Game Thread #43: Phoenix at Atlanta
by hawksdawgs on Jan 25, 2009 2:36 PM EST
in Game Threads
75 comments
WHO: Phoenix Suns (23-18) at Atlanta (26-16)
WHERE: SportSouth, Hawks Radio Network, NBA Audio League Pass
Injury Report: Al Horford is out, continuing my ever growing separation anxiety. Acie Law is a game time decision. Steve Nash is a game timer too, but I expect him to play and to play well.
For Entertainment Purposes Only: Atlanta -2.5, 211 o/u
Blogging With the Enemy: Bright Side of the Sun
Thanks to blog night 2k9, I will be live blogging from the Highlight Factory in the game thread. Feel free to join the conversation to lampoon my observations or just to inform me that Domenique is fairly sure the last shot was a "heat check" or "a dagger" has just been delivered.
The Suns are in their second to last game of the team's longest road trip. Add to that a late afternoon Sunday start and Steve Nash's bad back and everything seems to point to an easy Hawk win. I, of course, refuse to believe such optimistic signs.
However, I am always excited to see Shaq live and in person though, and I plan to let you know at least four times that I cannot believe how big that man is.
Also, after a full year of regret over my wardrobe choice for last year's blog night, dignity will again take its rightful place at home, and I will be attending tonight's event in my Al Hoford jersey.
Go Hawks and see you in the comments.
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1st update
in the box, waiting on rick, watching marvin shoots threes, listening to cheesy late 70s music.
only person wearing any hawks gear. i am a tool.
rick sund
i liked him, but he could also beat me up. so i may be a bit conflicted. more to come on him later.
20-8
Hawks look horrible. Not good when the Suns are up 12 and Amare could just as well not be playing yet.
Solo just shut down Steve Nash on the perimeter.
Solo just shut down Steve Nash on the perimeter.
that deserved to be typed twice.
Randolph Morris talking about who he wants to go to dinner with
1. MLK jr.
2. Kurt Cobain.
And no McSmiles did not crack one.
27-26 Suns
Joe two for one three. Flip on the assists
a) I can’t believe we are only down one.
b) I can’t believe Flip did not take the shot.
end of one 27-26 Suns
note: Flip got his shot in with a half court heave.
I feel better. He feels better. All is right in the world.
How are we only down one again?
Flip likes difficult passes
As much as he likes shooting the 2 for 1.
You can’t expect a man to say no to such natural instincts for too long.
Hawks mysteriously just went up five
and then felt bad about it and played horrible on a couple of possessions to get the scored tied again.
fair is fair.
Joe spending most of hhis time taking the ball to the hoop
kind of surprised by that.
42-40 Hawks. 5:33 to go in the second.
We are not suppose to cuss via blog night rules so I will just say holly gee wiz Josh Smith just did a super duper dunk on Steve Nash
I got on the computer just to see what you'd say about that.
Are commentors allowed to use foul language?
Just in case, I’ll add that that dunk was awesome.
seriously that dunk was unreal
Marvin got a wide open dunk because they were not going to let Josh embarrass anyone again.
at least three suns players have hurt feelings over that Josh Smith dunk.
Lopez is crying on the bench.
Othello Hunter wears number 50 in case you are wondering
i only know this because he just came into the game.
who says Shaq does not affect games anymore?
Also
No one’s had a “heat check” yet.
I think players have learned not to check their heat in front of ’Nique so often.
tha' DUNK
Nique said it was 9.5 on the dunk-o-meter—“very difficult to do, taking off from outside the lane with an defender underneath…”
CoCo said on Hoopinion that injuries were sometimes good for a team in that they can require other players to step up. I could not agree more…ever since Horford went down JSmoove has been back to his playing-around-the-post self, and much more active on the boards. He looks good for the first time in a while. Baby hooks!!
Bibby is cold after sitting for a quarter with two fouls
but he usually needs four fouls to work with so I get it.
then Josh made a circus shot
with a foul that would have put me in the hospital.
not a lot of defense for the Hawks though. 68-66 Suns.
a guy next to us just whooped like we won the game
over an Amare missed free throw.
i guess it was cool.
also of note, shaq is a huge man.
three point take off for a fan
and flip passed on the three.
jerk move.
but he made the two so i can live with it.
these days delta only lets you use sky miles on flights after midnight anyway.
Disappointing
THe Hawks lost this game because Joe Johnson decided he had to win it by himself in the end…and because he apparently would rather try to drop the ball in the basket than dunk it when wide, wide open, with no one around, even.
Has anyone ever see Johnson dunk? He can, right?
Hawks lost because they missed about 10 shots and had 4 turnovers in a 6 minute span…and that 6 minute span was at the end of the fourth quarter.
This is a little crazy. Pachulia gets a little lay-up shot from the hit to fall with 8:42 left. Two minutes later, Bibby hits a three. OF ALL PEOPLE, Solomon Jones is the only Hawk who scores any points the rest of the game. 6 points in the last 6:48, and all 6 points from the 9th man on the bench, a guy who averages 12 minutes per game.
Frustrating loss, and enough said.
Well, again...
…almost all of of the poor decisions/plays at the end were JJ’s. Bibby missed an open 3; JS traveled. Other than that, it was the usual: all Joe, all the time.
On this note, the Suns are a terrible defensive team. They do not have individually bad defensive players, however. This is why we sometimes made them look good—they cannot defend the pick and roll, or serious drive and dish, because Shaq and Stoudemire do not move laterally pretty much AT ALL, but they can double-team and defend against the ball if there is no slasher or brilliant passer to defend against. So the reason we cannot play as well against a team like this is because, even though Bibby is supposedly a great pick and roll guy (definitely was against Milwaukee), JJ has rarely seen a roll he thought worthy of passing to in the 4th quarter, and even if he gets to the hoop he will force a shot against the three defenders that DO move. Game Suns.
The next level for the Hawks is recognizing weaknesses and mismatches and exploiting them every time, like the best teams do.
JJ played a poor fourth quarter
but the same can be said for everyone else. Josh Smith attempted three jumpshots, pretty much as good as turnovers, and then added two turnovers in the process. It’s unfortunate that the traveling call occurred while he was attacking the paint because it’s like he was scared out of it. Bibby hit a three and missed several other shots.
Marvin had a mismatch with Barbosa trying to guard him-why can’t you run an Iso play for Marvin in those sitautions? I mean, his only 4th quarter shot attempt came on that run out that Amare blocked.
JJ at least had 13 assists on the game. He does other things when he’s not shooting well on most nights, like getting 6 steals as well. That’s 13 assists on the 30 made baskets by the other Hawks-he alone assisted on 43.3% of made shots. His fourth quarter was poor, but his game wasn’t overall horrible.
But since I can't let it go...
..if you can, re-watch what happened on that dunk by Solo in the 4th where they left him in his own zip code under the basket.
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