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
Josh Smith: The shot selection (11 jump shots) was terrible at times. Given the victory, that makes his production (30 points on 23 shots, 17 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks) even more incredible. Not as incredible as the Hawks going completely away from him on the block in the final two minutes in favor of Joe Johnson dribbling, but still awfully fascinating. His final inbounds pass was an absolute disaster, saved entirely by Willie Green. 9/10
Jeff Teague: Was no more effective against Phoenix's pick-and-roll this time around but his concerted effort to outscore Steve Nash mitigated matters. Unfortunate he didn't get back in the game once the Hawks went zone on every possession. 5/10
Zaza Pachulia: Just like Teague, Zaza flailed in his efforts to defend the pick-and-roll but scored a bunch a points to try and make up for it. 5/10
Joe Johnson: Utterly dominated by Grant Hill. Utterly and uselessly dominated the ball to let Phoenix back in the game in the final two minutes. Whatever it was that made him rebound for a spell following Al Horford's injury has disappeared. Nary a one in 36 minutes against the 25th-best rebounding team in the league. 3/10
Marvin Williams: He can't get minutes when Tracy McGrady is in street clothes. The modest skills he brings to the table aren't important to this franchise. Which makes his contract only more mind-bending. 4/10
Willie Green: As ambivalent a 20 points performance off the bench as you'll see. Excellent shooting, terrible everything else. EXCEPT for chasing down Josh Smith's pass with 1.7 seconds left. If Green doesn't do that, it's Phoenix ball under Atlanta's basket. 6/10
Kirk Hinrich: Credit for his defense on Nash in the second half on the rare possessions where the Hawks played man-to-man defense but I really wish he'd had his surgery earlier. He's missing a ton of good, open shots. 3/10
Vladimir Radmanovic: Didn't play at all in the first half. Played 15 minutes in the second half. Hardly encouraging work conditions. 2/10
Ivan Johnson: Generally overwhelmed by the pace of play. 1/10
Erick Dampier: Was not the answer to defending the pick-and-roll. On the other hand, watching him play makes me feel so spry and youthful. 2/10
The head coach
Not a lot of what Larry Drew did tonight made sense but the Hawks won, in no small part, because he went zone for much of the second half. That it took so long to appear, or that the Hawks needed to try everything, both tactical and in terms of personnel, to barely beat the Suns takes a bit off the shine of the victory. 4/10
A thought regarding the opposition
Check the Daily Dime later tonight for a breakdown of the Phoenix offense comparing the possessions Nash used and those his teammates used.
Showing posts with label suns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suns. Show all posts
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Monday, February 06, 2012
Initial Feedback: The Sad Events Supporting Pessimism
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: A constant in the team's poor pick-and-roll defense, he didn't do anything to mitigate his struggles on that end of the floor. 3/10
Joe Johnson: He was a key part of the Hawks' second and third quarter run. Not coincidentally, his involvement during that stretch was primarily as a finisher rather than a creator. It was painful watching him struggle to get past Steve Nash and Sebastian Telfair when the Hawks ran the 2/1 pick-and-roll. 5/10
Marvin Williams: If Larry Drew didn't play Marvin and Tracy McGrady together tonight, I think it's time to give up hope that it will ever happen. Not that either made a great case, within the confines of this game, for additional minutes. 4/10
Josh Smith: Much as with his shot selection this season, Josh Smith seemed either unaware or disinterested in the fact that Channing Frye can shoot. Smith had a good offensive night but his body language was atrocious, especially in the third quarter where he appeared far more interested in looking over at the bench than doing anything to change the course of the game. 5/10
Zaza Pachulia: A dreadful night for Pachulia, beaten repeatedly when attempting to defend the pick-and-roll and often out of position when the possibility of a rebound presented itself. 3/10
Kirk Hinrich: It didn't matter in the end, but Hinrich's second quarter defensive performance on Steve Nash was excellent. Given that none of Atlanta's big men defended the pick-and-roll effectively all night, his ability to delay the pick-and-roll's inception paid brief dividends. 6/10
Tracy McGrady: A complete non-factor. 1/10
Vladimir Radmanovic: Handed a third quarter stint after Pachulia pciked up his fourth foul, he looked like the third-best choice (after McGrady and Ivan Johnson) for those minutes. 2/10
Willie Green: His garbage time performance was clearly the best he could do and it's in no way his fault that his effort was useless. Context must be remembered if discussing how that performance might lead to future playing time. 6/10
Ivan Johnson: Pretty poor during the symmetrical portion of the game, he came alive when the Hawks went frantic against the Phoenix bench. 4/10
Jannero Pargo: Scrambled for a few minutes in the fourth quarter and shot the ball often. That's what he's paid for but the mountain was too steep long before he got on the floor. 3/10
Jerry Stackhouse: Four trillion. His contract becomes guaranteed with the week. 1/10
The head coach
The first three quarters were the Hawks at their familiar worst. Inconsistent on offense and disorganized defensively. The two are related, it's harder to get set defensively after a miss but the inability to get back and find your man is far from a new problem and only gets more frustrating to watch with each passing season. Whether it's a lack of depth or a lack of authority that allows accountability to wax and wane, doesn't really matter. The end of the bench played hard (albeit against a bad team's bad bench, hardly a harbinger of better things), letting them do that earlier in a game might produce dividends with regard to the guys who will have to play well for the Hawks to achieve any playoff success. 2/10
Your ratings and commentary, dear reader, are welcomed in the comments to this post.
Boxscore
Players
Jeff Teague: A constant in the team's poor pick-and-roll defense, he didn't do anything to mitigate his struggles on that end of the floor. 3/10
Joe Johnson: He was a key part of the Hawks' second and third quarter run. Not coincidentally, his involvement during that stretch was primarily as a finisher rather than a creator. It was painful watching him struggle to get past Steve Nash and Sebastian Telfair when the Hawks ran the 2/1 pick-and-roll. 5/10
Marvin Williams: If Larry Drew didn't play Marvin and Tracy McGrady together tonight, I think it's time to give up hope that it will ever happen. Not that either made a great case, within the confines of this game, for additional minutes. 4/10
Josh Smith: Much as with his shot selection this season, Josh Smith seemed either unaware or disinterested in the fact that Channing Frye can shoot. Smith had a good offensive night but his body language was atrocious, especially in the third quarter where he appeared far more interested in looking over at the bench than doing anything to change the course of the game. 5/10
Zaza Pachulia: A dreadful night for Pachulia, beaten repeatedly when attempting to defend the pick-and-roll and often out of position when the possibility of a rebound presented itself. 3/10
Kirk Hinrich: It didn't matter in the end, but Hinrich's second quarter defensive performance on Steve Nash was excellent. Given that none of Atlanta's big men defended the pick-and-roll effectively all night, his ability to delay the pick-and-roll's inception paid brief dividends. 6/10
Tracy McGrady: A complete non-factor. 1/10
Vladimir Radmanovic: Handed a third quarter stint after Pachulia pciked up his fourth foul, he looked like the third-best choice (after McGrady and Ivan Johnson) for those minutes. 2/10
Willie Green: His garbage time performance was clearly the best he could do and it's in no way his fault that his effort was useless. Context must be remembered if discussing how that performance might lead to future playing time. 6/10
Ivan Johnson: Pretty poor during the symmetrical portion of the game, he came alive when the Hawks went frantic against the Phoenix bench. 4/10
Jannero Pargo: Scrambled for a few minutes in the fourth quarter and shot the ball often. That's what he's paid for but the mountain was too steep long before he got on the floor. 3/10
Jerry Stackhouse: Four trillion. His contract becomes guaranteed with the week. 1/10
The head coach
The first three quarters were the Hawks at their familiar worst. Inconsistent on offense and disorganized defensively. The two are related, it's harder to get set defensively after a miss but the inability to get back and find your man is far from a new problem and only gets more frustrating to watch with each passing season. Whether it's a lack of depth or a lack of authority that allows accountability to wax and wane, doesn't really matter. The end of the bench played hard (albeit against a bad team's bad bench, hardly a harbinger of better things), letting them do that earlier in a game might produce dividends with regard to the guys who will have to play well for the Hawks to achieve any playoff success. 2/10
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Quotes, Notes, and Links: Phoenix Suns 105 Atlanta Hawks 97
Recap
Gameflow
Hoopdata boxscore
Highlights
Josh Smith:
Gameflow
Hoopdata boxscore
Highlights
Josh Smith:
"We couldn’t get [stops]. We ended up switching. Nash is a smart point guard. He knew where the mismatches were. Tip your hat to Channing Frye, he hit some tough shots on Damien. Damien was all over him but when you are 6-10, 6-11 you get that ball in position you want it’s kind of hard to block the shot."Jamal Crawford on getting hot in the second half and the Hawks using a 31-year-old free agent small forward signed mid-season to defend one of the greatest offensive point guards in the history of the league in the fourth quarter:
"I’m getting back to being me, for sure."Larry Drew on Jeff Teague:
"I thought he came out aggressive in attack mode and used his speed and quickness. We need that. I thought he did a tremendous job breaking the defense down and getting to the basket. That’s the way he has to play. Don’t worry about turning the basketball over, just keep the pressure on the defense."Al Horford:
"It was one of those games. I was happy with our team's effort in the second half and I wish we would have maintained throughout the game. We did a much better job of staying poised and playing our style of play."Zaza Pachulia was held out of the game due to his involvement in trade talks the Hawks continue to carry out.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Phoenix Suns 105 Atlanta Hawks 97
Boxscore
Nothing good came of the first half, unless one counts the reminder that Atlanta's defensive problems do not begin and end with Mike Bibby.
It's almost as hard to find positives in the spirited comeback that tied the game at 92-92 with five minutes. Some of the difficulty is due to the surrounding context, both the terrible first half and the ineffectual final five minutes. Some is due to the nature of the comeback, specifically the four consecutive Josh Smith made jump shots across the third and fourth quarters and the three jumpers Jamal Crawford made in the the fourth. No one denies the Hawks are an effective team when the jump shots go in, it's the sustainability of that approach people fairly question, especially against better defenses. Which the Phoenix Suns are not. Nor are the Suns a good rebounding team (25th in offensive rebound rate, 28th in defensive rebound rate entering the game) which throws into question how much credit the Hawks truly deserve for their good work on the glass in the second half.
Questions of sustainability must be asked of the improved Atlanta defense in the first half of the fourth quarter just as the defensive ineptitude of the first half and the final 5:22 mark the first half of the fourth quarter as an outlier of competence. The Hawks forced five Phoenix turnovers in the first 6:02 of the fourth quarter but then allowed the Suns to score on six of their final seven possessions (eight of nine of you wish to include the possessions on which Atlanta fouled intentionally). Damien Wilkins led an active, disruptive defensive effort from the Hawks but those disruptive efforts became predictable, exploitable. It took Steve Nash about three minutes of game time to figure out how to handle Wilkins's initial defense and how to take advantage of the Hawks switching every single ball-screen.
Once the Suns solved that puzzle, that Hawks had no counter-move. They ceased to cause turnovers, they got just the one step, and those defensive failures led, in turn, to a more stagnant offense against a set Phoenix defense. Josh Smith and Joe Johnson and Wilkins each missed a long jumper. Johnson turned the ball over twice. The Hawks scored just two points and didn't score once in the half-court between the 5:00 and 0:29.7 marks of the fourth quarter. The hole they dug early was too deep for such late struggles.
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| ATL | 86 | 1.128 | 52.5 | 14.8 | 25.6 | 14 |
| PHX | 86 | 1.221 | 61.2 | 15.8 | 21.9 | 15.1 |
Nothing good came of the first half, unless one counts the reminder that Atlanta's defensive problems do not begin and end with Mike Bibby.
It's almost as hard to find positives in the spirited comeback that tied the game at 92-92 with five minutes. Some of the difficulty is due to the surrounding context, both the terrible first half and the ineffectual final five minutes. Some is due to the nature of the comeback, specifically the four consecutive Josh Smith made jump shots across the third and fourth quarters and the three jumpers Jamal Crawford made in the the fourth. No one denies the Hawks are an effective team when the jump shots go in, it's the sustainability of that approach people fairly question, especially against better defenses. Which the Phoenix Suns are not. Nor are the Suns a good rebounding team (25th in offensive rebound rate, 28th in defensive rebound rate entering the game) which throws into question how much credit the Hawks truly deserve for their good work on the glass in the second half.
Questions of sustainability must be asked of the improved Atlanta defense in the first half of the fourth quarter just as the defensive ineptitude of the first half and the final 5:22 mark the first half of the fourth quarter as an outlier of competence. The Hawks forced five Phoenix turnovers in the first 6:02 of the fourth quarter but then allowed the Suns to score on six of their final seven possessions (eight of nine of you wish to include the possessions on which Atlanta fouled intentionally). Damien Wilkins led an active, disruptive defensive effort from the Hawks but those disruptive efforts became predictable, exploitable. It took Steve Nash about three minutes of game time to figure out how to handle Wilkins's initial defense and how to take advantage of the Hawks switching every single ball-screen.
Once the Suns solved that puzzle, that Hawks had no counter-move. They ceased to cause turnovers, they got just the one step, and those defensive failures led, in turn, to a more stagnant offense against a set Phoenix defense. Josh Smith and Joe Johnson and Wilkins each missed a long jumper. Johnson turned the ball over twice. The Hawks scored just two points and didn't score once in the half-court between the 5:00 and 0:29.7 marks of the fourth quarter. The hole they dug early was too deep for such late struggles.
February 23rd Game Preview: Atlanta Hawks 34-22 @ Phoenix Suns (27-27)
TIP-OFF: 9pm (EST)
TELEVISION: SportSouth
RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.
CHAT: Daily Dime Live
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: Gani Lawal is out.
BY THE NUMBERS
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Phoenix -3, 201.5 o/u
PREVIOUSLY...the Phoenix Suns lost 112-106 to the Dallas Mavericks in their last game prior to the All-Star break. Prior to that loss, the Suns had won seven of nine games to get above .500 for the first time since December 7th, 2010.
The Suns beat the Hawks 118-114 on November 7th in Atlanta.
Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
TELEVISION: SportSouth
RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.
CHAT: Daily Dime Live
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: Gani Lawal is out.
BY THE NUMBERS
| 2010-11 | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| ATL (off) | 89.6 | 1.072 | 50.3 | 21.5 | 23.3 | 15 |
| PHX (def) | 94.4 | 1.105 | 51.1 | 28.2 | 28.9 | 13.1 |
| 2010-11 | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| ATL (def) | 89.8 | 1.061 | 49 | 27.6 | 25 | 14.2 |
| PHX (off) | 94.4 | 1.101 | 52.4 | 22.5 | 24 | 13.4 |
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Phoenix -3, 201.5 o/u
PREVIOUSLY...the Phoenix Suns lost 112-106 to the Dallas Mavericks in their last game prior to the All-Star break. Prior to that loss, the Suns had won seven of nine games to get above .500 for the first time since December 7th, 2010.
The Suns beat the Hawks 118-114 on November 7th in Atlanta.
Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
40 Years Ago Today
The Atlanta Hawks, featuring Lou Hudson, Bill Bridges, Walt Bellamy, and rookie guard Pete Maravich visited the Phoenix Suns on Christmas Day.
Enjoy:
Enjoy:
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Bet It Hit Rim #5: The False Center
On Al Horford against the Phoenix Suns Sunday.
Further reading: The Positional Revolution
Further listening: Sebadoh
Further reading: The Positional Revolution
Further listening: Sebadoh
Monday, November 08, 2010
Quotes, Notes, and Links: Phoenix Suns 118 Atlanta Hawks 114
Recap
Gameflow
Hoopdata boxscore
Highlights
Alvin Gentry on Al Horford:
Not that help looked likely to arrive. Horford was on the opposite wing matched up against Turkoglu. Joe Johnson had Steve Nash at the top of the key. Jamal Crawford was next to Grant Hill behind the basket on the left baseline. Josh Smith was, perhaps, late in helping Bibby though a reluctance to leave Richardson all alone at the three-point line is a reasonable instinct even if, in this instance, it probably overrated Frye's ability to pass effectively out of the post.
Larry Drew was closer to my estimation of Horford's work against Nash:
Larry Drew on switching against the Suns:
Drew:
Joe Johnson:
The lesson: It's too early to define normal with any certainty for this team.
The presumption: Getting key stops would be evidence of significant defensive improvement over previous Hawks teams.
Josh Childress on receiving boos upon his return to Atlanta:
The Hawks are looking ahead to facing Orlando in Orlando tonight.
Larry Drew:
Gameflow
Hoopdata boxscore
Highlights
Alvin Gentry on Al Horford:
"I don’t think anyone in the league works harder than Horford does on either end of the floor. Whatever they signed him for, it’s a bargain. He’s a stud."Neither Michael Cunningham:
Al has done a pretty good job when switched on Nash in the past. This time, though, Nash attacked the basket instead of settling for long, contested jumpers. Once he got Al thinking about that, he burned him with step-backs.Nor Matt Moore were as impressed with Al Horford's defense on Steve Nash as I:
The Hawks managed to make it all the way to the end of the game without their penchant for switching killing them. Then Al Horford got switched onto Steve Nash. Swish. Channing Frye‘s in-the-block, “where did that come from” bucket was just the icing.I should have found room to discuss the Frye basket that put Phoenix up 114-112 in the recap. It was a play Phoenix used regularly as an alternative to screen-and-roll. On the right block, Frye set a screen for Jason Richardson to run a curl. Mike Bibby had consistently gotten caught on that screen leading to open looks for Richardson. The Hawks switched that screen. Josh Smith cut off the passing lane between Nash and Richardson. That left Frye on the block with Bibby behind him. Nash hit Frye, Frye backed Bibby down with a dribble, made a quick move over his right shoulder, and hit a floating jump hook before any help arrived.
Not that help looked likely to arrive. Horford was on the opposite wing matched up against Turkoglu. Joe Johnson had Steve Nash at the top of the key. Jamal Crawford was next to Grant Hill behind the basket on the left baseline. Josh Smith was, perhaps, late in helping Bibby though a reluctance to leave Richardson all alone at the three-point line is a reasonable instinct even if, in this instance, it probably overrated Frye's ability to pass effectively out of the post.
Larry Drew was closer to my estimation of Horford's work against Nash:
"We have had some success with switching with Nash. Tonight he made some shots, which we knew chances are he was going to make some. We got a little complacent on a few of the Childress drives where that didn’t call for any help. We got sucked in and he kicked out to shooters. That’s failure to execute the gameplan."There's a (time-permitting) future Bet It Hit Rim episode brewing on the subject of Horford's on-the-ball defense against Nash compared to his teammates' off-the-ball defense. Just from memory though, the Josh Childress and-1 with 4:41 left in the fourth quarter came as a result of Joe Johnson's lax defense of a Childress cut into the lane after Horford cut Nash off in the lane and forced him toward the right corner.
Larry Drew on switching against the Suns:
"The thing that hurt us as far as the switches, we couldn’t match up the way we wanted to match up if you don’t have perimeters when they go small. You have to go small along with them, especially when you play big and playing big is not effective. Tonight was a clear case how bad we needed a Marvin or a Mo so we could look at going a lot smaller and trying some other things defensively."I'd argue that the cause-and-effect is backwards there, that starting Jason Collins is a willingness to play not effective in order to play big.
Drew:
"Tonight was a clear case how bad we needed a Marvin or a Mo so we could look at going a lot smaller and trying some other things defensively."Or, you know, how clearly the Hawks needed a backup for Marvin Williams rather than four centers, two of whom can't play.
Joe Johnson:
"Down the stretch we couldn't get the key stops we normally get on defense."On Friday, Neil Paine posted offensive and defensive efficiency adjusted for opposition on the Basketball-Reference.com blog. The Hawks ranked 18th in the league in adjusted defensive efficiency. This weekend, Wayne Winston did the same at Mathletics. He had the Hawks as better-than-average defensively, but below average overall on the young season.
The lesson: It's too early to define normal with any certainty for this team.
The presumption: Getting key stops would be evidence of significant defensive improvement over previous Hawks teams.
Josh Childress on receiving boos upon his return to Atlanta:
"I didn't expect it. I played here for four years. Every single night I played with maximum energy and effort. I don't think fans realized the business side of it. They don't know what went on in negotiations. If they felt they need to boo me, so what? I wish them well."Childress was underrated (within the organization most of all) the entire time he played (and played well) for the Hawks and may not have received anything more than the qualifying offer from the Hawks when he was a restricted free agent. The reception he received was sadly fitting. Even in his current nine-fingered state, he'd be the fourth-best player on this Hawks team.
The Hawks are looking ahead to facing Orlando in Orlando tonight.
Larry Drew:
"We've got to go down there and be men on a mission. We are playing a team that has pretty much had its way with us the last few games. As I told the guys, it's time for us to go stand up and be counted. We have got to go down there and see what we are made of."Joe Johnson:
"It's time for us to to go there and make a statement."Josh Smith:
"We have just got to go out there carefree and take it to them. Their defense seems to bother us a little bit. We just let certain things get to us, and we can't let that happen."Chief among those certain things: better players, an offensive game plan that maximizes their individual strengths, and a top-to-bottom organizational commitment to playing defense.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
Phoenix Suns 118 Atlanta Hawks 114
Boxscore
The first Atlanta Hawks loss of the season and the 118 Phoenix points which caused it had more to do with limitations inherent in the roster's construction than any tactical decisions Larry Drew made. Granted, starting the game with Jason Collins and then the second half with Josh Powell on the court made about as much sense as the fans booing Josh Childress but I suspect both had approximately as much impact on the game's outcome.
Yes, both Jamal Crawford and Zaza Pachulia are better basketball players than either Collins or Powell but, over the past seven seasons, Phoenix have amply demonstrated both their general offensive competence and a particular ability to exploit whatever matchups favor them. Regardless of which Atlanta player replaced Marvin Williams in the lineup, the Hawks would still have no guard capable slowing Steve Nash, Hedo Turkoglu would still be a difficult matchup on the perimeter for either Josh Smith or Al Horford, Phoenix would never put a player on the court who could not exploit being guarded byb Mike Bibby, and, should everything else fail, Phoenix would just make a concerted effort to attack Jamal Crawford.
So, in addition to bemoaning the failure to stop the opposition, a failure which admittedly could bedevil this team over the course of its next 75 games (but a failure exaggerated by the absence of Williams and, to a lesser extent on this particular dy, Mo Evans) it's incumbent upon us also to praise the Atlanta offense for its ability, also made more difficult due to the absence of Williams, nearly to match Phoenix's offense point for point and to put the game's outcome in doubt inside the final 10 seconds.
Joe Johnson had an excellent game. His 34 points led the Hawks. His 6 assists were key. The 7 rebounds (3 offensive) he grabbed were crucial. His single turnover was indicative of the cornerstone of his offensive value. Yet, Joe Johnson was clearly not the team's best offensive player. Al Horford scored 4 fewer points on 11 fewer field goal attempts (and 1 more free throw attempt) and had 5 assists of his own despite (who knows how many) fewer touches than Johnson.
That Horford was the best component of a great team* offensive performance was not even the most impressive aspect of his individual performance nor the most striking aspect of the team's performance. You see, Larry Drew asked Al Horford to guard Steve Nash in the second half and Horford did a respectable job. Yes, Joe Johnson started most possessions standing at the top of the key, heels on the three-point line with Nash in front of him, but once Nash got a ball-screen and Phoenix initiated its half-court offense, Horford switched onto Nash and had responsibility for the opposing offense's catalyst, one of the finest offensive players this sport has ever produced, for the remainder of the possession.
*Well, four-man team. In addition to aforementioned Horford and Johnson, Josh Smith scored 19 points on 10 shots (7-8 from the free throw line) while earning 4 assists and Mike Bibby scored 12 points on 8 shots.
Horford didn't shut down Nash. Let's not be ridiculous. Horford slowed Nash. From 9 points (on 4-6 shooting) and 7 assists in the first half to 6 points (on 3-5 shooting) and 8 assists** in the pre-intentional fouling portion of the second half. Horford consistently stayed in front of Nash and forced him away from the paint. That Nash can hit the step-back jumper and find teammates on the move from any angle is to his eternal credit. That Horford forced Nash to display the full array of his gifts in order to remain effective is amazing. Despite Nash's second-half efficiency, despite the loss, Horford's defensive performance was spectacular. Late this afternoon, Larry Drew essentially confirmed the long-held position of your author: Al Horford, at six-feet, ten-inches and 245 pounds, is Atlanta's best perimeter defender.
**Three of which came on passes that resulted in Jason Richardson shooting a jump shot over Mike Bibby and had little to do with on-the-ball defense on Nash.
Horford is also the team's best post defender, best rebounder, most efficient scorer, and has been, per on-court possession so far this season, the team's most prolific scorer. Had a team a spare $123.7 million laying around, they could conceivably use it to build around a player like that.
In the world in which we live, though, it's a fair to wonder whether or not Horford will be allowed to play 10 minutes in the first half of tomorrow night's game. Such are, for good and for ill, these Atlanta Hawks.
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| PHX | 95 | 1.242 | 62.3 | 25.9 | 28.9 | 16.6 |
| ATL | 94 | 1.213 | 58.4 | 20.5 | 35.1 | 15.5 |
The first Atlanta Hawks loss of the season and the 118 Phoenix points which caused it had more to do with limitations inherent in the roster's construction than any tactical decisions Larry Drew made. Granted, starting the game with Jason Collins and then the second half with Josh Powell on the court made about as much sense as the fans booing Josh Childress but I suspect both had approximately as much impact on the game's outcome.
Yes, both Jamal Crawford and Zaza Pachulia are better basketball players than either Collins or Powell but, over the past seven seasons, Phoenix have amply demonstrated both their general offensive competence and a particular ability to exploit whatever matchups favor them. Regardless of which Atlanta player replaced Marvin Williams in the lineup, the Hawks would still have no guard capable slowing Steve Nash, Hedo Turkoglu would still be a difficult matchup on the perimeter for either Josh Smith or Al Horford, Phoenix would never put a player on the court who could not exploit being guarded byb Mike Bibby, and, should everything else fail, Phoenix would just make a concerted effort to attack Jamal Crawford.
So, in addition to bemoaning the failure to stop the opposition, a failure which admittedly could bedevil this team over the course of its next 75 games (but a failure exaggerated by the absence of Williams and, to a lesser extent on this particular dy, Mo Evans) it's incumbent upon us also to praise the Atlanta offense for its ability, also made more difficult due to the absence of Williams, nearly to match Phoenix's offense point for point and to put the game's outcome in doubt inside the final 10 seconds.
Joe Johnson had an excellent game. His 34 points led the Hawks. His 6 assists were key. The 7 rebounds (3 offensive) he grabbed were crucial. His single turnover was indicative of the cornerstone of his offensive value. Yet, Joe Johnson was clearly not the team's best offensive player. Al Horford scored 4 fewer points on 11 fewer field goal attempts (and 1 more free throw attempt) and had 5 assists of his own despite (who knows how many) fewer touches than Johnson.
That Horford was the best component of a great team* offensive performance was not even the most impressive aspect of his individual performance nor the most striking aspect of the team's performance. You see, Larry Drew asked Al Horford to guard Steve Nash in the second half and Horford did a respectable job. Yes, Joe Johnson started most possessions standing at the top of the key, heels on the three-point line with Nash in front of him, but once Nash got a ball-screen and Phoenix initiated its half-court offense, Horford switched onto Nash and had responsibility for the opposing offense's catalyst, one of the finest offensive players this sport has ever produced, for the remainder of the possession.
*Well, four-man team. In addition to aforementioned Horford and Johnson, Josh Smith scored 19 points on 10 shots (7-8 from the free throw line) while earning 4 assists and Mike Bibby scored 12 points on 8 shots.
Horford didn't shut down Nash. Let's not be ridiculous. Horford slowed Nash. From 9 points (on 4-6 shooting) and 7 assists in the first half to 6 points (on 3-5 shooting) and 8 assists** in the pre-intentional fouling portion of the second half. Horford consistently stayed in front of Nash and forced him away from the paint. That Nash can hit the step-back jumper and find teammates on the move from any angle is to his eternal credit. That Horford forced Nash to display the full array of his gifts in order to remain effective is amazing. Despite Nash's second-half efficiency, despite the loss, Horford's defensive performance was spectacular. Late this afternoon, Larry Drew essentially confirmed the long-held position of your author: Al Horford, at six-feet, ten-inches and 245 pounds, is Atlanta's best perimeter defender.
**Three of which came on passes that resulted in Jason Richardson shooting a jump shot over Mike Bibby and had little to do with on-the-ball defense on Nash.
Horford is also the team's best post defender, best rebounder, most efficient scorer, and has been, per on-court possession so far this season, the team's most prolific scorer. Had a team a spare $123.7 million laying around, they could conceivably use it to build around a player like that.
In the world in which we live, though, it's a fair to wonder whether or not Horford will be allowed to play 10 minutes in the first half of tomorrow night's game. Such are, for good and for ill, these Atlanta Hawks.
November 7th Game Preview: Phoenix Suns (2-3) @ Atlanta Hawks (6-0)
TIP-OFF: 5pm (EST)
TELEVISION: SportSouth
RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Marvin Williams, Mo Evans, and Pape Sy are out.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: Josh Childress is probable.
BY THE NUMBERS
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -6, 208.5 o/u
PREVIOUSLY...the Phoenix Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 123-118 in double-overtime in Phoenix on Friday night. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Suns. The Suns split their first two road games, losing 106-92 in Portland and winning 110-94 in Utah.
Former Hawk Josh Childress has failed to receive much playing time early in the season for the wing-heavy Suns. Former Hawk fan cause celebre Garrett Siler is now an NBA veteran. Siler is 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, has 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 5 turnovers, and 3 personal fouls in 17 minutes.
Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
TELEVISION: SportSouth
RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Marvin Williams, Mo Evans, and Pape Sy are out.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: Josh Childress is probable.
BY THE NUMBERS
| 2010-11 | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| PHX (off) | 94.5 | 1.100 | 51.4 | 20.2 | 29.8 | 17.4 |
| ATL (def) | 92.8 | 1.033 | 46.6 | 25.9 | 26.8 | 13.3 |
| 2010-11 | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| PHX (def) | 94.5 | 1.110 | 51.8 | 27 | 33.3 | 18.3 |
| ATL (off) | 92 | 1.138 | 52.8 | 30.2 | 26.1 | 15.9 |
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -6, 208.5 o/u
PREVIOUSLY...the Phoenix Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 123-118 in double-overtime in Phoenix on Friday night. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Suns. The Suns split their first two road games, losing 106-92 in Portland and winning 110-94 in Utah.
Former Hawk Josh Childress has failed to receive much playing time early in the season for the wing-heavy Suns. Former Hawk fan cause celebre Garrett Siler is now an NBA veteran. Siler is 0-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, has 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 5 turnovers, and 3 personal fouls in 17 minutes.
Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Hawks Trade Josh Childress To Phoenix
The return on holding the right to match an offer for this sort of production: a 2012 second-round pick and a trade exception. Michael Cunningham describes the potential value of the exception:
*The constancy of his role somewhat negates the idea that the Hawks expect (or demand) improvement from Williams due to his relative youth.
Atlanta’s trade exception would be worth half the amount of his first-year salary since he would become a base-year compensation player. The exception works as a sort of credit that would allow the Hawks to make a trade while over the salary cap without meeting the usual salary-matching requirement.The trade can't be fairly evaluated until the exception gets used or expires but it must be noted that Josh Childress will be paid less money (and over more years) than the Hawks gave their perennial* fifth-option Marvin Williams.
*The constancy of his role somewhat negates the idea that the Hawks expect (or demand) improvement from Williams due to his relative youth.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Suns 88 Hawks 80
Boxscore
Hoopdata Boxscore
Gameflow
Highlights
30 second half points against the league's 29th-stingiest defense? One of those things that can happen on the road? An example of the difference between playing the slightly above average Suns and the dismantled Clippers? Just a good night for the "under" bettors? New rims installed at US Airways Center over the break? Or, another manifestation of the lack of Plan B, the familiar lack of ball movement* simply thrown into sharper than normal relief by Mike Woodson's decision to use just six players in the second half while Phoenix's second half run was courtesy of a lineup of Dragic, Richardson, Dudley, Amundson, and Frye?
*13 made field goals, 3 assists for the Hawks in the second half
Mike Woodson used but six guys to tally those 30 points despite only two of the six (Josh Smith and Joe Johnson) having played well in the first half and none of them playing well at any point* in the second half.
Mike Woodson on his short second half rotation:
Mike Woodson:
Hoopdata Boxscore
Gameflow
Highlights
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| ATL | 89 | 0.899 | 41.4 | 22.4 | 20 | 16.8 |
| PHX | 89 | 0.988 | 46.3 | 14.6 | 34.1 | 19.1 |
30 second half points against the league's 29th-stingiest defense? One of those things that can happen on the road? An example of the difference between playing the slightly above average Suns and the dismantled Clippers? Just a good night for the "under" bettors? New rims installed at US Airways Center over the break? Or, another manifestation of the lack of Plan B, the familiar lack of ball movement* simply thrown into sharper than normal relief by Mike Woodson's decision to use just six players in the second half while Phoenix's second half run was courtesy of a lineup of Dragic, Richardson, Dudley, Amundson, and Frye?
*13 made field goals, 3 assists for the Hawks in the second half
Mike Woodson used but six guys to tally those 30 points despite only two of the six (Josh Smith and Joe Johnson) having played well in the first half and none of them playing well at any point* in the second half.
- Marvin Williams scored two points, grabbed one rebound, and committed two turnovers in 16:52.
- Mike Bibby was 0-4 from the floor, committed two turnovers and didn't register an assist in 17:50.
- Josh Smith scored 21 points through three quarters. He scored 0 in 9:55 of playing time in the fourth quarter.
- Al Horford didn't score in the final 10:56 of the game, though he did, to his credit, grab half of Atlanta's eight fourth quarter rebounds.
- Joe Johnson scored 17 points through three quarters. He made a single bucket in the fourth, a runner with 5:24 left that cut Phoenix's lead to 11. Did he attempt any free throws in the fourth quarter? Of course he did not.
- Jamal Crawford scored 8 of Atlanta's 14 fourth quarter points but those were Atlanta's final 8 points, spread out over the final 4:48 with the Hawks down at least nine prior to each bucket.
Mike Woodson on his short second half rotation:
"I decided to go that route. I learned a little something tonight because that won’t happen again."Jamal Crawford:
"Maybe we lost focus a little bit and it caught up with us."Josh Smith:
"We just got outplayed, bottom line."Al Horford:
"We were not doing enough to get stops when we needed them. We were not being aggressive enough in the fourth quarter."Joe Johnson:
"When our offense wasn't working in the fourth, it seems like we gave up defensively as well. That's not a sign of a good team. We're better than that."Phoenix scored 18 points on 20 fourth quarter possessions. They scored on 10 of those 20 possessions. Three of their 10 fourth quarter scores (Including twice in the five straight possessions on which Phoenix scored early in the fourth quarter. A poor defensive stretch, to be sure, but at its conclusion there was still 7:39 remaining in the game.) came courtesy of an offensive rebound. The Hawks didn't give up defensively. They were slightly worse than normal on the defensive glass for a short stretch and were consistently (and collectively) useless offensively for the entire second half.
Mike Woodson:
"I thought our offense hurt us tonight. It really put us behind. We ended up with 12 assists and we missed a lot of good shots and a lot of our shots were hurried shots."
Friday, February 19, 2010
February 19th Open Thread: Atlanta (34-18) @ Phoenix (32-23)
TIP-OFF: 9pm (EST)
TELEVISION: SportSouth
CHAT: Daily Dime Live (in which I will be participating)
RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: Leandro Barbosa is out.
BY THE NUMBERS
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Phoenix -4, 213 o/u
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns
PREVIOUSLY, THE PHOENIX SUNS...split two road games since the resumption of play following the All-Star break. On Tuesday, they beat the Grizzlies 109-95 in Memphis. On Wednesday, they lost 107-97 to the Mavericks in Dallas. On Thursday, they didn't trade Amare Stoudemire.
The Hawks beat (in rather dramatic fashion) the Suns 102-101 in Atlanta on January 15th.
Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
TELEVISION: SportSouth
CHAT: Daily Dime Live (in which I will be participating)
RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: Leandro Barbosa is out.
BY THE NUMBERS
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| ATL (off) | 89.5 | 1.128 | 50.5 | 21.5 | 27.3 | 13.2 |
| PHX (def) | 94.6 | 1.131 | 49.6 | 29.3 | 30 | 13.6 |
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| ATL (def) | 89.5 | 1.077 | 49.8 | 28.1 | 27.2 | 15.9 |
| PHX (off) | 94.6 | 1.156 | 54 | 23.5 | 26.6 | 15.9 |
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Phoenix -4, 213 o/u
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns
PREVIOUSLY, THE PHOENIX SUNS...split two road games since the resumption of play following the All-Star break. On Tuesday, they beat the Grizzlies 109-95 in Memphis. On Wednesday, they lost 107-97 to the Mavericks in Dallas. On Thursday, they didn't trade Amare Stoudemire.
The Hawks beat (in rather dramatic fashion) the Suns 102-101 in Atlanta on January 15th.
Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Hawks 102 Suns 101
Boxscore
Gameflow
Highlights
It's a funny game. Had Jamal Crawford missed his guarded* 28-footer at the buzzer he would have shared blame with Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby for succumbing to the lure of the jump shot against Phoenix's zone rather than getting the ball inside to Al Horford for whom Phoenix had no answer all night. And, had a stunning string of events not occurred in the final six seconds of the game, Crawford would not have had the chance to redeem himself and salvage an improbable victory for his team.
*Cruelly, Phoenix's defense of Atlanta's final in-bounds play was far and away the best thing they did, collectively and individually, in the game's final moments.
Mike Woodson:
Lesson learned?
Joe Johnson:
Noticed while perusing the Hoopdata boxscore...
Amare Stoudemire:
Gameflow
Highlights
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| PHX | 90.9 | 1.111 | 45.3 | 32.7 | 31.8 | 14.3 |
| ATL | 90.9 | 1.122 | 43.9 | 25.6 | 42.6 | 8.8 |
It's a funny game. Had Jamal Crawford missed his guarded* 28-footer at the buzzer he would have shared blame with Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby for succumbing to the lure of the jump shot against Phoenix's zone rather than getting the ball inside to Al Horford for whom Phoenix had no answer all night. And, had a stunning string of events not occurred in the final six seconds of the game, Crawford would not have had the chance to redeem himself and salvage an improbable victory for his team.
*Cruelly, Phoenix's defense of Atlanta's final in-bounds play was far and away the best thing they did, collectively and individually, in the game's final moments.
Mike Woodson:
"Everything has to go right in those situations."To wit:
- Josh Smith makes his first free throw to cut the lead to three.
- Josh Smith misses his second free throw.
- Steve Nash clatters into an otherwise untroubled Grant Hill, knocking the rebound out of Hill's hands and knocking Hill to the ground.
- The loose ball goes straight to Jamal Crawford, who is unguarded under the rim as it was a long rebound off the free throw miss, and he lays it in.
- Amare Stoudemire misses the first and makes the second free throw, and, in making one of two in that order, Phoenix has just a two-point lead and Atlanta loses no time regaining possession of the ball.
- Hill and Nash deny Joe Johnson, who is moving away from the basket and toward the in-bounds passer (Mike Bibby) and looks in no position to get an on-balance shot off in the time remaining, the ball so it goes to Crawford 40 feet from the basket, but square to the rim with time to take two dribbles before launching the game winner over a well-positioned but ultimately helpless Jared Dudley.
"Smoove was trying to make the free throw . . . and the ball just dropped right to Jamal. It gave us a chance to set our defense to foul."Crawford's three (in collaboartion with the events listed above) spared the Hawks the embarrassment of losing the game in essentially the same way they lost at home to the Knicks on New Year's Day. The lead lost wasn't nearly as large, the opponent better, and the opposing guard they were unable to handle in isolation Steve Nash rather than Nate Robinson but the ease with which the Hawks were convinced to shoot jump shots* against a zone defense in a game where Al Horford, through three quarters, was the team's most dangerous offensive player was all too familiar. I doubt last night will be the last time this team faces a zone late in a close game. Both the plan of attack and the execution must improve.
Lesson learned?
Joe Johnson:
"We showed a lot of guts, poise and character."I guess we'll have to wait and see though things Joe Johnson says after game shouldn't be taken too seriously. Such as:
"We drew it up to get an easy basket. Luckily, we were able to get the 3."*14 of Atlanta's 23 (including 10 of their first 14 attempts as they went from a 78-75 lead at the start of the quarter to an 86-92 deficit with 4:17 remaining) fourth quarter field goal attempts were jump shots of at least 14 feet. They made 4 with 2 of the makes being three-pointers.
Noticed while perusing the Hoopdata boxscore...
- 49 of Atlanta's 90 field goal attempts came at least 16 feet from the basket against a team featuring Channing Frye and Robin Lopez at center.
- Horford and Josh Smith gave the Hawks a chance to win the game however improbably by combining to shoot 8-13 at the rim (plus the 15 foul shots they earned) and Horford making all five of his long two-point jump shots.
- The rest of the team was 3-12 at the rim, attempted 12 free throws, and made 7 of 21 long two-point jump shots.
- Lest he escape unscathed, let it be known that Josh Smith took three more long jump shots, one of which rendered Hubie Brown speechless.
"I knew I was going for a win. It felt good. I started backing the other way."The irony of Jamal Crawford getting back on defense after the buzzer has sounded is not lost on me.
Amare Stoudemire:
"That's what we wanted -- a well-contested shot. But we didn't want to lose. Tough game. A tough game for us."
Friday, January 15, 2010
January 15th Game Thread: Phoenix (24-15) @ Atlanta (25-13)
TIP-OFF: 8pm (EST)
TELEVISION: ESPN, SportSouth, ESPN360
CHAT: Daily Dime Live
RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY/ILLNESS REPORT: Zaza Pachulia (flu-like symptoms) is listed as day-to-day.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: None.
BY THE NUMBERS
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -5, 216 o/u
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns
PREVIOUSLY, THE PHOENIX SUNS...lost to the Pacers 122-114 in Indiana on Wednesday night, blowing a 24-point lead in the process. It wasn't the first big lead Phoenix blew this season, or even this week. Tyler Lockman and Michael Schwartz explore why in this post at Valley of the Suns.
Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
TELEVISION: ESPN, SportSouth, ESPN360
CHAT: Daily Dime Live
RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY/ILLNESS REPORT: Zaza Pachulia (flu-like symptoms) is listed as day-to-day.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: None.
BY THE NUMBERS
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| PHX (off) | 95.0 | 1.158 | 54.7 | 23.0 | 26.3 | 16.1 |
| ATL (def) | 90.3 | 1.072 | 50.2 | 27.7 | 26.5 | 16.4 |
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| PHX (def) | 95.0 | 1.126 | 49.6 | 28.5 | 30.5 | 14.1 |
| ATL (off) | 90.3 | 1.133 | 51.0 | 21.2 | 27.4 | 13.4 |
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -5, 216 o/u
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns
PREVIOUSLY, THE PHOENIX SUNS...lost to the Pacers 122-114 in Indiana on Wednesday night, blowing a 24-point lead in the process. It wasn't the first big lead Phoenix blew this season, or even this week. Tyler Lockman and Michael Schwartz explore why in this post at Valley of the Suns.
Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Suns 104 Hawks 99
Boxscore
Gameflow
With 5:02 left in the game and the Hawks leading 95-94, Josh Smith, matched up against Shaquille O'Neal in the low post had to give up a foul rather than a dunk. In what seemed at the time like a bum break for the Hawks, O'Neal made both free throws to put Phoenix up by a point. In retrospect, Smith's foul was one of the last successful plays a Hawk player would manage the rest of the game.
From the official play-by-play, the next nine Hawks possessions...
It's no coincidence that Solomon Jones is the only name to appear in bold type in that list. For a young player of moderate ability and experience who gets little opportunity to play and virtually no opportunity to play in crunch time, Jones was a revelation as his veteran teammates fell apart in the fourth quarter. Jones scored 9 of Atlanta's 19 fourth quarter points. Zaza Pachulia added a bucket and Flip Murray a three-pointer in the final quarter, leaving Joe Johnson (0-7 FGA, 4 assists, 2 turnovers), Mike Bibby (1-3 FGA, 1 assist), Josh Smith (1-5 FGA, 0-3 on jump shots, 2 turnovers), and Marvin Williams (0-1 FGA) to account (or not) for the other five points.
It's a bit unfair to include Bibby in the "fell apart in the fourth quarter" category. Whereas Smith scored 17 points in the first three quarters (while, not coincidentally forgoing the jump shot for the most part) before scoring 2 in the fourth, and Johnson and Williams combined to score 32 points through three quarters before both going scoreless in the fourth, Bibby's fourth quarter three-pointer doubled his made field goals on the day.
In addition to his struggling to make shots, it was (save for a stretch of the third quarter where Matt Barnes and Louis Amundson replaced Grant Hill and O'Neal on the court) difficult for Mike Woodson to find a Sun that wouldn't exploit Bibby's defensive limitations. In the 29:04 that Bibby played, the Hawks were outscored 64-49. In the 18:56 he sat, Atlanta outscored Phoenix 50-40.
That 25 point disparity isn't just down to Bibby having a tough day on both ends of the floor as Flip Murray had another nice game off the bench, scoring 16 points on 9 shots (plus 6 FTA) and chipping in a couple of assists. Murray was 1-4 on three-pointers (and I'm still skeptical that he's been on anything more than hot streak from beyond the arc so far this year) but he's been so effective (and relentless in) backing down opposing backup point guards that I suspect we may see teams make an adjustment to contain Murray by putting a bigger defender on him with the intention of forcing him to shoot more perimeter jumpers.
Mike Woodson:
*Thanks to Micah Hart for organizing and hosting and to Rick Sund for taking some questions from the assembled bloggers. With regard to that, it would probably be best if this post were stricken from the record. Sometimes you see them leaving but you don't see the push.
Kelly Dwyer puts the Hawks loss down, in part, to it being one of those days:
Back with more throughout the day leading up to tonight's game in Miami.
Gameflow
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| PHX | 95.9 | 1.08 | 59.2 | 41.5 | 9.7 | 21.9 |
| ATL | 95.9 | 1.03 | 44.6 | 28.6 | 24.5 | 13.6 |
With 5:02 left in the game and the Hawks leading 95-94, Josh Smith, matched up against Shaquille O'Neal in the low post had to give up a foul rather than a dunk. In what seemed at the time like a bum break for the Hawks, O'Neal made both free throws to put Phoenix up by a point. In retrospect, Smith's foul was one of the last successful plays a Hawk player would manage the rest of the game.
From the official play-by-play, the next nine Hawks possessions...
- Josh Smith missed jump shot (off of one pass with 11 seconds left on the shot clock)
- Joe Johnson missed runner
- Joe Johnson missed layup
- Josh Smith missed jump shot (with 8 seconds left on the shot clock)
- Joe Johnson penetrates into the lane, turns the ball over in traffic
- Mike Bibby missed three-pointer
- Josh Smith travels attempting a post move against Amare Stoudemire
- Josh Smith hits a cutting Solomon Jones with a bullet pass, Leandro Barbosa fouls Jones, who makes both free throws
- Out of a timeout with 26.2 seconds left, the Hawks struggle to inbound the ball, finally get it to Solomon Jones, who hands off to Joe Johnson. Johnson fails to make any progress toward the basket and takes a guarded, fall-away three-pointer with 18 seconds left. He misses but SOLOMON JONES gets the offensive rebound and the putback.
It's no coincidence that Solomon Jones is the only name to appear in bold type in that list. For a young player of moderate ability and experience who gets little opportunity to play and virtually no opportunity to play in crunch time, Jones was a revelation as his veteran teammates fell apart in the fourth quarter. Jones scored 9 of Atlanta's 19 fourth quarter points. Zaza Pachulia added a bucket and Flip Murray a three-pointer in the final quarter, leaving Joe Johnson (0-7 FGA, 4 assists, 2 turnovers), Mike Bibby (1-3 FGA, 1 assist), Josh Smith (1-5 FGA, 0-3 on jump shots, 2 turnovers), and Marvin Williams (0-1 FGA) to account (or not) for the other five points.
It's a bit unfair to include Bibby in the "fell apart in the fourth quarter" category. Whereas Smith scored 17 points in the first three quarters (while, not coincidentally forgoing the jump shot for the most part) before scoring 2 in the fourth, and Johnson and Williams combined to score 32 points through three quarters before both going scoreless in the fourth, Bibby's fourth quarter three-pointer doubled his made field goals on the day.
In addition to his struggling to make shots, it was (save for a stretch of the third quarter where Matt Barnes and Louis Amundson replaced Grant Hill and O'Neal on the court) difficult for Mike Woodson to find a Sun that wouldn't exploit Bibby's defensive limitations. In the 29:04 that Bibby played, the Hawks were outscored 64-49. In the 18:56 he sat, Atlanta outscored Phoenix 50-40.
That 25 point disparity isn't just down to Bibby having a tough day on both ends of the floor as Flip Murray had another nice game off the bench, scoring 16 points on 9 shots (plus 6 FTA) and chipping in a couple of assists. Murray was 1-4 on three-pointers (and I'm still skeptical that he's been on anything more than hot streak from beyond the arc so far this year) but he's been so effective (and relentless in) backing down opposing backup point guards that I suspect we may see teams make an adjustment to contain Murray by putting a bigger defender on him with the intention of forcing him to shoot more perimeter jumpers.
Mike Woodson:
"We’re playing good basketball. We’re still in the position we need to be, in terms of trying to secure that fourth spot. We’ve just got to go get this one back."Along with several of my fellow Hawks bloggers, I attended last night's game at the invitation of the Atlanta Hawks* and also attended Woodson's post-game press conference and can offer as a first-hand account that Woodson took what had to have been a frustrating loss (It was certainly frustrating just to watch.) with an admirably equanimity. Something that should not go unremarked even as I still question certain tactical or man management decisions he makes: Mike Woodson appears far more comfortable coaching the Atlanta Hawks than he did last year. Whether this is a cause or a function of the team's success, I know not.
*Thanks to Micah Hart for organizing and hosting and to Rick Sund for taking some questions from the assembled bloggers. With regard to that, it would probably be best if this post were stricken from the record. Sometimes you see them leaving but you don't see the push.
Kelly Dwyer puts the Hawks loss down, in part, to it being one of those days:
Atlanta probably should have won this game, and while I do credit Phoenix's defense to an extent, I think Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby's combined 7-33 shooting had a lot more to do with Johnson and Bibby than the Suns defense.Michael Schwartz, at Valley of the Suns, recaps the game from the, you guessed it, Suns' perspective and notes Steve Kerr's interesting use of the word "crisis"
First, he’s probably exaggerating with his use of the word “crisis,” but in the scheme of the 2008-09 NBA season, those words couldn’t be more accurate. Losing to the Bobcats by 22 to cap off a run of five losses in six games is a crisis for a team hoping to make the playoffs.And now for what would have led the recap had the Hawks won:
It’s a crisis comparable to six weeks ago when the Suns were embarrassed on the road in consecutive games at New Orleans and Dallas after dropping home games they should have won to Miami and New Jersey. Kerr responded to that “crisis” by sending Raja Bell and Boris Diaw out of town and bringing in Jason Richardson.
I hope this crisis is solved with greater focus and intensity from the players, and as Kerr alluded to, that the Suns find a better place mentally.
Back with more throughout the day leading up to tonight's game in Miami.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
January 25th Open Thread: Phoenix (23-18) @ Atlanta (26-16)
TIP-OFF: 6pm
TELEVISION: SportSouth, NBATV
RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Al Horford is out. Acie Law IV will be active.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: None.
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -4, 208.5 o/u
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns, Ben's Suns Blog, Bright Side of the Sun
PREVIOUSLY, THE PHOENIX SUNS... lost three straight road games, with blowout losses at the Celtics and at the Bobcats (after which Matt Barnes channeled his inner Larry Hughes) sandwiching Mike D'Antoni's revenge. In the first leg of this inter-conference home-and-home, the Suns won 107-102.
Consider this an open thread for all the pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts that you believe deserve a wider audience.
TELEVISION: SportSouth, NBATV
RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass
GAME NOTES: Hawks/Suns
ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Al Horford is out. Acie Law IV will be active.
PHOENIX INJURY REPORT: None.
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -4, 208.5 o/u
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Valley of the Suns, Ben's Suns Blog, Bright Side of the Sun
PREVIOUSLY, THE PHOENIX SUNS... lost three straight road games, with blowout losses at the Celtics and at the Bobcats (after which Matt Barnes channeled his inner Larry Hughes) sandwiching Mike D'Antoni's revenge. In the first leg of this inter-conference home-and-home, the Suns won 107-102.
Consider this an open thread for all the pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts that you believe deserve a wider audience.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Suns a lot Hawks very little
Boxscore
Gameflow
I, too, decided to save myself for the second game of the Phoenix/Los Angeles back-to-back after it became clear in the third quarter that the Hawks were going to continue to switch on every single pick-and-roll despite Acie Law IV being in the game. It's a testament to their team spirit that the Suns frontcourt players didn't get into a single argument over who would get to set the pick and post up Acie Law this time down the court.
Adjustments?
But, hey, in a complete blowout Woodson was able to give Acie Law stretches of (almost) 2 and 4 minutes at point guard before saddling him with Tyronn Lue.
I kept watching to the bitter end in the hopes that a Salim Stoudamire/Eric Piatkowski shootout would break out but ended the night disappointed on that front as well.
Forget about last night's game. You can't expect a plodding team like the Hawks to compete on the road against the shot-blocking, ball-hawking Phoenix Suns.
Oh.
Nevermind.
Go read this instead.
Josh Smith Jump Shot Log
January 29, 2008 @Phoenix
The Mario West Defensive Stopper Scorecard will not appear today as Mr. West was inactive last night.
Gameflow
I, too, decided to save myself for the second game of the Phoenix/Los Angeles back-to-back after it became clear in the third quarter that the Hawks were going to continue to switch on every single pick-and-roll despite Acie Law IV being in the game. It's a testament to their team spirit that the Suns frontcourt players didn't get into a single argument over who would get to set the pick and post up Acie Law this time down the court.
Adjustments?
But, hey, in a complete blowout Woodson was able to give Acie Law stretches of (almost) 2 and 4 minutes at point guard before saddling him with Tyronn Lue.
I kept watching to the bitter end in the hopes that a Salim Stoudamire/Eric Piatkowski shootout would break out but ended the night disappointed on that front as well.
Forget about last night's game. You can't expect a plodding team like the Hawks to compete on the road against the shot-blocking, ball-hawking Phoenix Suns.
Oh.
Nevermind.
Go read this instead.
Josh Smith Jump Shot Log
January 29, 2008 @Phoenix
| Result | Quarter | Time | Shot Clock | Distance |
| MISS | 1Q | 11:40 | (:06) | 19' |
| MISS | 2Q | 11:19 | (:02) | 23' |
| MAKE | 2Q | 9:41 | (:01) | 17' |
The Mario West Defensive Stopper Scorecard will not appear today as Mr. West was inactive last night.
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