoring that much.
We could whine about the fact that the lack of depth really shows if any of the starting five goes down. The Hawks only had 4 players score before Maurice Evans "broke through" with 2:44 left to play in the game. (Dead Horse Alert!: Anyone still going to argue with the HHB that Mo Evans was an improvement--yep, we were told that by some Bird Watchers---or that he was at least an even swap with Grecian Josh Childress? Evans is a great guy and a hustling fool, but is there anyone who believes that Childress isn't missed or wouldn't have been doing more when forced into the starting lineup?)
We could also blather on about missed free throws, turnovers, and the usual Josh Smith shenanigans but we can't complain when the team delivers the "W"--even if it was against the team that was missing Jermaine O'Neal and Jose Calderon.
We can't complain when The Backcourt goes off for 19-36 shooting, complete with Joe Johnson delivering the killer sauce with a dozen seconds left. Oh, missed it did you? Check out the 5:42 mark of the excellent recap video:
You just can't get too fired up when the end result is watching one of the clutch players in Atlanta Hawks history do it again.
See you in Chicago.
The HHB is well aware of the current Hawks immaturity---they can relate pretty well---all advice and comments are welcome in the Comments section.
We could share the misery of watching as the Birds seemed to be going for an airball record in the game, with everybody from Mike Bibby to Thomas Gardner whiffed from everywhere on the floor.
(Sidenote: Really? Thomas Gardner? Listen, we get that Marvin Williams was out as was Al Horford, but shouldn't we really have seen Mario West out there instead? West has at least seen game action more regularly than Gardner, who was last seen cleaning up against New Jersey---on November 15th. Seriously, it wasn't the time to make sure that Tommy's parents got to see him get into the game---stuff like that might make the team feel like the game isn't as challenging as it surely seemed to be at that point in the game. End Note.)
We could point out (once again) that the team must believe that a rope-a-dope defense is what wins for them---simply letting the other team land punch after punch before coming on strong late in games. Either the Raptors wore out or the Hawks decided to step up defensively in the second half, leaving the 51 point first half behind and limiting the visitors to 33 in the second half. Since Toronto, who we thought was a good 3-pt shooting team, had zero at the half, we can't believe they wore out, unless they weren't used to scoring that much.
We could whine about the fact that the lack of depth really shows if any of the starting five goes down. The Hawks only had 4 players score before Maurice Evans "broke through" with 2:44 left to play in the game. (Dead Horse Alert!: Anyone still going to argue with the HHB that Mo Evans was an improvement--yep, we were told that by some Bird Watchers---or that he was at least an even swap with Grecian Josh Childress? Evans is a great guy and a hustling fool, but is there anyone who believes that Childress isn't missed or wouldn't have been doing more when forced into the starting lineup?)
We could also blather on about missed free throws, turnovers, and the usual Josh Smith shenanigans but we can't complain when the team delivers the "W"--even if it was against the team that was missing Jermaine O'Neal and Jose Calderon.
We can't complain when The Backcourt goes off for 19-36 shooting, complete with Joe Johnson delivering the killer sauce with a dozen seconds left. Oh, missed it did you? Check out the 5:42 mark of the excellent recap video:
You just can't get too fired up when the end result is watching one of the clutch players in Atlanta Hawks history do it again.
See you in Chicago.
The HHB is well aware of the current Hawks immaturity---they can relate pretty well---all advice and comments are welcome in the Comments section.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Everyone Is Taking Notice of the Hawks
Watching PTI after the Hornets game (HHB Tivo'd that as well), we were treated to a segment of their "Over/Under" game which posed the question of whether the Hawks would be over or under 41 wins for the season (to those of us who went to the University of Florida, that would be .500).
Both Tony and Dan Le Batard said that, based on the Hawks finish last season, their run against the Celtics, and their impressive wins on the road at Orlando and New Orleans, that yes, why shouldn't they be a good bet to do this.
Also, Tony added that while the Hawks did lose Josh Childress in the off-season, "He's not Magic Johnson." More ESPN love.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors and their new shiny Twin Towers frontcourt of Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal rolled into Philips Arena and got treated to the new and energized Hawks. The same defensive effort, the physicality, and the hustle was on display for the Raptors, who got frustrated by the fact that, surprisingly, the Hawks were allowed to play as Physical As They Wanna Be, though not cheap shots, and before they knew what hit them, the Hawks were up 12 at the half.
Unfortunately, during that first half, the Hawks watched as Josh Smith came down wrong on his ankle, rolled it, and is now going to miss a month with the dreaded HIGH ankle sprain.
Now, immediately, Hawks fans had to wonder how the team would respond to their game changer on defense not being able to return. After all, as the fine research at Peachtree Hoops (also linked in the HHB Bird Feeds area) has shown, the Hawks have been a very good defensive team thus far (Top 5 in fact), but they are sinister when Smith is in the game---top of the line good defensively. And there is no doubt, as the HHB has written already, that the key to this good start has been 100 percent related to the defensive effort. Even in the PHL game, when the Hawks were sloppy defensively was when they got down, and it took them the whole game to get back on top after just ONE poor defensive effort.
Now, with Smith out, what would the Hawks do? If one quarter of poor basketball with Smith was enough to drop the Hawks 20+ points behind the Sixers, what would the team do with Smith now out?
The verdict was this: Though the Hawks definitely missed Smith's shot blocking presence, the combination of extreme effort and taking care of the defensive boards kept the Hawks afloat, even with both Horford and Pachulia limited by foul trouble. Solomon Jones and Randolph Morris (still with that new player smell!) picked up the slack, though their +/- numbers were alright at best, and the Hawks ended up cruising to a fairly uncontested 110-92 victory.
Afterwards, everyone took notice. ESPN, NBATV, and even the Official Dad of the HHB sent an email to jump on the bandwagon, demanding a Hawks hat while remarking "4-0!!".
Smith will now be out a month's worth of games, though if we know him, we believe he'll make the usual youthful error of trying to come back too soon, but in the meantime the Hawks have to try and rise up, even in his absence.
HHB Prediction? The team will valiantly try to perform to the same levels as they have with Smith, but will fall short a few times. It's only natural. Josh Smith, who has had plenty of detractors, is a game changing force for the Hawks, and no amount of heart, which this team definitely has shown thus far, will be able to replace that.
But still----4 and 0---they have that going for them, which is nice.
Both Tony and Dan Le Batard said that, based on the Hawks finish last season, their run against the Celtics, and their impressive wins on the road at Orlando and New Orleans, that yes, why shouldn't they be a good bet to do this.
Also, Tony added that while the Hawks did lose Josh Childress in the off-season, "He's not Magic Johnson." More ESPN love.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors and their new shiny Twin Towers frontcourt of Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal rolled into Philips Arena and got treated to the new and energized Hawks. The same defensive effort, the physicality, and the hustle was on display for the Raptors, who got frustrated by the fact that, surprisingly, the Hawks were allowed to play as Physical As They Wanna Be, though not cheap shots, and before they knew what hit them, the Hawks were up 12 at the half.
Unfortunately, during that first half, the Hawks watched as Josh Smith came down wrong on his ankle, rolled it, and is now going to miss a month with the dreaded HIGH ankle sprain.
Now, immediately, Hawks fans had to wonder how the team would respond to their game changer on defense not being able to return. After all, as the fine research at Peachtree Hoops (also linked in the HHB Bird Feeds area) has shown, the Hawks have been a very good defensive team thus far (Top 5 in fact), but they are sinister when Smith is in the game---top of the line good defensively. And there is no doubt, as the HHB has written already, that the key to this good start has been 100 percent related to the defensive effort. Even in the PHL game, when the Hawks were sloppy defensively was when they got down, and it took them the whole game to get back on top after just ONE poor defensive effort.
Now, with Smith out, what would the Hawks do? If one quarter of poor basketball with Smith was enough to drop the Hawks 20+ points behind the Sixers, what would the team do with Smith now out?
The verdict was this: Though the Hawks definitely missed Smith's shot blocking presence, the combination of extreme effort and taking care of the defensive boards kept the Hawks afloat, even with both Horford and Pachulia limited by foul trouble. Solomon Jones and Randolph Morris (still with that new player smell!) picked up the slack, though their +/- numbers were alright at best, and the Hawks ended up cruising to a fairly uncontested 110-92 victory.
Afterwards, everyone took notice. ESPN, NBATV, and even the Official Dad of the HHB sent an email to jump on the bandwagon, demanding a Hawks hat while remarking "4-0!!".
Smith will now be out a month's worth of games, though if we know him, we believe he'll make the usual youthful error of trying to come back too soon, but in the meantime the Hawks have to try and rise up, even in his absence.
HHB Prediction? The team will valiantly try to perform to the same levels as they have with Smith, but will fall short a few times. It's only natural. Josh Smith, who has had plenty of detractors, is a game changing force for the Hawks, and no amount of heart, which this team definitely has shown thus far, will be able to replace that.
But still----4 and 0---they have that going for them, which is nice.
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