Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Initial Feedback: In Toronto, Al Horford Is Not a True Centre

Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.

Your ratings and commentary, dear reader, are welcomed in the comments to this post.


Boxscore

Players
Jeff Teague: Sidekick No. 1. 6/10

Joe Johnson: If you wanted to be picky, he didn't do much defensively or on the glass. If you are picky, remember his age, the schedule, and the 13 shots he made. 10/10

Marvin Williams: Per minute, he remains excellent. Like the team itself, the playoffs figure to be the test. 5/10

Josh Smith: The Hawks can survive him going through the motions on a night like this. Things might be dicier if he can't contribute in all facets of the game against Memphis or Philadelphia. 5/10

Zaza Pachulia: It's almost as fair to complain on a game-by-game basis that Zaza didn't get regular minutes the past two seasons as it is to lodge the same compliant about Teague. 6/10

Tracy McGrady: Somewhat of the inverse of Smith, one doesn't want McGrady to use too much of himself against such an overmatched opponent. At the same time, one understands why he wanted to exert himself on this night. 6/10

Kirk Hinrich: Only marginally more important to this regular season than to the last, he could again have a significant impact in the playoffs. 4/10

Ivan Johnson: His D-League experience held him in good stead against that front line. 4/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: Good to see him getting the meaningless minutes. He'll have a few meaningful minutes ahead of him. 3/10

Willie Green: In and in the jump shots go, when it stops nobody knows. 4/10

Jannero Pargo: Three shots in the final five minutes. I felt he was holding back. Be yourself. 2/10

Jerry Stackhouse: The highest paid assistant coach in the game? At least the only one collecting money from his team and the league. 1/10

The head coach
Given the history of this franchise and the history of this particular team composition, taking care of business can never be dismissed. If greater tests await, let not that distract us from the level of accomplishment inherent. 7/10

A thought regarding the opposition
I think getting a quarter-and-a-half of good defense out of this group is a decent performance from Dwane Casey. If it never happens, part of me will always wonder what would have happened had he coached Josh Smith.

3 comments:

pablo debs said...

tracy mcgrady 7/10

*fixed

weemsildinho said...

Bret, with his unwillingness to play both McGrady and Marvin together, do you think Larry Drew will play both Teague and Hinrich together at times this season? If/when Willie stops making jumpers, I think that combo should see a few minutes together in most games. However, I don't know if I trust Drew to allow this to happen.

Unknown said...

Bret,

What do you see out of our improved 3 point shooting this season? Do you think it will last? Currently, we are second in the league in 3PG% and Marvin and Willie Green (!) are in the top 10 in the league.