Hawks 90, Spurs 105 or Where the Hawks were gracious enough to help the Spurs end their losing streak.

As I type the Hawks are getting absolutely slaughtered by the San Antonio Spurs. They've given up 52 points halfway through the 2nd quarter. Aren't the Hawks supposed to be a defensive team? They suck at it tonight! The guards deserve a paragraph or three about their awful defensive efforts, and they might get one or three later. Joe is only playing one end of the floor and you don't have to think too hard to figure out which end that is. The forwards are all bound to be in foul trouble through no fault of their own. They have to defend the likes of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili after they blow past the likes of Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby. Joe did manage to pick up a frustration foul after feeling he'd been denied a foul on the other end, so there's that. The Spurs are shooting 54.5% with just under 3 minutes to go. You could say they're on fire, but the truth is, most of their shots are barely contested and right at the rim, and the jump shots are uncontested as well. They should be able to make wide open jump shots, they are professionals after all. Joe is going to have great numbers at the end of this night, but the Hawks will probably lose by 20, so you can make of that what you will. It's halftime and the Spurs already have 66 points. I'll finish this at the end of this game.

Update:

Well, the second half went a little better, but that's not saying much because the Hawks still lost by 15. At one point they'd pulled to within 9, but then proceeded to have some of the most awful possessions and turnovers one might witness in a game. The only reason they were able to get that close was because Tony Parker stepped on Al Horford's foot. He might be out for a while unfortunately, but oh well, that's a San Antonio problem.

Throughout all of the sucking (and there was plenty of it) Josh Smith played hard and he should be commended for doing so. Joe and Jamal scored a lot of points, but their defense in the first half, and hell the second half too, pretty much insured those points weren't going to matter. Timmy had 21 points and 27 rebounds. He didn't even have to jump for half of them. He literally seems that much taller than even the tallest Atlanta Hawk. Oh well.

I guess I should be happy that the Hawks won two of the three games in Texas, but I'm extremely disappointed in the way they started the game. I understand the Spurs had lost 3 in a row at home and desperately needed a win, but still..... I thought the Hawks were a better team than San Antonio coming into this game, so that shouldn't have mattered. I was positive they would come out and kick them while they were down, but instead they came out willing to help the Spurs get back to their winning ways.

Boston and Orlando are on the menu for Friday and Saturday. Obviously I'd like the Hawks to win both of these games, but suppose they can only win one, I would prefer they win the Orlando game. They've already won the season series against the Celtics, sweeping them would just be icing on the cake. I can live without icing if they can find a way to beat Orlando. January was a tough month for the Hawks, but they will come out of it okay no matter what the outcomes of these next two games are. That being said, win them anyway.







For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawstr8talk or Humanhighlightblog

Hawks 108, Knicks 112 or Where I didn't watch the game, and that's a good thing.

I did not watch any of the Hawks vs Knicks game tonight. Not one minute. I was having dinner at a friend's house and I checked my phone a couple of times to see the score. The last time I checked the Hawks had a double digit lead. I assumed all was right in the world and they'd go on to win the game. I got into my car and switched to 790 sometime before 10 and I listened to the last couple of plays of regulation shocked that the game was tied, then I listened to overtime all the way up until the Knicks took a 6 point lead courtesy of Nate Robinson.

Since I didn't watch the game, I assume Nate was dropping the majority of his points over double teams and he was just amazing and NOTHING would have saved the Hawks. I assume this because I know there's just no way in hell a coach who is coaching for a contract extension would let a man who's barely 5ft 7in tall destroy his team without trying to get the ball out of his hand or without throwing multiple defenders at him. I assume this because it's the only thing that makes sense.

I'm not even going to talk about the stats of the players. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I also assume that the Hawks lost their cushy double digit lead because sometime in the fourth quarter they felt it would be better to let the guards shoot rather than let Al Horford continue to dominate in the post. Maybe I need to re-post what I posted the other day. See below. (pay special attention to the bold areas)


Al Horford is being horribly underused in the Hawks offense. Is he “undersized”? Sure, but whatever he lacks in size he more than makes up for with athleticism, quickness and determination. He is not a perfect post player, but he is the Hawks most efficient post player. He’s shooting almost 60% from the field and that’s mostly due to his hard work on the offensive glass. In other words, a lot of his points come from rebounding his teammate’s misses. One can’t help but wonder what might happen if the Hawks consistently ran plays for him. Horford is being treated like a dirty work player and he deserves better than that. Quite frankly, the offense should run through him. Jump shots will not always fall, however they will always be available. The one thing the Hawks have is a group of guards who know how to get their shots off whether they’re being defended by one player or three players. They could get easier shots if they establish a consistent post game. Horford works extremely hard in the post and there are many nights when the guys who are guarding him have no chance of stopping him. The only people who stop Horford from being dominant are his teammates. Having a legitimate post threat would make the game so much easier for the shooters. Imagine Horford being double teamed and passing the ball to a wide open Joe Johnson or Jamal Crawford or Mike Bibby or Marvin Williams or Mo Evans. If the Hawks want to be a serious contender they’ve got to figure out a way to score points when the jump shots aren’t falling. It’s early in the season, but we’ve seen this team go through some awful shooting slumps. The second half of the Orlando game and the second quarter of the Dallas game were the worst. Their only defense against that is to throw the ball down low and get high percentage shots. Make things a little easier on yourselves in the New Year, and let the “Boss” lead the team.

I welcome all of the "Same old Hawks" articles, because I am thisclose to writing one too.



For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawstr8talk or Humanhighlightblog

Magic 93, Hawks 76 or Where you know your guards suck defensively when Anthony Johnson scores 15 fourth quarter points.

Well that was a bad way to end Thanksgiving. The Hawks played well in the first half. They had a little pep in their step and they actually looked like a team that wanted to show the basketball world that they could hang with the big boys. They decided otherwise in the second half. The ball stopped moving as well as the 4 other players without the ball. Jeff Teague got traded, at least I assume he did because he didn't get play in the second half even though the other guards couldn't make a shot. It's like Orlando went on their second half run and the Hawks just conceded the game.

The Good: Anthony Johnson. He was out there running around like a 20 year old offensively and defensively. He had 15 fourth quarter points! I mean if someone had said to you "Johnson will have 15 fourth quarter points" you would have assumed they meant Joe Johnson. You would have been wrong. Honorable Mention: Dwight Howard. 22 points and 17 rebounds is more than just good, but he's Dwight Howard so you kind of expect that.

The Bad: Atlanta Hawks perimeter defense. Look, I can deal with a loss to the Magic because of Dwight dominating and Vince actually trying, but to let Anthony Johnson blow by you for 3 uncontested layups is almost unforgivable. Nothing against Anthony Johnson, but seriously. Honorable Mention: Jeff Teague playing under 5 minutes when he really couldn't have sucked any worse than the other Hawks guards.

The Ugly: The Hawks second half. It was brutal. They only scored 25 points. Nuff said.




For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawstr8talk or Humanhighlightblog