Hawks Vs. T-Wolves: Resiliency Leads Atlanta To Gritty Win

by Kris Willis on Jan 15, 2012 10:00 AM EST

We previously discussed what the Atlanta Hawks would have to continue to do to maintain their status in the Eastern Conference without Al Horford. Two games in it is so far so good after the Hawks overcame an 18 point deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 93-91 at Philips Arena Saturday night.

As impressive as an 18 point comeback is, it was how the Hawks went about it that raises an eyebrow the morning after. Atlanta essentially whittled down that deficit with a lineup of Jeff Teague playing alongside Willie Green, Vladimir Radmanovic, Ivan Johnson and Jason Collins. The names aren't impressive but on this night the pieces fit and they were the boost that this Hawks team needed after struggling for much of the game thanks to Minnesota's hot shooting and Atlanta's own turnovers.

This game breaks the norm when it comes to the Hawks because rarely do you look at a box score afterwards and see the team winning a game without having a higher field goal percentage. Normally it is going to be about even or the Hawks will have an advantage. That wasn't the case Saturday night as the Hawks won in large part to going 22-27 at the free throw line and by out rebounding the Wolves 51-40 and 14-10 on the offensive glass.

That leads us to the contributions of Ivan Johnson who despite having limited effect with his field goal attempts (1-4) was a major factor on the glass (11 total, 4 off) and from the free throw line (8-8) including the two that gave the Hawks the lead for good.

The beauty of this game was that you can't pin the success on one solitary player. Jeff Teague (20pts, 10ast, 3stl) was awesome despite six turnovers. Joe Johnson (25pts, 5reb, 3ast) looked like vintage Joe down the stretch scoring eight points in the fourth quarter. Atlanta didn't have to force feed Joe the ball in the fourth thanks in part to the play of Willie Green who scored all 10 of his points in the closing quarter.

That breaks the norm for this team and I doubt any of its close followers would have been completely surprised had they mailed it in down 18 in the second half. We have seen that numerous times in the past but not much from this 2012 version that has much more leadership in the form of a mostly veteran bench.

For all tenths and purposes, the pressure is now off this group. They are playing with house money because frankly not a lot of people expect much from them after the Al Horford injury. That is assuming that many expected much from them in the first place. If you have watched this team for any length of time then you already know that they are usually at their best when everyone else thinks they have no chance.

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ivan johnson

He may need a little work with offensive spacing and cutting but he’s definitely a two way player that has to get a lot of minutes. They better think about resigning him and get someone to help him with interview skills

Atlanta will win a championship....someday

by maxxj3 on Jan 15, 2012 10:26 AM EST via mobile reply actions

He certainly needs some polish,

but if you go 8-8 from the FT line, you’re aces in my book.

I'm on the Twitter: twitter.com/edgrohl

by Duff_Man on Jan 15, 2012 10:33 AM EST up reply actions

Man, are you easy.

by RamblininAlb on Jan 15, 2012 1:29 PM EST up reply actions

easier said than done

who else on this team could do that

Ivan Johnson does not buy ground beef, he just takes a whole cow, runs it through his beard, and fully cooked hamburgers come out.

by Throw on Jan 15, 2012 1:33 PM EST up reply actions

Ivan Johnson

“My thing is don’t really watch basketball so I don’t know who anybody is,” he said. “I know the main ones, like Kobe (Bryant), (Dwyane Wade) and LeBron (James). Even if I did (know Love), I wouldn’t be afraid. We’re playing basketball.”

Any and all new Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer factoids must be approved by Ivan Johnson

by a hooter's baby on Jan 15, 2012 10:36 AM EST reply actions 2 recs

That is classic.

by Rufus1 on Jan 15, 2012 10:39 AM EST up reply actions

This is really awesome or really worrisome.

I can’t decide.

I'm on the Twitter: twitter.com/edgrohl

by Duff_Man on Jan 15, 2012 10:40 AM EST up reply actions

I'm going with awesome.

I’m simplifying the quote into “I don’t watch basketball. I play basketball.” I’m then expanding the sentiment to I’ll remember you if you outplay me on the floor because if it didn’t happen against me what does it matter. Even then I won’t be afraid of you.

by Evil Dallas on Jan 15, 2012 11:27 AM EST up reply actions

My issue is whether they are watching tape.

I mean he is the best PF in the NBA…you’d think they studied at least SOME film on the guy.

But hey…whatever works.

I'm on the Twitter: twitter.com/edgrohl

by Duff_Man on Jan 16, 2012 12:44 PM EST up reply actions

That shouldn't concern you, but this....

“Day-by-day, I’m taking it all in by the vets,” he added. “Learning. That’s what I’m going to do the whole time, learn. Being around [Jerry] Stackhouse, T-Mac, Josh [Smith], Joe [Johnson], Al [Horford], all of them. Josh Smith has been a real good mentor to me. You’re going to get good advice from T-Mac and Jerry, it’s always good to learn something.”

Any and all new Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer factoids must be approved by Ivan Johnson

by a hooter's baby on Jan 15, 2012 12:12 PM EST up reply actions

This gives me an idea for the shirt im gonna wear for the next home game

M V TEAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ivan Johnson does not buy ground beef, he just takes a whole cow, runs it through his beard, and fully cooked hamburgers come out.

by Throw on Jan 15, 2012 1:00 PM EST up reply actions

Tomorrow?

Any and all new Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer factoids must be approved by Ivan Johnson

by a hooter's baby on Jan 15, 2012 1:13 PM EST up reply actions

yeah

Ivan Johnson does not buy ground beef, he just takes a whole cow, runs it through his beard, and fully cooked hamburgers come out.

by Throw on Jan 15, 2012 1:13 PM EST up reply actions

Cool, I'm thinking about getting this

Any and all new Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer factoids must be approved by Ivan Johnson

by a hooter's baby on Jan 15, 2012 1:17 PM EST up reply actions

Depends on the context. If he meant (which I think)

Of course I look at film and have an idea of how the team wants to attack defend etc. But outside of the 5 -10 Superstars in the league, I could care less.

by xavip on Jan 15, 2012 12:51 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

great mindset

don’t get defeated before you even set foot on the court

Atlanta will win a championship....someday

by maxxj3 on Jan 15, 2012 10:42 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

I really hope Marvin comes back healthy and gets more minutes

And along the same lines, I really hope he keeps playing as well as he has in the 11 games he has played so far this season. I love the rebounding especially, but he’s also scoring more.

by Adam80 on Jan 15, 2012 11:20 AM EST reply actions

Kris is that grill Ivan wears legal and is it safe and/or necessary for him to wear it? Or is it just a fashion statement? lol

* Hawks trade {Al Horford + protected 2nd rounder} for {Perimeter F Jon Leuer and C Andrew Bogut}

* Jeff Teague * Joe Johnson* Jon Leuer * Josh Smith * Andrew Bogut *

by PointGuardSlim on Jan 15, 2012 12:05 PM EST reply actions

Ivan Johnson, interesting facts

- lead the NBDL with 23 technicals in 49 games(11 more than the next guy)
- lead the NBDL with 2 ejections
- was told to leave the University of Oregon due to “anger management issues”
- received lifetime ban in the pro league in South Korea after a few anger related incidents
- had originally planned to play at University of Cincinnati out of high school (big indicator of anger), changed his mind after a coaching change
- he’s only had 2 technicals in 9 games so far with the Hawks

I-JO has some anger issues, that is a fact, but he brings a toughness to the Hawks that they have been missing. He is a very skilled player. He can dribble the ball down the court on a fast-break (may not be pretty, but he looks better than VladRad). He is strong enough to defend a lot of forwards in the league and some centers. He has a nice looking jumper and is a beast on the boards. Hopefully, his toughness will bring a grittiness to the Hawks they have all needed and we can win more games like these, when they don’t look pretty.

by BravesFanScout on Jan 15, 2012 12:07 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Ivan's never die attitude and Teague were the difference

Attack Attack is their mentality, and it is so refreshing to see that

by ATLpaul on Jan 15, 2012 1:05 PM EST up reply actions

The lifetime ban from South Korea is the best fact by far

Ivan Johnson does not buy ground beef, he just takes a whole cow, runs it through his beard, and fully cooked hamburgers come out.

by Throw on Jan 15, 2012 1:13 PM EST up reply actions

Cool, new anti-Dwight strategy.

If we face him in the playoffs, Ivan and Zaza get in a fight with Howard on alternating days, and take alternating suspensions.

by RamblininAlb on Jan 15, 2012 1:35 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs

You forgot FT%

Which is essential with how physical he is. He was at 77% in the D-League last year, averaging 6.8 attempts per game.

by danielduello on Jan 15, 2012 2:24 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Ha ha! Lifetime bans

Sounds like me at the local rec centre competitions.

Ivan Johnson - the new Xavier McDaniel

by Nique Fan on Jan 15, 2012 6:34 PM EST up reply actions

Jeff Teague will prove to be the difference for this team, even more so with Al out.

In the 4 games that the Hawks have lost this season, Teague didn’t have a good game. In the losses against Houston, Chicago, Miami, and Indy Teague averaged 6pts/4.8asts and shot a combined 21% from the field.

He also posted a sub-par game against Charlotte in their first meeting of the season in which the Hawks needed overtime to beat them. ( 7pts on 3-10 shooting, although he posted 9 assists)

All game the Hawks struggled to put the effort and production together. Josh Smith was a prime example of that. In the first quarter Smoove had energy, he was diving on the floor, running the floor, rebounding and noticeably trying to step up while missing Al. But Josh didn’t have it on the offensive end. He couldn’t make shots and was turning the ball over. His play was very indicative of the overall play. The effort was there but they couldn’t make shots and didn’t have any offensive rhythm.

It was Teague who led the charge with the bench by his side. Al was out, Joe and Josh were on the bench. It was Teague that pushed the tempo, rebounded, found open players (kicking to the short corner and finding Jason Collins to initially stop the bleeding). Although Teague didn’t finish well in the first half, he attacked the rim every chance he got. And he and the Hawk’s fortunes changed with less than 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter.

One thing missing for this team even with Al, was a point guard that could put pressure on an opposing team’s defense with penetration and forcing the tempo and also a point guard that could make an impact on the defensive end of the floor. Teague had 3 steals and a block.

by jdewayneatl on Jan 15, 2012 2:12 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

If you think about it

Collins is a better substitute for Horford than Zaza, Collins is a stronger low post defender than Zaza and he’s a pretty good jump shot, which matches more to Horford’s game than Zaza.

Follow @supraman1z

by supraman on Jan 15, 2012 5:24 PM EST up reply actions

Collins is pretty bad

However the TWolves thought it was a good idea to feed Love into the post with collins guarding him. Low post defense is Collins greatest skill which has allowed him to find a roster spot in the NBA

by Jonesy24 on Jan 15, 2012 5:32 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, this is true

If you’ve got other ways to attack besides feeding someone in the low post, you can attack Jason Collins. Kevin Love can step out and face up, which is what they should have been doing with him in the game. Or better yet, Rubio and the Minnesota guards should have been driving into the lane and attempting to force things against him. He’s not very useful as a help defender, so they could have gotten themselves to the line.

Zaza is our best shot, unless he’s really not playing well.

Braves will be fine. I'm not worried.

by Bronn on Sep 18, 2011 4:26 PM EDT

by Bronn on Jan 15, 2012 6:06 PM EST up reply actions

Collins is not what you would define as a off the ball/shot blocking center.

But as seen in the Orlando series, Collins defensive expertise comes from having a big body to keep his man out of the lane and off the boards and taking charges. Taking charges is not a stat and can be overlooked as a defensive play, but it keeps the opposing team from scoring and gives your team the ball which can be more effective than a block sometimes. Blocks don’t always translate into turnovers or the opposing team not scoring.

The combination of Zaza and Collins is much, much better than either player alone.

by jdewayneatl on Jan 15, 2012 7:41 PM EST up reply actions

I actually didnt mind Jeff Teagues turnovers

IF it means hes going to try to expand his game and make something out of nothing, he was making some passes i didnt know he had in his arsenal, needs to do that more

by Jonesy24 on Jan 15, 2012 4:51 PM EST reply actions 1 recs