Oklahoma City Thunder 94, Atlanta Hawks 91 or the blame game
by hawksdawgs on Jan 18, 2010 6:11 PM EST
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PrintDon't ever say the Hawks fail to offer you something in a loss. Whoever you enjoy blaming for Hawks' losses, they gave you a plethora of material.
The ol' stand by
My go to will always be Mike Woodson. He actually had a top three today.
- His overwhelmingly clear ability to show he was out coached coming out of the locker room at halftime.
- Allowing Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford to take 14 fourth quarter shots to Al Horford and Josh Smith's combined three.
- Designing a play for Jamal Crawford at the end of the game when he was 0-5 in the period.
There was no rhyme or reason to the game plan today. I am nearly positive the pick and roll worked every time but once and that was a fluke poke away steal when Josh was going to have a wide open basket. To Woody's credit, it was a small sample size because the Hawks stopped running it pretty early in the first half.
Desperately trying to pile on, it is nearly laughable when your coach either allows for or cannot control against two players to shoot from the outside and miss, move inside and miss, and then go back outside and miss some more. Don't feel too bad though, both our front court guys still got a "screw you" double double.
Jamal Crawford, seductively bad
Man can this guy sweet talk you. He drills two threes at the end of the third and dishes out some nice assist and the next thing I know I am sucking my thumb and cheering horrible jump shots and out of control drives. I love what Jamal has brought to the team, but rule number one with Jamal Crawford is control Jamal Crawford. Because the man will keep hucking shots. In the fourth quarter, all the Hawks did was push him to go faster down the hill of frustration.
Joe Johnson, money maker
When the Joe Show starts in the first quarter at a time when Josh Smith has seven points on two easy baskets and two trips to the foul line, you know it is going to be a long afternoon. Every shot Joe hit today was met by "finally" instead of "yes." It was basically a game of "tough shots" but the tough shots came at the expense of all that was good about the offense. Unlike so many nights, Joe did not attempt to bail the offense out today. He attempted to get his points.
And for once, I only blame him so much. Because the man is trying to make money. Tonight he finished the game with his box score at plus 20 points, played hard on defense, and went 5 to 1 assist to turnover. And as far as I can tell, Joe either has no other option within the offensive game plan but to take 12 bad shots a game or he has no coaching influence that asks him to run something different
Put another way, up to, the Thunder ran Kevin Durant off a couple screens with last one KD rubbing raw. He caught the ball and immediately rose up for a jumper. It was the fourth quarter. It was an actual play for the best player. And I felt weird seeing it happen.
The whole dang team
The crowd was surprisingly great. We honestly could not have rooted the team on harder to get over the hump when everyone and their mother and then their grandmother was missing shots in the fourth quarter.
The crowd became a serious factor...against the Hawks. The team just kept jacking up threes. One might have been a bad shots. A few were early in the shot clock. But for the most part, they were wide open misses. The Hawks just could not hit shots when it mattered. And credit to the Thunder for staying focused and hitting enough to win.
At some point though, I think the crowd cheered a few Hawks on to shoot the dagger three when all we needed was an easy layup. The recap would have been different if a few of those had gone in, but players are paid to hit open shots and there ain't no credit for being open when you miss.
The refs
So easy to blame and the Hawks missed way too many open opportunities down the stretch down for it to matter, but if Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson got the same calls Durant got, they might not have been almost doubled up on free throw attempts combined. There is absolutely no way Joe Johnson deserves as many calls as it looks like. He lacks the athleticism to initiate and finish which has led him to be incredibly crafty in the lane to avoid contact. But if they are going to call chest bump fouls 20 feet from the basket, Joe should go to the line 10 times a game.
But for real not the refs thoughts, but a whole post about complaining would almost be remiss. Don't ever accuse me of not being a homer.
Who else am I missing? I wanted to blame Mario West and his three point foul, but I figure others will me more passionate. At the very least rest easy with this, Marvin Williams did not pick up another foul after he sat for over 12 minutes to avoid his third foul in the first half.
Go Hawks!
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What can i say....
The hawks NEED NEED NEED NEED to get to the foul line. They played right into a young teams hands by jacking up shots when they should have drove way more.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
Seriously
I was though proud of Josh hitting all his free throws
by da fatchick thrilla on Jan 18, 2010 6:56 PM EST up reply actions
Jamal missed a lot of shots, but I felt like he was attacking the basket to at least get
some free throws. I like JJ, but tonight I felt like he was all about getting his shot. JC got too much attention for his buzzer beater on Friday so JJ had to come in and prove his worth. I don’t think anybody is looking at JC as a replacement for JJ at this point. JC is thriving in his role as the 6th man. I just really feel ego played a part in our loss tonight. There is no way that we can have two of the most dynamic big men in the game and not utilize that until somebody on the opposing team stops it. It’s absurd. If Woody is bitching about people jacking up 3s and doesn’t do anything to stop it, then what is his purpose? Show me what’s on the damn white board you’re scribbling on during TO’s.
It should really upset JJ that he's been in the league for this long and can't get to the foul
line as much as a player who’s only been in the league 2 years.
Are we cursed on holidays?
See: Thanksgiving, New Years
by da fatchick thrilla on Jan 18, 2010 6:53 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
We've come to a strange crossroads
Josh Smith is no longer our most inconsistent player. The honor falls to Joe Johnson, which makes this nearly bizarro world compared to three seasons ago. Jamal Crawford might deserve honorable mention based on his way to be maddeningly inconsistent within the context of a single game.
I have to agree with a lot of what you wrote
However, I must point out JC came with a disclaimer. He’s more than lived up to what we could have hoped for in a guy coming off the bench. I also give him a slight pass today because at the very least he TRIED to get to foul line by driving to the basket. I’ll say again. This game was lost on JJ’s ego. Plain and simple. He played 40+ minutes for nothing. I have to blame Woody for a lot of this. I say that because, in crunch time, no matter how bad JJ is struggling or pressing the issue, Woody draws up a play for him anyway. Why? He was clearly pressing the issue in the game against Phoenix. But who do we draw up a play for with 3.5 seconds to go? Had he gotten the ball, we would be up against a 2 game losing streak.
Today was yet another illustration
of how contract year Joe Johnson can kill this team. This loss falls on the guards and Woody. One of them has to make a commitment to get the most efficient scorer more touches. 2 shots in the second half is unacceptable by anyone’s standards. It’s like they don’t care when Al is matched up against players who can’t guard him. Joe’s 4th quarter can only be described as selfish. Period.
Fire Woody, ...
Hire Bill Cowher. He could get these guys playing with intensity. Who cares if he doesn’t know basketball, that’s what assistants and Bibby are for.
well I love jj in all but he forced shots and pressed when he should not have
I’m always gonna blame the coach because the team is a reflection of the coach. smooth and al should have had the ball more, they should have ran more, yada yada. but one thing I can bet is that they do everything correctly on Wednesday against Sacramento and maybe blow them out……….they have a record of all the sudden doin it right then doin it wrong. if the Shit works, why not stick to it?
by Hawksgirl on Jan 18, 2010 10:11 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I would like to see Smooth and Al start demanding the ball
Just being open isn’t enough. Josh and Horf have to be much more vocal.
i think josh is vocal for the entire block
when it comes to getting fouled. But not when he got burned for that dunk by tom green….oops jeff. If Josh actually demanded the ball in the post instead of the wing that’ll be great. If Al could get the ball and go to his right sometimes that’ll be awesome.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
Sigh
i was there in person, with a few co-workers. All excited when we got free red shirts at door. And then the game started, we were always behind it seemed. What an uphill struggle.
I have to give kudos to the young Thunder. They shoot the ball really well and they are tall and athletic. Time after time, they took advantage of mismatch with Bibby. Sigh…
Even though, we stay in it with some timely three, only to have Jamal and JJ take the entire Thunder on one on five on two or three occasions. Mind is not cooperating 4-5 beers later :) things are foggy when one attends in person. It just seems like (old gripe i know) we don’t plan for anything on offense but one on one crap.
Well at least Celtics are losing, and i hope so do Orlando after this, but tonight i am struggling to see the light. Sigh…
did we miss the trade deadline?
anybody we can add to the team?
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
What can we get for Mo Evans?
A piece of bubble gum and a tic tac?
by dstdeelite on Jan 18, 2010 11:06 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Because at this point I don't see his value
He’s ice cold with his shooting stroke and he’s a foul machine on defense. Not to mention he has caught a case of the Joshies. No foul called on him is ever warranted and he takes topless photos to show off his new bod after his summer workout. I’m still A little freaked out by it.
by dstdeelite on Jan 18, 2010 11:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Hey guys
Remember at the start of the year when all the starters had playing time averages in the mid-30s? That was nice. When was the last time any Hawk didn’t play over 40 minutes in a close game?
I don’t wanna see us break down in the playoffs like last year just so we could get 5 more wins.
It helps when you blow the other team out like we did so much earlier in the season
I was curious as to where our players are ranked in the NBA in minutes per game against other players at their positions, so hear ya go…
Centers
Al Horford – #5
Guards
Joe Johnson – #10
Jamal Crawford – #39
Mike Bibby – #52
Forwards
Josh Smith – #26
Marvin Williams – #39
These are pretty reasonable numbers as they stand now. Horford is one of the top centers in the pros, so naturally he will get big minutes. And love him or (sometimes) hate him, Joe is a very important piece that opens up shots for other players.
As for Jeff Teague, he has played a total of 352 minutes this season, ranked #29 among rookies. Being the 19th pick in the draft, you’d like to see him ranked #19 or so, which would be another 200 minutes. In all fairness though, we have Jamal Crawford taking major minutes from the guard position (and rightfully so). Plus, Teague just hasn’t put up good stats so far. You can make the argument that he hasn’t been given the opportunity to grow. You could also say that maybe he isn’t ready to take on a major role for us yet. But one thing I know for sure, let’s not give his minutes to Mario West, what’s the point?
Let's push this bird out of the nest.
by Yes I Am A Hawks Fan on Jan 19, 2010 1:48 AM EST up reply actions
Remember back in the day
When Teague got minutes, Joe passed the ball, and J-Smith and Al averaged double doubles?
by coachkcastellon on Jan 18, 2010 11:41 PM EST reply actions
Oh Joe...
It’s hard to say if Coach Woodson or JJ lost this game. I’m leaning more towards Joe; way too many overly-contested shots. I don’t think any coach calls plays (besides buzz beaters) that don’t give the player the choice to pass the ball if need be. He was clearly pressing at times early in the shot clock, before any noticable play was even attempting to be implemented. But Woodson was out-coached, and though I’m not one to harp on giving Teague major minutes, he should have been utilized in this game with JJ cold.
As far as the last shot, giving it to JC was the right move. Sure, he missed his five fourth-quarter shots, but he was still riding the confidence of the Suns game. Who else? Joe? Bibby? I’ll take Crawford, it just didn’t work out.
Let’s not be too disheartened. There is much inconsistency throughout the NBA this season, and it’s easy to think we need a big trade or new coach to fix things. You would feel the same way watching every game of another team, I promise you. We need to learn from these games, get hot to end the season, and ride it through the playoffs. GO HAWKS!
Let's push this bird out of the nest.
by Yes I Am A Hawks Fan on Jan 19, 2010 1:09 AM EST reply actions
This will continue to be the result
When we have a coach who doesn’t care about the offense. We actually played semi-solid defense, yet it’s the offense that loses us games.
"Big Ten can have this challenge. Duke loses, we all win..."
-Marcus Ginyard, G - UNC
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