Preview and Game Thread #2: Washington Wizards @ Atlanta Hawks
by hawksdawgs on Oct 30, 2009 3:35 PM EDT
208 comments
Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks, Oct 30, 2009 7:30 PM EDT
| Atlanta Hawks 09-10 Season Game #2 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
@ |  |
| 1-0 | 1-0 |
|
| Philips Arena |
||
| October 30th, 2009, 7:30 PM | ||
| Fox Sports South, Hawks Radio Network, NBA Audio League Pass | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Gilbert Arenas |
PG | Mike Bibby |
| Mike Miller |
SG | Joe Johnson |
| Caron Butler |
SF | Marvin Williams |
| Fabricio Oberto | PF | Josh Smith |
| Brendan Haywood |
C | Al Horford |
|
|
||
Hawks Injury Report: None.
Wizards Injury Report: Antawn Jamison and Javaris Crittenton are out. If the first game is any indication, Nick Young might as well be injured.
Blogging With the Enemy: Bullets Forever, Truth about It
Predicted bane of the Hawks existence: Mike Miller. It would only be fitting on Georgia/Florida weekend. (It should be noted that I would choose JaVale McGee if I thought he was going to play. The man hates the Hawks and loves offensive rebounding).
Game Preview:
This may sound weird but with Antawn Jamison, the Wizards are kind of like the Indiana Pacers with Gilbert Arenas. Put another way, the Wizards are nothing like the Pacers except they are not super in to defense and the Hawks front court should have another big night.
Seriously, Josh Smith needs to come out like a crazy man again because I don't think Oberto can stay with pouty, half trying Josh. And in my only interview with an NBA player ever, Al Horford told me his least favorite player to go against was Brendan Haywood. True story. Apparently, Haywood has a few cheap moves and then apologizes and then does them again. So Brendan and I are not friends. Nor will we ever be. See, I am on of the most loyal fake friends you will ever see. Regardless, I hope Al plays like he still doesn't like Brendan because I think he will be successful.
This game is important. Washington is suppose to and I expect will be one of the teams vying for the 4th seed along side the Hawks. A 2-0 start would do a world of good going into one of the tougher road trips of the season. And it is at home, and until the Hawks prove they can win on the road, every home game is a must win.
The Hawks are going to have their hands full with Mr. Arenas. I will be interest to see who guards him, but it is a safe bet to rule out Mike Bibby. I still don't think a great Gilbert is enough to beat the Hawks at home so shutting down the other Wizards is going to be key. The Hawks are going to have to take team defense to another level to stop young Mr. Arenas though.
Keys to the game:
- Front court dominance on both ends of the floor. Especially if Joe is saddled with the responsibility of slowing down Gilbert.
- Jamal Crawford or Marvin Williams step up.
- Protect the three point line. The Hawks had some weird/ugly/bad rotation for most of the Pacer game. I would encourage not leaving Mike Miller open for long stretches.
I am headed to Phillips, but started the game thread early to get your thoughts on what could turn out to be the Hawks biggest competition, new ways we can dislike Haywood for no other reason than Al would like it, and why the Hawks are certainly going to win or most definitly going to lose.
Remember, comment of the game thread is in play. Go to actions under any comment you like and recommend it to win. Even if you want to win. Because lets get serious, we all win in the game thread.
Go Hawks!
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speaking of questions
if the wizard can cast spells which he is doing in the logos, you would think he would do something cooler than a finger role.
also, the wizards scare me the more I write about them.
did you see the link
his rookie option was not picked up. so he is a free agent now. if the hawks were willing to pick up a 14th guy, he is at least decent in that wing area. plus, if we ever play duke, he could be huge.
His option for 2010/11 wasn't picked up
You pick up rookie options a year in advance, so he’s a free agent next year, not this year.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
i am an idiot
that is all.
except that it makes sense to the one question i had regarding the fact that the season already started.
Keys
1.Front court dominance on both ends of the floor. Especially if Joe is saddled with the responsibility of slowing down Gilbert.
We need that balanced scoring attack we exhibited in the Pacer Game. Got to love the less Joe ISO.
Keys
2.Jamal Crawford or Marvin Williams step up.
Perfect time for Crawford to guard Arenas. If Crawford wants playing time, what better way is there to get minutes on a Woody team. Lets see some D. We all salivated over the 9 assists. A little of the same would get the glands working again.
Hmmmmmm
jj vs gilbert, gots to love it. Although, I would like to see teague and crawford fill out their role more a bit but im confident in the first and second unit. Especially joe smith, still got it.
Nothin Less Than Real
Joe Smith
I worried a little about losing Solo but Smith has eased my concerns. “Still got it”
by RivBoatGambler on Oct 30, 2009 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions
plus solo never really had it.
i would not mind seeing a little teague vs. gilbert (like 2 minutes) just to see what happens.
Joe Smith is gonna be a good addition...
he’s a solid player, and has a good all around game. He’ll bang with bigs, or step out and work from the edges. He’s been a solid rotation piece for 10 years for good reason. Clearly not worth the #1 pick in that draft, but he’s got a good game.
Most important in my mind though is Joe Smith the vet. Joe Johnson isn’t much of a vocal leader, and I think Joe Smith is a perfect guy to join Mike Bibby in the “been there, done that” group and exert his influence on the games of Josh Smith and Horford by years end. He has great potential in working with those two in practice and improving mentally. (and this paragraph just showed what a pain in the ass this will be to discuss. You can’t say Smith, we have 2, you can’t say Joe, because we have 2, you can’t really short Joe Smith and not risk it getting confused for a teammate)
Keys
3.Protect the three point line. The Hawks had some weird/ugly/bad rotation for most of the Pacer game. I would encourage not leaving Mike Miller open for long stretches.
Would to see Woody play more zone and straight up man to man defense. We always seem a step slow on 3 pt shots. A little burn for JT with Al and Josh would leave Miller gasping for air.
i am always a sucker for running
as long as you can still board.
see Chicago last night for a good example.
And Miller isn't the only threat...
Arenas is not afraid to fire away (a career high of 8 made, 15 taken). Caron Butler (5 made, 9 attempts are his career highs), Randy Foye (6 and 10), Deshawn Stevenson (8/12), and Nick Young (3/6). They can load the floor with bombers as much or more than the Pacers could. If we give them space, they definitely have some makers.
why the hell does my channel guide say Grizzlies?...
Really, the Grizzlies? Their own mamas don’t even want to watch that mess of a mule orgy.
We should win
as long as Josh and Al are the best 2 bigs. Their guard play may frustrate us but we have good backcourt depth too
by coachkcastellon on Oct 30, 2009 6:56 PM EDT reply actions
Why did you put game time as 4:30 pm PDT?
by coachkcastellon on Oct 30, 2009 6:57 PM EDT reply actions
I am in the blackout zone for the Wizards.
So I have to watch online. Please delay all coments 10 seconds. Thanks in advance.
No offense so far
We need to run plays we look deathly lazy on O right now
by coachkcastellon on Oct 30, 2009 7:46 PM EDT reply actions
Josh Smith...
who is apparently a huge Paula Abdul fan, cause he’s always taking two steps forward and two steps back.
by Mr. Sanchez on Oct 30, 2009 7:52 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Zaza comes in...
and all of a sudden, the Hawks lead. Amazing how that happens. The half beard is the key to the season.
We shall henceforth be known as the Atlanta Halfbeards, and go undefeated.
by Mr. Sanchez on Oct 30, 2009 8:07 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Deshawn Stevenson...
tries to counter the halfbeard effect, but it’s too ugly.
by Mr. Sanchez on Oct 30, 2009 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Listening to the WSH announcers...
You’d think the Wiz was the 1986 Celtics.
This is Gorman/Heinsohn bad.
Commercial Break Trade Suggestion
It’s only the first game, and this is only the first time Bibby is literally incapable of guarding anyone on the floor, but it’s never too soon for trade speculation. So, how about Bibby for Andre Miller?
Andre Miller’s coming off the bench in Portland, it’s a joke. He’s disgruntled. They have basically the same contract. The Blazers were talking about trading for Bibby all year last year. It seems too easy. Obviously, he just got there, and I don’t think they can trade him yet anyway (can they?). But he’d be perfect for distributing the ball to our ridiculous athletes, he never misses a game, and he can actually play defense, good defense.
Bibby’s 3pt shooting was obviously a huge part of our success last year, but, now that we’ve got Crawford, a 3pt shooting PG isn’t as necessary.
Obviously,
I’m not saying we should do it because Crawford is good. Only because Miller doesn’t want to come off the bench for the first time in his career:
"If I was told right out when I had my meetings that I would be a backup, then I wouldn’t have come here," Miller told Yahoo! Sports this week.
So, if they actually keep him on the bench, he could easily request a trade. So, it’s more about taking advantage of that. I don’t normally suggest trading starters during our second game.
I do like Miller.
I think we’d lose very little.
But I like Bibby’s fire and team mentality. Andre Miller is apparently anti-social and not a leader.
Yeah........that's what I meant......{avoids eye contact}
In Dimitroff we trust
by Bonhoffer on Oct 30, 2009 8:35 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Joe Smith THREE?!?!?
That’s when you know your team is on fire.
by Duff_Man on Oct 30, 2009 8:37 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Joe Smith looks a lot younger out there.
I really like the way he plays. I can’t say it enough…Sund really came through this off-season.
Jamal,
“Coach told me to be agressive, they didn’t bring me hear to be PASSive.” I’m not complaining.
Off the bench, I agree.
That’s what made Flip so good last year. He was so much more aggressive then we had seen from our bench.
We need that guy coming in. Score a lot, score often. That trade was a prison rape.
He's playing better.
And it pains me to say that, but it is true.
Woody is managing hot players right now…be still my heart.
Good first half
Huge half from Jamal, 15 points on 7 shots, a sweet feed to Josh off the pick and roll, and 3 defensive(!) stops on Caron Butler. I was not expecting that from him.
One of the Wizards announcers
Has a fantastic fake tan.
by Duff_Man on Oct 30, 2009 8:50 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
There...Rec'd
I didn’t think i deserved it last game anyway. I only had time for an observation and then I had to bolt.
In Dimitroff we trust
...and that is really cold
In Dimitroff we trust
by Bonhoffer on Oct 30, 2009 9:07 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Shelden Williams
Anybody notice Shelden Williams and
Solo getting more playing time on their respective teams than they got here?
Celts and Pacers should worry about that.
4 of the worst hands in the NBA.
by Duff_Man on Oct 30, 2009 9:10 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
It's a little sad
But seems to be working, and in this economy…
"This is America, if we can’t self-righteously look down on others and blame them for our faults, the commies win."-----Cormican on Bleeding Green Nation w/r/t fans overreacting to the Eagles signing of Michael Vick
Arenas is now the second or third option.
What is FLip Saunders doing running the offense thru Haywood?
Jason collins
Anybody know what’s up with Jason Collins
You have Miller, Arenas, Foye, Butler
And you insist on running every play through Haywood? They should be running every play for outside shots for those guys.
I know Butler is out, but still. This is ridiculous.
hawks crowds
watching at home tonight, but it looks like another light crowd – this team deserves better (especially noticable after catching the last few minutes of the raptors/cavs game on nbatv the other night)
If Jevale McGee played the Hawks everry game
he would rank right up there with Wilt, Russell and Shaq.
Why is there always some scrub like McGee who plays like a hall-of-famer against the Hawks?
It sort of reminds me of Mike Redmond against the Braves. He was the guy who batted like .800 against Glavine over a 4 year period.
Reminded me of a young Duff_Man
Back when I was wet from three. Catch in motion and silk it.
/Tears falling from my glory days…
Maturity is a beautiful thing
Josh is taking it to another level. As beautiful as that dunk was, the cut and dish on the play before was the thing that will turn him from Dunk guy to Superstar.
the great steve smith
’nique is okay, but that last throwdown called for a signature steve smitty, high-pitched, “HOOOOO-WHOOOO”.
i wish i could have steve’s call as my ring tone!
bibby
…just looked like me in high school ball when i was too short and unathletic to play with the top guys
Rec Duff_Man!
Woo hoo!
Great game, Hawks!
Bench is great, all off-season pik-ups look great!
3-3 off the road is OK by me!
Word to the wise
If you decide not to go to the game after buying your tickets, don’t try to sell said tickets at a sports bar WHILE THE GAME IS GOING ON.
lol.
by Bronn on Oct 30, 2009 10:22 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Just saying
I’m sitting watching the game at the bar, and there’s a guy with four tickets to the Hawks game trying to sell them. This is like, during the second quarter. And lest you think it just down the street from Phillips, it was in Douglasville.
And you couldn’t make out like the game hadn’t started yet…it’s on tv right in front of everyone.
hawks win and i am happy
three dance by the a town dancers, wife is happy
joe smith three pointer? we are all happy.
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