Atlanta Hawks: 2011-2012 Season Preview

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. The Hawks will make the playoffs. That's a pretty bold statement if you believe some of the better known national writers. They seem to think there are at least 8 teams in the East who are better than the Hawks.
Unless some things go horribly wrong, and I'm talking 3 of the 5 starters missing most of the season, random players legs falling off, or signing Jerry Stackhouse and expecting him to contribute, they'll make it.
They'd have to try HARD to miss the playoffs. I think it'd be harder for them to miss the playoffs than it'll be for them to make the playoffs. I'm kidding. Maybe. Either way, I've looked at the East and I just don't see the Hawks being on the outside looking in.
They have an issue or two, obviously. They don't have a lot of depth on the bench, but I defy you to name a season in recent memory where they've actually had any.  Sure, they'll miss Jamal's 18 ppg, but when you consider he gave up just as many points if not more, it might balance out. (I have no idea how many points Jamal's opponents actually averaged, I just know he's as bad a defender as he is a good scorer).

Sidebar: I'm going to miss Jamal. I've always enjoyed watching him play, and he's genuinely the nicest athlete I've ever met.

Anyway, I don't know specifically where the Hawks will finish this season, and I dare not guess. I just know they'll make the playoffs. This season is going to be hard on everyone, so I hope all of the players can stay healthy. Well, everyone except the guys who play for the Celtics, Knicks, and Heat. I'd be okay if they missed the latter half of the season due to paper cuts or something like that.
Go Hawks!


For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, or Hoopinion

Hawks 76, Heat 94 or Where Jamal and his agent should be drawing up those contract extension papers right now.

I don't ask for much from my favorite team. Do I hope for much? Sure, but I don't ask for unreasonable things from them. One of the only things I consistently ask of them is that they don't lose to teams that they should not lose to. Well, they did exactly that tonight against the Miami Heat.
Myself and a handful of other Hawks bloggers were given the opportunity to chat with Rick Sund prior to tonight's game. I won't get into too much about the chat because there was only one revelation he made that was relevant to this game. He said Jamal Crawford would not play because of a shoulder injury.
When he said that, two things went through my mind. The first thing was a feeling of "aw shucks" because I knew there would likely be no four point plays. The second thing that went through my mind was that the Hawks would probably not pull away from the Heat until the fourth quarter. The thought that they might actually lose the game never crossed my mind, because I assumed the Hawks knew they were better than the Heat. I assumed incorrectly.

Now we've come to the portion of the recap where I read way too much into one loss.

This loss tells me one thing for certain about the Hawks franchise player, he's not really a franchise player. When a team is faced with injuries to role players, their superstar has to do something extra. That's the position Joe was in tonight, but he didn't do anything extra. He started the game 4-4, then proceeded to go 3-17 the rest of the way. That is unacceptable on every level. I have always been of the thinking that Joe Johnson does not deserve a max contract. This game just reinforced my beliefs. First of all, he can't get to the free throw line. Did he have a couple of drives where there was contact? Sure, but he also shot eight 3 pointers. He didn't exactly force the refs to make a call in his favor. What it boils down to is if Joe's jump shot isn't falling he can't score. We already knew that, but this game highlighted it.
There is no second of all.
LeBron James lost damn near every guard on his team to injuries, yet the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a 12 game win streak. He is doing something extra. I do not need to be reminded that Joe is not as good of a player as LeBron. However I do need to remind you that Joe wants to be paid like LeBron. If you want franchise player money, then you need to have franchise player performances when your team needs you most. You need to not lose to the stinking Miami Heat! You bitch and moan about the crowd not showing up for the games, then 17,000 people come out and you lose to a team who had lost something like seven of their last ten games. I wouldn't blame the fans if they never came back. Here's a fun fact: Three of the Heat starters combined to go 5-22 and the Hawks lost by 18......
Josh put up good numbers. Al got his usual double double with his usual limited touches. Hell, Bibby even scored 12 points. It all comes back to the franchise player. He didn't do that something extra to make up for Jamal being out. Is it fair that the bulk of the responsibility for the outcome of this game falls on Joe? Well, as the highest paid player on the team, hell yes. His contract implies he is the best player, so he needed to do something extra to make up for the absence of Jamal. He didn't, so the Hawks go into the All Star break on a low note.
Go Hawks.



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

Hawks 103, Clippers 97 or Where the Hawks knew they were better than the Clippers, but they didn't want to show their hand until the 4th qtr

The Hawks won a game they were supposed to win. Yawn... I'm probably the worst of bloggers because I rarely recap games the Hawks win when I deem the opponent inferior. However if the Hawks lose a game to an inferior opponent, I'll give you a thousand words easy. I need to work on that, because at the end of the day these are all NBA teams and I should treat all wins and losses equally. Sounds good, but I probably won't change.

The Good: Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford. Again, I couldn't choose between the two. Joe had the quietest 34 points you'll ever see. I honestly did not know he'd scored that many until I checked the box score. I just assumed he was somewhere around his average. He forced the action and actually got to the free throw line like a superstar tonight. We need to see more of this. Jamal was just Jamal. He came off the bench and did what they pay him to do. He scored 22 points and also tied Reggie Miller with most 4 point plays in league history. That record will belong solely to him by the end of this month. I'm willing to bet on that. Honorable Mention: Hawks starters not named Mike Bibby. Josh, Al, and Marvin each had a double double. Can't ask for much more than that.

The Bad: The Hawks defense for 3 and 1/3 quarters. The Hawks are better than the Clippers. They know they are better than the Clippers and they took the floor expecting to win without exerting a ton of energy. Their nonchalant attitude allowed the Clippers to build two separate double digit leads. Obviously the Hawks were able to overcome those, but there's no reason to get into a dogfight with the Clippers when a good old fashioned ass whipping will do.

The Ugly: The realization that Mike Bibby is a shell of his former self. I'm not even going to elaborate on this. It's just painful to watch.




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

Hawks 100, Celtics 91 or Where they'll never admit it, but the C's do not want to see the Hawks in the playoffs

The Atlanta Hawks swept the season series against the Boston Celtics for the first time since the 90's. I could look up exactly which year, but I'll leave that to Hoopion or Humanhighlight blog. Ya'll know I don't do that here.
I dislike the Celtics for many reasons. They could sign my favorite player ever and I'd be conditioned to dislike him too for no other reason than the fact that he'd be a Celtic. If you play for them, you are the enemy. Period. I don't have time to only hate half the team. It's just easier if I include all of them which is what I choose to do. I hated them when I was younger because I loved Zeke and Dumars. I didn't know much, but I knew you couldn't like the Pistons and the Celtics. I was also a huge Human Highlight Film fan and I knew there was no love lost between the Hawks and the Celtics either. No matter which players I rooted for growing up, I had to hate the Celtics. It was necessary. Fast forward to today and I still hate the Celtics. If we're being honest, I hate all Boston teams, but that's another subject for another day. This particular group of Celtics is so easy to dislike. Seriously, there are any number of irritating things to choose from concerning their key guys. KG barking and cussing, Paul Pierce flopping and flailing, Kendrick Perkins scowling and scowling. They're insufferable and oh so easy to root against. The Hawks got the best of them this regular season and although they won't admit it, they don't want to see the Hawks in the playoffs.

The Good: Jamal Crawford a.k.a. Easy Bake Oven and Joe The Basketball Player. I really couldn't choose just one. (although if you put a gun to my head, I'd go with Jamal) Jamal was awesome in the first half. I can't confirm this, but I'm pretty sure he broke Paul Pierce's ankles. He dropped him off a couple of times tonight on his way to a highlight worthy layup. (unfortunately none of the layups made the highlight reels) Joe The Basketball Player showed up in the 4th qtr. I was not happy about the fact that he stopped all ball movement, but he hit his shots so I really can't wild out about it tonight. I still don't think that's they route we need to take offensively, but it worked tonight so I'll shut up. Honorable Mention: Za Za Pachullia. He came in along with Crawford and ignited the Hawks second quarter run. Gotta love Za Za!

The Bad: Boston Celtics not named Paul Pierce. Pierce was great tonight. I'm not going to wax poetic about him because quite frankly it would make me queasy. Just know that he was efficient and effective. He did all those Pierce like things that make people who don't root for Boston hate him. You know, elbow jumpers, getting to the foul line and etc.....

The Ugly: Third Quarter Officiating. Look, I know the officials need to control the game, but they went from controlling the game in the first half to micromanaging it in the third quarter. Were it not for free throws, the Celtics easily lose this game by at least fifteen. They shot twenty free throws in the 3rd quarter! twenty free throws is a lot for an entire game let alone one damn quarter. I'm not even going to talk much about the flagrant foul that Josh Smith picked up because he wrapped his arms around Kendrick Perkins, I'll just say I expect the league to rescind it and send Josh a detailed apology written in calligraphy on the finest stationery.

Up next is the Orlando Magic. An interesting thing is at stake in this game. If the Hawks win Mike Woodson gets to coach the All Star game. We need this to happen in the worst way so I hope the Hawks get way up for this game and finally beat Dwight and the gang.



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

Hawks 93, Celtics 85 or Where Jamal Crawford Has Earned A New Nickname

The Hawks are 2-0 against the Celtics this season. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know that the Hawks can do no worse than split the season series. Good times! Jamal Crawford was awful good tonight. I do mean that literally. He took some bad shots, but that's okay because he made some of them. He was so good I had to think of a nickname for him when he has nights like this. I use Joe The Basketball Player when appropriate, and I shall now refer to Jamal Crawford as The Easy Bake Oven. As a matter of fact, that nickname can describe Jamal whether he's playing well or not just because of the inconsistency of the Easy Bake Oven. You'd have to be a girl or have had sisters who owned one to understand, but it just feels right. The Easy Bake Oven was awesome!!!!!!!!! Sometimes.......... Once you understood that the heat distribution was going to be uneven, meaning the middle of your brownie would likely not be as done as the outside, you loved it! It didn't always work well, but you still wanted a new one for Christmas every year. The Easy Bake Oven was the gift of gifts for little girls. You had the ability to bake brownies at the age of 8 with little adult supervision. That's pure awesomeness!
Jamal Crawford reminds me of my Easy Bake Oven. He's not going to be great every night, but I can live with that because I know there will be some great nights. Just like the distribution of heat in the oven, Jamal's hot streaks are unpredictable, but when he's on, he's on. He's the best sixth man in the league and he's on my favorite team which makes him awesome. The Easy Bake Oven only had a limited number of uses so you had to get the most out of it while you could. Jamal is no different. We don't know how long he'll be in Atlanta, but I know we're going to get the most out of him while we can.

Jamal Crawford or EBO.



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

A Quick Conversation with Jamal Crawford (as seen in Score)

Since coming to the Hawks this summer Jamal Crawford has wasted no time ingratiating himself to the city of Atlanta. His bags are barely unpacked yet he's already had two charity events. Tis the season for giving and he is giving a lot to this city on and off the court. I caught up with him for a few minutes at his annual Giving Tree event. You can check out the interview HERE

To find out how you can help via Jamal Crawford, check out jamalcrawford.org


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

Hawks 97, Blazers 91 or Where Jamal Crawford was so good I didn't even notice Jeff Teague's DNP (Coach's Decision)

Hawks fans, your girl is down and almost out. I either have a really bad chest and head cold, the flu, Pneumonia or something else that drains all of your energy, takes your voice and prevents you from sleeping because you can't breathe or stop coughing. I am sick.

I did however muster up enough energy to watch the Hawks/Blazers game last night and I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't fold after the Blazers gut punched them. I'm getting dizzy, so on with the G B U (there will be no links in this post)

The Good: Jamal Crawford: When Joe Johnson was threatening to shoot them out of the first half, he was shooting them into it. 27 points, 7 assists and no turnovers. When Jamal is good, he's great. Honorable mention: Second half Joe Johnson.

The Bad: The First Quarter. The Blazers came out swinging and the Hawks were back pedalling.

The Ugly: Joe Johnson's First Half. He was 1-8 with 2 points. Honorable mention: Jeff Teague DNP

For more thorough analysis visit: Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawkstr8talk and Humanhighlightblog.

More Questions Than Answers

Now that the draft is over as is the tenure of one Mr. Acie Law IV in Atlanta, it's time to look at the team and assess what kind of off season they've had thus far.

1. They did not extend nor did they fire Mike Woodson. Rick Sund and the gang are content with letting Woody coach this season with no contract. They see it as honoring his contract and giving him a chance to prove his worth. I see it as a disaster waiting to happen. MAKE A DECISION! It is not a good idea to go into this season letting Mike Woodson coach a team that he has already proven he cannot get maximum effort out of night after night without a contract. There are certain players on the team who shall remain nameless (everyone not named Joe Johnson) who have limited respect for Woody. Do we really want to see what their reaction is when there's no guarantee he'll be back next season? Actually, for comical purposes I do want to see it.

2. They traded Acie Law and Craig Claxton's expiring contract for Jamal Crawford. I have absolutely nothing against Jamal Crawford. I can't stress that enough. He's fun to watch and you just know he's going to have a 50 point game or two throughout the season. However, he's a streaky volume shooter who is not a point guard and he's a reluctant defender. If the plan is to have him play point guard and have Joe play shooting guard then I see the Hawks reverting back to the days when they were winning around 30 games. We tried the whole two guard playing point guard thing the first two years with Joe Johnson. It wasn't a good idea then it's not a good idea now. Crawford is supposedly insurance just in case they can't re-sign Mike Bibby, but it's not really an even exchange. Crawford is more interested in shooting than passing. It's just who he is. He's a higher priced Flip Murray. The only way for this to work would be for the Hawks to re-sign Bibby and let Crawford replace Flip. Yes he's going to be a very highly paid bench player, but that's the only way this has even the slightest chance at being successful.

3. Al Horford may never get to shoot again. The way they are going about constructing this team Al's points are going to have to come off of put backs. Oh, so nothing will change.

4. The Hawks drafted another combo guard in Jeff Teague. I don't know much about Teague. I'm not even going to pretend that I do, but from everything I've read he's just like Ben Gordon (not a bad thing). Again, this does not address the team's point guard needs. The chances of Teague getting any real playing time are slim to none anyway. See Law, Acie for examples on how Woody treats young players. If Woody wouldn't develop players when he had a couple of years left on his contract he's certainly not going to start when his job is actually on the line. In this case I can't blame him because if my job were on the line I probably wouldn't put my fate in the hands of a first year intern.

There are still a ton of questions to be answered about this team. They still have to figure out what to do with Marvin, Za Za, Flip and to a lesser degree Josh Childress. I don't know what this team will look like when training camp opens up, but right now consider me uninspired.