Oklahoma City Thunder 106, Atlanta Hawks 99 or sometimes you lose because you are not as good
by hawksdawgs on Feb 3, 2010 10:38 AM EST
19 comments
What an odd game. The Hawks shot the ball better from the field and long distance than the Thunder. They hit their free throws. Joe Johnson was as efficient as he could be. In fact, no one had an outright bad offensive effort. I actually watched this one on DVR and tracked the fourth quarter possessions, there were only three semi bad ones. A Jamal transition three, a turnover by Horford, and a rushed shot by Josh Smith off too much Joe Johnson dribbling. The rest was honest to goodness offense. Even Joe's drives were off screens and producing easy floaters.
The Hawks just could not get stops, and when they did, they could not rebound. You cannot expect great games from every guy, but I do expect, when you get a great game from one guy and no one else kills the team, the Hawks to win, and they did not last night. They just got beat. The Thunder were better. Plain and simple, and when a team with a worse record is just better, that is a scary admission. That brings in talk about this team's ceiling.
Quick hitters
- The defense was so bad that Jamal Crawford only got 28 minutes in a good shooting night. The Hawks did not have an offensive problem (outside of some costly turnovers). They had a rebounding and defensive problem and Jamal cannot shoot his way into solving those issues.
- Al Horford could have easily gone for 20 points tonight and he needed more rebounds. Four of his five misses were at the rim. That is unheard of for Horford. Marvin missed easy shots as well. I really can't say it enough. The shots were there. They just didn't always go in, and unlike the Thunder, they didn't get a second chance to try again.
- I can't say it any better than this, "Durant is for real. He also gets a lot of calls. Tough to say where one ends and the other begins." The end of the second quarter foul run was absurd, but not as absurd as in the final minutes of the fourth quarter Joe getting the ball poked away for a turnover instead of a foul and the very next possession Joe doing the same thing to Durant and getting called for a foul. The game went from in doubt to decided based on the refs. I don't even mind Durant getting all the calls. Joe actually got questionable calls for most of the game. I just don't like seeing the game end on blatant inconsistency. (By the way, I complain way too much about the refs. I am aware of this and working on my issues.)
We are reaching the tipping point of the season. The Hawks need to decide whether they are fine finishing a more hyped version of last year or take a real step forward.
Go Hawks!
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I posted this in the Joe discussion, but I'll repeat:
Joe’s performance last night came at the perfect time in terms of this debate. He could not have had a better statistical shooting night: 37 pts, an insane 65% from the field, 100% FT, 50% from 3. Yet his other numbers were very 2005-6 Kobe-esque: 5 TOs, just 4 Rebs and 3 Asts.
Some stats to consider:
- When Joe scores 28 or more points, the Hawks are 4-6.
- When Joe records 3 or less assists, the Hawks are 8-9.
- When Joe records 7 or more assists, the Hawks are 9-3.
When he is unselfish and doesn’t worry about carrying the team’s scoring load on his back, we succeed. Of course, much of this may be attributable to other players not stepping up on particular nights, but still, the "stats don’t lie."
by dchawk on Feb 3, 2010 10:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Defensive rebounding
That’s what killed the Hawks when it mattered most. And, I now dread games that Mark Wunderlich officiates. Period. I’m not going to watch them if he’s there.
@cocoqt81
by Co Co on Feb 3, 2010 11:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I think it's pretty obvious
that Joe having a good game doesn’t really improve our chances of winning, but Al/Josh having a good game greatly improves our chances of winning…like unstoppable type winning.
by The Beard on Feb 3, 2010 11:07 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
the team hasnt reached its ceiling
woodson as a coach has reached his ceiling
by CoxXx on Feb 3, 2010 11:49 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Woody banged his head against the ceiling and left his eyebrows up there.
by redwards95 on Feb 3, 2010 12:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Good summary
Not much more to add. sad night for the Hawks, time to either prove we are for real, or that fast start was just a mirage
by ATLpaul on Feb 3, 2010 12:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Just a little bit more talent
Could take this team to an EC championship series.
by tentenlarry on Feb 3, 2010 12:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I'm not willing to concede the Thunder is a better team than the Hawks.
When the game was undecided, questionable calls came into play. When was the last time you heard of JJ getting 5 fouls in a game? That last poke away by Joe would have most certainly resulted in a turnover. I’m not saying we would have gone down on the other end and converted but it most certainly wouldn’t have turned into a 3 pointer by Green. What happened with the 24 second shot clock violation? Had the guy not been ruled out of bounds on that possession, I shutter to think what would have happened. Not taking anything from Al, but I think Smoove has more court awareness than he does. Every time Al caught the ball in the low post, four players swarmed on him. That means there were a hell of a lot of guys open. Statistically, JJ had an awesome game, but that is not necessarily the formula for success with this team. We excel when everybody is a part of the offense. It’s painful to watch JJ go 1 on 5, even if he’s making his shots. I cannot tell you how many times Nique talked about swinging the ball from side to side. It should go without saying, but it doesn’t and it’s frustrating.
by dstdeelite on Feb 3, 2010 12:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I like the Thunder, a lot...
Durant is a definite star on the rise and future scoring champ. Jeff Green is a solid combo F that can match up pretty well with Josh Smith. Harden is proving to be a solid SG, and Russell Westbrook is a good athlete at the point. They have some very good pieces, and are a team on the rise imo. A little more tweaking, and they could easily be a championship contender as soon as next year.
by Mr. Sanchez on Feb 3, 2010 12:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
On the 24 second violation,
I’m pretty sure Westbrook shot up a prayer as the clock was winding down that ended up hitting the bottom of the rim and the shot clock operator wasn’t didn’t reset the clock before it went off.
by sammy on Feb 3, 2010 12:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
my sister was watching the game and she gave me this observation:
Jj scored on 3 straight positions. then he starting some ball movement on the next possession that resulted in a turnover. the next possession he tried ball movement again which resulted in a missed layup and he tried it again which resulted in another turnover(not in exact order of that). the next possession he started forcing it and we all know what happens when he forces it. what do you guys think?………. although I believe defense was of course Wat lost the game but this was a true observation.
by Hawksgirl on Feb 3, 2010 1:00 PM EST via mobile reply actions 0 recs
not trying to defend jjs iso and dribbling
Its just that it seems he feels the need to force it when the team isn’t performing efficiently
by Hawksgirl on Feb 3, 2010 1:03 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
Well
It apparently looks like JJ shouldn’t be the point guard making the offense go. I still think they should consider starting Jeff Teague in games where a speedy point guard could decide the tempo of the game. Not just on offense but defense as well.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
by maxxj3 on Feb 3, 2010 1:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Joe or Woody
It’s always one of there faults. I guess it will be there faults that they will be playing in a empty gym tonite and friday also?
by Truthspitter on Feb 3, 2010 3:39 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
"Better" my ass!
We completely outplayed them when it came to offense (though, in the first half some shots just were not falling). The problem, as it has always been, is consistent energy on the defensive end. A lot of the time we seem to just go through the motions. Plus, don’t you find it weird that we have given up multiple 15+ rebound games? Rebounding comes down to effort; and we don’t always give 100%.
And Kevin Durant cheats at HORSE!
by axhfan on Feb 4, 2010 12:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
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