Atlanta Hawks 93, Charlotte Bobcats 92 or Joe Johnson takes your hate and raises you a game winner
by hawksdawgs on Mar 19, 2010 10:43 PM EDT
Email
PrintAfter a sample size of two games, I have come to the conclusion that hitting game winners is better than allowing game winners. The Hawks won, and it will gloss over many of the rough edges by Woodson, the refs, the guards, and Josh Smith missed defensive assignments, and it should. Wins like this are great. They bring people back to the arena. They renew hope in our alpha dog. They are just fun. And since most of us are fans because it is fun, tonight was simply late season, seriously needed fan euphoria.
Stop trying to make this an NCAA game
The Charlotte Bobcats try so hard they don't allow any rhyme or reason for the game. I could almost excuse the Hawks for lacking any identity for the entire game. I mean this contest was not even guard dominated. It was just go fast and try and score and if you don't go fast the guy with the ball with under ten seconds on the shot clock shoot.
All that said, I am thoroughly convinced Marvin Williams would be an all-star under this framework. Without any real offensive plays run (and I am considering the bad ones plays), he was able to just crash the boards at will. Spacing be damned. There was no spacing this game. Marvin roamed....and contributed. He doubled Gerald Wallace's offensive boards, and it felt like Wallace had 15 of them. In the end, this was a game of offensive rebound points, transition buckets, and the Hawks winning exactly one more five on five offensive possession that involved exactly zero coaching.
Second unit
In a game of "what just happened," the Hawks second unit brought stability and sobriety. They simply hustled and willed their way to easy baskets. Any time a possession includes three offensive rebounds and ends with Zaza getting fouled on a drive, you know the team is playing down and dirty.
The Hawks were playing so individually for the first 18 minutes, the second unit reminded everyone this was a team basketball game. Maybe most importantly, it reminded Charlotte that, worst comes to worst, the Hawks had players that were willing to foul hard, make the extra pass, and play real, live defense. Tonight, the second unit played like the team Mike Woodson coaches in his dreams.
Victory Bullets
- If Joe Johnson could give the one third of his offensive load to the front court and use that extra energy to rebound the ball, the Hawks would be awesome.
- Josh Smith is the worst best, best worst teammate ever.
- Mo Evans is turning into Josh Childress. Even their shots look the same.
- The fact that the one illegal screen called was against Jamal Crawford is comical.
- Again, Al Horford shot 60% from the field. It is not that he will never have games where he will shoot 33% when he gets 20 shots like say Joe did tonight. It is just that I don't know if he can easily shoot 60% if he did.
- Thank you Theo Ratliff.
- Last possession of regulations? Horrible. I am accepting applications for stronger words.
- I respect Woody for sitting a struggling Joe down toward the end of the third. Clearly, it paid off, or I can pretend it did.
- Jeff Teague looked rookie good on both ends of the floor.When the half court offense was as bad as it was tonight, why not put Teague in and run, run, run?
Go Hawks!
41 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
the anti-tronto
ugly win, but i’ll take whatever i can get.
The future has come...in the form of Jason Heyward.
if it was tronto at home
the score would not have been this close.
The future has come...in the form of Jason Heyward.
Every game Charlotte plays is ugly
…Gerald Wallace, Steven Jackson, and the ugliest uniforms since pretty much forever.
i can't get over how ugly gerald wallace is
he honestly plays like i do.
we probably have the same motto “well, I can’t shoot, I am ugly, might as well crash the boards.”
All he needs is Zach Randolph and Chris Kaman to take some sort of prize
for impersonating the dead.
Bizzaro!
Watching Bobby Cox pick boogers since 1995
by a hooter's baby on Mar 19, 2010 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Glad to see the bench being used again
For a while Black Kojak’s idea of going deep was an 8-man rotation.
It looks as if we’re going back to seeing 5 bench players on the court at once.
i will admit i don't like the five bench guys out there at once
think it is better to rotate 3 bench and two starters, two bench guys and three starters but it worked great tonight.
+1
Zaza has turned his season around. The last 5 games he is playing so much better. Passing, and rebounding, and not trying to force it into traffic.
Rookie had a great first half. Played under control. Defended supremely well. Drove well. He needs to be more agressive on the offensive side. There was one drive I thought he should have forced it and taken it to the basket. He has the skills and is fast. But it is good to see the progress.
It is also good to see Black Kojack staying with the second unit in the first half. Actually i though he coached a very good game. Good timeouts, good substitutions and timely ones.
Joe turned what could have easily been
his worst game of the season into something glorious. I think I know the moment it turned. He drove into the lane and there was A LOT of contact he missed the shot, no foul, he was pissed. You know how it ended.
@cocoqt81
Same old damn story
—Joe giveth, and Joe taketh away. Not always in that order.
I was at the wash house when I saw the buzzer beater
Me and one guy were screaming. It was so hilarious and I was still in disbelief. Go Hawks!
IF YOU CANT ACCEPT LOSING, YOU CANT WIN.
And I almost died laughing
at the thought of Josh actually hitting that 3 pointer at the end of regulation. Honestly, that would have been hilarious.
@cocoqt81
oh that would have been scary
A start of something horrid, josh threes. I cringe thinking about it
IF YOU CANT ACCEPT LOSING, YOU CANT WIN.
by Hawksgirl on Mar 19, 2010 11:56 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
My heart will not survive playing this team in the playoffs.
I beg of them to please tank games to fall to the 8th seed and take out Cleveland for us. They own Cleveland!
Bet it hit the rim!
JJ legend grows from the mud
What a horrible start. darn, it could not have been any worse for the superstar. Miss after miss, he was missing even open jumpers. On one missed jumper, and a foul after, i could see him talking to Bibby, saying damn damn nothing is working.
Lion is Lion. All heart, all hard work, the most fundamentally sound Hawk of them all. But next time Woodster jumps his case for not rebounding, I am going to jump old Sund’s case for not having gotten Lion some defensive center help that can rebound. There is tremendous pressure on Hawks to rebound defensively, and Smoove, simply does other things and his head is not into that, until he wants to. It was funny someone behind me was screaming Smoove be Smoove, quit being Steve Nash on a drive where he passed to Marvin and ball missed Marvin!!!!!
When Hawks raise the defensive intensity, they are as good as any team in the league, as in the 4th qtr and OT. But other than that, we are not there with good rebounding teams.
The crowd was great in the 4th qtr and OT. Darn that was loud. The look on Gerald Wallace at the end was classic. Bobcats will have a hard time recovering. Welcome to NBA ownership Mr Jordan.
And hey why no love for Gerald. He has his own style, and i think he is hot – lol. I mean I am not a woman, but he has his own looks. Except for the hanging mouthpiece, how does he play like that? Darn I better get away from this subject….
Overall, the fans could not ask for more. Overtime, on a Friday night, and the good guys win. Hawks shirts were selling like crazy in the Phillips shop. Another good sign. And the superstar scores the sports center highlight jumper. And I am so glad Smoove did a thunder dunk, i have been waiting to jump up and down.
Yes a win masks the down sides, but i am still high. May be too many ….. Now its time to beat up an old dilapidated Spurs team. I don’t care who is or is not playing for them, I have no sympathy for them, and it is pay back time. Ahh and did everyone see the crossover JJ put on Captain Jack. I could not see a replay, but it seemed like he lost Captain Jack for miles. Go Hawks
Last possession of regulations? Horrible. I am accepting applications for stronger words.
From the words of Blades of Glory:
Mind-bottling
Bet it hit the rim!
It really wasn't a bad possession
except that the wrong guy was in the corner for the open look. JJ dribbles into the middle, draws the defense to him, throws a pass to an open spot-up shooter. In fact it was one of the Hawks’ better late-game possessions I’ve seen in a while in terms of getting a good shot.
I wager that Joe didn’t know who the shooter in the corner was, though. Just an open guy and assumed it would be one of the people who could make that.
execution was bad
and personnel was bad.
when the minimum you expect is a shot. all other things about that were horrible.
Joe got to the lane, but he always gets to the lane. that was the given. The hand off that caused a rush and Josh in the corner as the outlet guy was mind bottling.
I wonder if Josh ever wonders why he's always wide open?
Looking at the replay, I grudgingly admit that the shot actually does look good leaving his hands. Even though I knew he wasn’t going to make it.
Bet it hit the rim!
I remember when Mo evans wanted to pass to Josh
had a second thought then took the shot himself.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
If you could up "we would never in a million years want this last play ran" in the dictionary
you’d see that last play. Marvin said it best in his candid interview, “We never draw a play in situations like that.” Hahahahahahahaha
Bet it hit the rim!
I prefer to think
it was exactly how they drew it. JJ drives to the hole, draws the triple team, has no one to pass out to except for Josh Smith in the corner.
This is the consequence of spreading it out-THERE IS NO ELSE NEAR THE BASKET TO PASS TO.
Hey that front line put together double doubles
Horford, Smith, and Marvin had double doubles. Thats what we need against the upper elite teams.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
