Miami 95, Hawks 79 (or the life and times of an NBA team trying to break 80 points)

by hawksdawgs on Jan 27, 2009 9:46 AM EST

Ok Dwayne, you can have that one.

Seven assists.

The Hawks managed to bring home seven assists last night. That matched the number of two point jump shots Dwayne Wade made from one specific spot on the floor.

Certainly some missed opportunities and some bad "heat checks" contributed to the total, but a more glaring problem exists that this number seven just keeps reminding me of, prodding me, hurting my feelings. A truly biblical number looming over the team's head with biblical proportions.

Without the three pointer going down early and relatively often, the Hawks do not have the patience or offensive sets to win many games against average and above teams.

Because without that three ball, the Hawks turn into a post up offense*. An offense that has a few minor weaknesses.

The Hawks are horrible at getting the ball into the post and/or getting open in the post. Twice last night, Joe Johnson posted up, already 18 feet from the basket, working like his mom just yelled at him, trying to get position. Slowly he was pushed outside the three point line and literally received the ball, still posted up against his defender now 27 feet from the basket.
The Hawks, outside of maybe Josh Smith, are not good at passing out of the post. And the Inspector is one of the more impatient post players. It all leads to stagnant, predictable play usually resulting in a one on three offensive possession as the Hawk player with the ball heads to the hoop with blinders on.
The Hawks do not run any kind of motion offense unless you consider setting screens to have someone else hold the ball 24 feet from the basket a motion offense.

Sometimes, when the threes are not falling, the Hawks can athlete themselves out the funk. In large part, they did this during Sunday's Suns game. And we all saw the offensive performance of that fourth quarter.

I am just tired of seeing stretches where the only guess work in the offense is thinking about who is going to post up with 12 seconds left on the shot clock.

*I am aware the Hawks run one other play. The Joe Johnson drive and runner from the top of the key. And certainly this play is effective as long as Joe is not playing four on one. Which he is not doing about 34% of the time.

And that was not even the worst part of last night

That three point shot at the end of the third quarter by the Heat put Solo into a negative +/- for the game. In all honesty, that shot hurt the most. As Nique would say, "a true dagger, a true dagger."

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Stinky Game

But hey—-on to New York and SSOL—-a sure cure for the offensive blues!

by Jason Walker on Jan 27, 2009 10:32 AM EST reply actions

I've said it before, but I think it bears repeating...

…that the only player who plays a “motion offense” for the Hawks is Flip Murray. That guy never stops moving and cutting. He brings energy and activity to the second team and sometimes the first team, stats be damned. He does play defense, too. His biggest bugaboo, clearly evident last night, is his inability to shoot when spotted up; he has to be in motion, a “rhythm shooter,” as Nique calls it.

People need to stop hatin’ and recognize Flip’s value in opening up the options for other players, even last night without his best game. I do recall that Flip played against the Suns the night before as well as everyone else…

by rbubp on Jan 27, 2009 10:40 AM EST reply actions

i wanted to metion something like this in the post

so i agree with you to a certain extent. Flip Murray is invaluable to the team in its current form. he does not need/will not post up to get the ball in his hands and score. he drives to the hoop. probes in and out of the defense and runs around like a crazy man. last night it was refreshing to see.

however, if the hawks offensive sets has a little more variety and movement, maybe some players with a better career shooting percentage could get better shots than contested 10-15 footers. it just seems Woodson thinks Flip alone is a good enough change of pace from his two other offensive sets.

by hawksdawgs on Jan 27, 2009 10:53 AM EST up reply actions

Al Horford

Is actually also a good passer from the post. He’s not a fully developed post player, offensively, and due to his size he maybe never will be, but he’s a good man to have the ball in his hands when the shots aren’t falling. He doesn’t make too many bad decisions, aside from a tendency to shuffle his feet before he dribbles. He certainly wouldn’t cure the Hawks’ offensive woes, but perhaps he’d have been the tonic to rescue the Hawks from that loss to Phoenix.

I hope he gets back soon. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the Hawks need another player in the mix, if nothing else. On a cold shooting night, the more people that touch the ball, the better.

by Bronn on Jan 27, 2009 12:02 PM EST reply actions

i left horford out because i don’t think he is very good at passing out of a double team yet (and i think he tends to be full bore to the basket the few times Woody runs plays for him in the post and he is not doubled). but i can live with you even disagreeing with that.

by hawksdawgs on Jan 27, 2009 12:09 PM EST up reply actions

Last night's game

was ugly in ways that I can’t describe with mere words. I’m glad my hard drive on my computer is busted. That’s the excuse I’ll give for not recapping this game. In all actuality my Grandma always said if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all. I’m going to go with that about last night’s game. I think it’s for the best.

by Co Co on Jan 27, 2009 2:06 PM EST reply actions

Go Hawks.

Hey, visiting from Blazers Edge again. Just checking in on the Hawks. I keep an eye on them as they are in similar territory as the Blazers. Admittedly I don’t follow them that closely, but I like to see them win. It’s just not right without Atlanta challenging in the East. It’s been to long.

I hear talk about Bibby. Is he biding time until retirement? He had some great years in Sacramento. He seems pretty inconsistent. I know from a dedicated fan’s prespective teh Hawks have some decent players, but the ones that stand out are Joe Johnson o9f course, Josh Smith and Al Horford. Isn’t Al playing a bit out of position at center? Who is the PF? Smith or Williams?

What pieces are missing rom the team to take the next step?

This isn't the Lakers,...
"It's not Show time. It's GO time!"

"War is Hell. Go to War!"

by GameFace on Jan 27, 2009 2:09 PM EST reply actions

thanks for stopping back by

bibby is certainly not biding time until retirement. he wants one more multi year deal (certainly not like the one he is finishing, but a decent size one). and until this week, he had been playing great offensively to warrant not only thoughts of a contract, but maybe an all star birth. He is still a liability on defense, but overall, when healthy, bibby is a serious upgrade to anything the hawks have had at that position for years.

like coco said, rick sund went on a mini rant to the bloggers on sunday about how Al should play center. It was quite convincing since he was passionate and dropped names like Red Auerbach. Still, the main thrust of his argument was only dwight howard is a better eastern conference center, and while at first that makes you feel good, it does not take much research to realize comparing Horford to the rest of the east centers is not exactly placing him amongst living legends.

by hawksdawgs on Jan 27, 2009 3:20 PM EST up reply actions

Talk to Rick Sund

and he will convince you that Al is playing the correct position. Seriously he has a way with words. Bibby is no more inconsistent than any of the other players on the team at this point. He’s awful on defense, but he’s the best point guard we’ve had in a while and when he’s on him and Joe are as good of a backcourt as you’ll find. The problem is they haven’t been on at the same time recently it seems. These last two games have not been Bibby’s best to say the least.
January has not been kind to Joe.
At.
All.
I looked at them with 7 games to go in January and I hoped for a 4-3 finish. I’m still optimistic about that and I hope one of those 4 wins comes against NJ. I mean really. Really.

by Co Co on Jan 27, 2009 2:23 PM EST reply actions

What do the Hawks need to get to the next level?

1. A better, more consistent inside post threat that can score low, REBOUND, not sacrifice athleticism, and not too upset if not the first scoring option or if JJ decides to do all the shooting at the end of the game. Who is this? IF JSmoove would develop more low-post skills he would be the answer to this issue, but he doesn’t seem to want to bang this way. Ron Artest, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Luis Scola are three of the model I’m thinking of (no fair…Houston has TWO of these guys).

2. An upgrade in the coaching department, so that mismatches are consistently exploited and in-game strategies communicated and effective.

by rbubp on Jan 27, 2009 2:32 PM EST reply actions