Showing posts with label Spurs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spurs. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
ATL-SA Game Review: Forgetting the Alamo
Who can tell?
Who can tell why, throughout the course of an (82) game season, some teams can't play at a high level every night?
That's probably why all championship teams don't win (70) games every year--why the greatest of all time are--the--greatest--of--all--time.
It takes special mental toughness, great talent, and a whole lot of luck.
In the matter of the Atlanta Hawks 105-90 loss in San Antonio Wednesday night, the Hawks had the talent, but not much else.
The Spurs came out with reckless abandon, using Tony Parker and company to attack the Hawks in the heart of the defense. The Hawks seemed shocked at the affront their hosts portrayed---how dare they treat their guests so rudely? Alas, the home team shot and scored quite often from the "painted area", scoring a majority of their (36) first quarter points, the quarter that would serve as the buffer zone from which they would play from for the remainder of the game, from there.
The apex of such perpetration was, with just a few seconds left to go in the quarter, when the Hawks witnessed Parker go coast to coast to score a bucket with .8 seconds left to go. Oh, and he got fouled, too.
Usually we use this opportunity to cascade blame across the Hawks offensive approach and deride their misuse of Al Horford. But not this time.
The Hawks actually seemed interested in going into the post, at least early on, but couldn't generate any positive effects. Horford was particularly bad, as he fell into his habit of wilting against longer opponents, something he needs to resolve before facing Kendrick Perkins and Dwight Howard over the next couple of games.
The whole offense and defense seemed off, as if they had raised the curtains on the troupe and they were still getting dressed. Nobody moved on offense, the Spurs consistently beat them on the glass at both ends---the whole beginning of the game was a disaster.
Still, the Hawks kept plugging as Joe Johnson (31 points), Josh Smith (14/16/7), and Jamal Crawford (25 points) had their boogie shoes ready to go. The Hawks wasted productive, in control, volume shooting nights from both Johnson and Crawford (both shot greater than 50 percent), which kept them in the game even until the fourth quarter.
The Spurs led by as many as (28), but the Hawks had the lead down to (9) with around nine minutes left, but Crawford missed a three, Zaza turned the ball over, and the Hawks botched a fast break op and the Spurs pulled away again.
Wait Til Next Year
Guess the Hawks can't rid themselves of all of their road demons in one season---selfish of us to want them to, come to think of it---so the SA streak, which has lasted all of Tim Duncan's lengthy career, rolls on---until, as the subtitle suggests, next year.
If the AS game doesn't come knocking, Al Horford can't blame anyone but himself---well, and the coaching staff and teammates for not using him more this season. We already mentioned Horford's weakness when it comes to taller men, and it's something that bears repeating. Horford didn't want anything to do with getting close to the basket, attempting only (2) of his (10) shots around the rim. Horford was a miserable 1-8 from outside that comfort zone and was way too quick to settle for the outside jumper. He did have a nice block on a Duncan finger-roll, however---just sayin'.
Mike Bibby, in (27) minutes, posted one of the most empty lines he has authored as a member of the Hawks. Bibby missed all (7) of his shots and had a single assist and rebound. With the post hanging an "Out of Order" sign on it, the Hawks needed every bit of firepower to overcome their first quarter defensive malaise---and Bibby couldn't muster it.
Tim Duncan, especially after Parker turned his ankle in the third quarter and couldn't return, got all nostalgic on the Hawks and posted a career high in rebounds with an eye-popping (27) rebounds. We missed when the Finals began on Wednesday night because Duncan was locked in like it was Game 7, dishing out (6) assists as well and hitting all (11) of his free throws. True, the Hawks held him to a wacky 5-20 from the field, but his (10) offensive rebounds and those assists definitely helped teammates like Antonio McDyess (8-9, 17 points) have good nights from the field in his stead.
DeJuan Blair was 2-4 with (4) points and had (9) rebounds in a mere (16) minutes. In those minutes, the Spurs were +9. The lesson---we don't like the Spurs or their fancy luck.
Oh, by the way, Jamal Crawford did the 4-Ball again, giving him (23) for his career, one shy of the all time mark held by noted Hawk Hater, Reggie Miller. It's payback time, Reggie. Payback time.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Pressure Applied
We don't have to look at a box score to know that the Atlanta Hawks took on a Tim Duncan-less San Antonio Spurs team and completely wilted under the heat of a strong team approach to the game to the tune of a 102-92 loss at home.
We notice that, when times are good, you may not really see the true nature of people---it's when pressure is applied or when times and situations go awry that you begin to see of what character someone is made.
When watching the Hawks Wednesday night, against the push of a team that rarely gives any ground, we saw some true core behavior from the squad.
And Now It's Time For----Authentic HHB Insight!
RFM was on early--continuing his hotness from the game before against Minnesota. We're not sure what San Antonio did to cool him off (halftime flowers?), but Murray bricked his second half shots as the pressure got tighter and didn't seem to be able to get inside as much as before.
Maurice Evans and Zaza Pachulia played solid games, but Evans played (22) minutes while Zaza participated in about (15). Pachulia played well against the Spurs second unit up front (which w/o Duncan looks an awful lot like their first). In fact, his (7) rebounds and tough play made us wistful that he played instead of someone who got more than twice the minutes as he. Evans was perfect shooting, with a couple of threes and an impressive rebound-jam.
But this game wasn't about the bench, considering each of the (4) main starters played about (40) minutes. If this were about trying to evaluate playoff readiness--playing the starters that many minutes against a team without their top talent, well---you would have thought a better results were in the offing. Back to the show---
Josh Smith played a game that can only be tastefully described as sloppy. If this were a game to see how Smith would respond to playoff pressure, he failed. He dropped all inhibitions and played like he seems to want to play---taking chances, out of position on both sides of the floor, wild shooting and ball handling. He fills a box score, but as many times the ball was in his hands and with the number of decisions he was aloud to make on the court, Smith should have been the player of the game. Instead, he posted (12) points, turned the ball over (4) times with his (5) assists, and offered (0) blocked shots on a night where we had identified that he might be key in deterring Tony (42 points) Parker inside.
If Smith were playing baseball, getting excited about his statistics would be equivalent to coming up with the bases loaded four times and getting a couple of RBI while making multiple errors in the field. Smith's "efforts" really cost the Hawks a chance to win against the Spurs.
Al Horford, meanwhile, played hard, but showed that he still rushes his shots under pressure. Horford was a miserable 2-9 from the field, rushing all sorts and manner of shots. He was content to sit in the background a bit in this game. Even with his activity (13) rebounds on the defensive glass, that's something he has to overcome in the heat of the playoffs.
Defensively, due to the inane TLC-Switch defense the Hawks seem contractually obligated to play, Horford and Mike Bibby kept getting switched, leaving Tony Parker being defended by Al. No disrespect to the Gator, but Tony Parker looked like he was taking family pictures by the amount of times he had to smile at that matchup. That the Hawks continued in this manner, offering little adjustment, speaks to how Parker piled up the points and how the coaching held up to the glare of this matchup as well.
Bibby was steady at the point, but he took some quick shots also, and was abused defensively (and physically by Matt Bonner, who left Mike with stitches above his left eye). The Hawks are going to have to gameplan to this defensively somehow, but now almost into April, the team seems to have employed the "cross your fingers" defense to account for Mike's inadequacies on that end and will now hope for the best.
That leaves Joe Johnson. When pressure is applied to Joe, he reacts in a consistent pattern on the floor. He wants to put the team on his back and carry them offensively. Against the Spurs, with Horford cold, the perimeter tight, and Josh Smith too loose, it was a good strategy. Joe had (30) points on 13-23 shooting, continually subjecting himself to a pounding inside and working extremely hard to get in a position to shoot. Yes, sometimes he passed up passing up the ball to a more open teammate, but with the team wilting, Joe was the Hawks only hope. It just wasn't enough to make up for a player(s) not getting it done on the defensive end.
From the Eternally Obvious
To put it bluntly, the Hawks won't win any meaningful (read: playoff games) using this approach to the game. The coaching staff didn't do the team any favors by not adjusting for Parker's dominance and for allowing Josh Smith to play ridiculous minutes when squandering so many possessions on each side of the floor.
Fortunately, it's one game, and the team can use this as a mirror to see how they responded to the storm that passed through the arena Wednesday night. That's the thing about pressure situations, as one passes, there is time to reflect, adjust-change, and get ready for the next one.
On the Hawks schedule, it's the rainy season, offering plenty of chances to shine.
The HHB recognizes the bump in the road to (50) wins---We're stopping the bus so that some can get off, but we won't change the destination on the front---Condolences to our mental health can be left in the Comments Area.
We notice that, when times are good, you may not really see the true nature of people---it's when pressure is applied or when times and situations go awry that you begin to see of what character someone is made.
When watching the Hawks Wednesday night, against the push of a team that rarely gives any ground, we saw some true core behavior from the squad.
And Now It's Time For----Authentic HHB Insight!
RFM was on early--continuing his hotness from the game before against Minnesota. We're not sure what San Antonio did to cool him off (halftime flowers?), but Murray bricked his second half shots as the pressure got tighter and didn't seem to be able to get inside as much as before.
Maurice Evans and Zaza Pachulia played solid games, but Evans played (22) minutes while Zaza participated in about (15). Pachulia played well against the Spurs second unit up front (which w/o Duncan looks an awful lot like their first). In fact, his (7) rebounds and tough play made us wistful that he played instead of someone who got more than twice the minutes as he. Evans was perfect shooting, with a couple of threes and an impressive rebound-jam.
But this game wasn't about the bench, considering each of the (4) main starters played about (40) minutes. If this were about trying to evaluate playoff readiness--playing the starters that many minutes against a team without their top talent, well---you would have thought a better results were in the offing. Back to the show---
Josh Smith played a game that can only be tastefully described as sloppy. If this were a game to see how Smith would respond to playoff pressure, he failed. He dropped all inhibitions and played like he seems to want to play---taking chances, out of position on both sides of the floor, wild shooting and ball handling. He fills a box score, but as many times the ball was in his hands and with the number of decisions he was aloud to make on the court, Smith should have been the player of the game. Instead, he posted (12) points, turned the ball over (4) times with his (5) assists, and offered (0) blocked shots on a night where we had identified that he might be key in deterring Tony (42 points) Parker inside.
If Smith were playing baseball, getting excited about his statistics would be equivalent to coming up with the bases loaded four times and getting a couple of RBI while making multiple errors in the field. Smith's "efforts" really cost the Hawks a chance to win against the Spurs.
Al Horford, meanwhile, played hard, but showed that he still rushes his shots under pressure. Horford was a miserable 2-9 from the field, rushing all sorts and manner of shots. He was content to sit in the background a bit in this game. Even with his activity (13) rebounds on the defensive glass, that's something he has to overcome in the heat of the playoffs.
Defensively, due to the inane TLC-Switch defense the Hawks seem contractually obligated to play, Horford and Mike Bibby kept getting switched, leaving Tony Parker being defended by Al. No disrespect to the Gator, but Tony Parker looked like he was taking family pictures by the amount of times he had to smile at that matchup. That the Hawks continued in this manner, offering little adjustment, speaks to how Parker piled up the points and how the coaching held up to the glare of this matchup as well.
Bibby was steady at the point, but he took some quick shots also, and was abused defensively (and physically by Matt Bonner, who left Mike with stitches above his left eye). The Hawks are going to have to gameplan to this defensively somehow, but now almost into April, the team seems to have employed the "cross your fingers" defense to account for Mike's inadequacies on that end and will now hope for the best.
That leaves Joe Johnson. When pressure is applied to Joe, he reacts in a consistent pattern on the floor. He wants to put the team on his back and carry them offensively. Against the Spurs, with Horford cold, the perimeter tight, and Josh Smith too loose, it was a good strategy. Joe had (30) points on 13-23 shooting, continually subjecting himself to a pounding inside and working extremely hard to get in a position to shoot. Yes, sometimes he passed up passing up the ball to a more open teammate, but with the team wilting, Joe was the Hawks only hope. It just wasn't enough to make up for a player(s) not getting it done on the defensive end.
From the Eternally Obvious
To put it bluntly, the Hawks won't win any meaningful (read: playoff games) using this approach to the game. The coaching staff didn't do the team any favors by not adjusting for Parker's dominance and for allowing Josh Smith to play ridiculous minutes when squandering so many possessions on each side of the floor.
Fortunately, it's one game, and the team can use this as a mirror to see how they responded to the storm that passed through the arena Wednesday night. That's the thing about pressure situations, as one passes, there is time to reflect, adjust-change, and get ready for the next one.
On the Hawks schedule, it's the rainy season, offering plenty of chances to shine.
The HHB recognizes the bump in the road to (50) wins---We're stopping the bus so that some can get off, but we won't change the destination on the front---Condolences to our mental health can be left in the Comments Area.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
