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Post by IWSfan4life on Dec 5, 2007 18:39:25 GMT -5
I'm really glad to see Horford and Law doing so well. I had Horford in a battle with Al Thorton in a battle for rookie of the year (since Dorant's team is so bad and Oden is out). Law had some nice highlights on SC the other night.
On a great note, The Celtics look really damn good. The may be able to win 60 in the east and get to the finals barring injury. My favorite West team, the Mavs, are struggling but it's only a matter of time before they go on a run with all that offense.
-jason
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Post by Agent Kev on Dec 6, 2007 22:44:55 GMT -5
Hawks 90 Minnesota 89
FIRE MIKE WOODSON. Please or I will lose my sanity soon (if I haven't already). This game was really up and down and had huge peaks and valleys for both teams. The Hawks looked like world beaters in the first quarter and Minnesota literally looked like a team that would have difficulty beating a High School AAU team. Hawks won the first quarter 29-15 with Minnesota getting a flurry of points to close the quarter. It was like 25-9 at one point. The third quarter was pretty much the exact opposite with Minnesota winning that quarter 27-8. Yes, 8. Mike Woodson is probably the worst coach in the NBA at making adjustments to the Hawks gameplan (this is probably because we don't have a gameplan to start with).
This game ultimately boiled down to the last minute. The Hawks were up 1 and then they gave up a lay-up on an inbounds pass with 21 seconds left to go down 1. Yes, a lay-up on an out-of-bounds play. The Hawks came back and Josh Smith hit a turnaround bank shot with 7 seconds left. Then Minnesota came back and got ANOTHER lay-up off of an out-of-bounds play (Woodson totally got outcoached in the last 30 seconds of this game by Minnesota's fill-in coach). Hawks got the ball with 2 seconds left and inbounded it to Joe Johnson and he hit a fallaway jumper with 0.3 left on the clock when the ball left his hands to win the game in dramatic fashion at home against the worst team in the NBA.
The Hawks had a real weird game tonight. Josh Smith had a great first half and solid 4th quarter and finished with 28 pts on 11/19 shooting (which is awesome for him this year), he also had 7 blocks. Marvin played well tonight as he did a great job driving to the basket and giving up his body for the team. He had 20 points and took 15 foul shots (he only made 10 of them- but he did a great job getting to the line). Joe had an off-night again as he continues to slump but came up HUGE in the 4th quarter with 2 big shots including the game winner- he had 21 pts but on 8/21. Al Horford played really well (again) tonight and was really the glue for this team IMO (he got in foul trouble in the 3rd) and we played much, much better with him on the court. He only scored 8 pts but he grabbed 15 boards and the team just seemed to play better with him in. Acie Law probably had his worst game as a pro- i'll just chalk it up to it being a rookie game- he didn't play horrible he just wasn't a factor at all. Josh Childress also didn't really factor into tonights game- which is weird as he is our most consistent player (along with Al) night in and night out.
As far as the Timberwolves they just looked awful in the 1st quarter. After the 1st quarter I really believed that Al Jefferson was probably the only guy on this team that deserved to be in the NBA. They did a good job turning the ship around in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and Craig Smith played really well. He ended up with 20 pts and 9 boards and was just really active around the basket. Corey Brewer looked like an absolute turd in the 1st quarter and then played a really good, active game for the rest of the way but the poor kid could not make a lay-up to save his life. Man, he looked awful in the 1st quarter and after that he looked pretty good but just couldn't finish plays. He ended up with 18 rebounds but shot 3 of 15 from the floor (most of these lay-ups- it's not like he was hoisting bad shots/jumpers). Jaric also ended up playing a solid game once they got going. Gomes and Buckner just looked absolutely abysmal. I don't remember them playing after the 1st quarter and Sebastian Telfair really dragged the team down as well. So basically- Jefferson, Smith, Brewer and Jaric are really the only guys that looked like they needed to be on the court (Doleac and McCants also did decent in their roles).
Looks like Joe Johnson saved Woody's job for another day but man he needs to go. Memphis is up next and that's a very, very winnable game.
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Post by Agent Kev on Dec 9, 2007 0:32:27 GMT -5
Atlanta 86 Memphis 78
Atlanta looked fantastic in the first quarter. They had great spacing and tremendous ball movement and went up 25-10 at the end of the first on an Acie Law buzzer beater. Hawks held off Memphis after this as they went through lows and never looked as good as they did in the 1st quarter but were able to hold off a tired and poor shooting Memphis. Rudy Gay got red hot in the 2nd quarter but it didn't last. Hawks played without Childress tonight and without Zaza (although the way Zaza has been playing this may have been a help). Josh Smith was real good tonight as he continued his streak of playing within the team concept (there were times when he was slightly out of control but nothing like the beginning of the year where he is just trying to do too much)- he went 11 for 19 and ended up with 25 points and didn't take any 3 pointers. Josh has really made an effort to drive the ball and get the ball in the post recently and it is paying off big time for the Hawks. Joe continued to struggle from the floor as he made only 7 of 17 shots but he continued to make shots when they needed them. Marvin continues to really impress me with his growth this year- he didn't shoot as well this game as he has but he continues to nail the mid range jumper, is taking the ball the hoop and drawing fouls and is being much more aggressive than last year- he ended with 17 pts and 10 boards. Anthony Johnson played his best game of the year despite 4 turnovers. He did a real good job in getting guys the ball in a position to score (much more so than he has done this year)- he had 8 assists. And Horford was Mr Consistency again with 8 pts and 15 boards. Law, Stoudamire and Sheldon all also contributed solid minutes off the bench.
This brings the Hawks to 9-10 and winners of 6 out of their last 9. The next 5 games for the Hawks get really interesting as they go to Orlando, Toronto @ home, @ Detroit (already lost 2x), Charlotte at home (1-0 vs Charlotte this year) and Utah at home. Hawks are starting to creep up the Conference rankings so it's key to play well and get some wins in this stretch.
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Post by Agent Kev on Dec 10, 2007 21:53:48 GMT -5
Atlanta 98 Orlando 86
This was a real good win for the Hawks as they pretty much won this one from beginning to end. Hawks played a great 1st quarter- which they've been doing lately and were up 29-19. Orlando inched forward and then got within 5 with a few minutes left but the Hawks dug down and won the game. Joe Johnson and Sheldon Williams (yes, Sheldon Williams) led the Hawks in the first half. Joe ended with 25 and Sheldon had 12 points (all in the 1st half as he didn't play in the second half- he took a nasty spill when he was undercut dunking the ball by Jameer Nelson). The second half was the Josh Smith and Anthony Johnson show. AJ has really been playing solid lately and he made some good defensive vet plays and hit a huge 3 pointer on an assist from Smith to put a dagger in Orlando's hearts. AJ ended up with 15 points and 3 steals. Josh Smith (NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week last week) stuffed the stat line with 25 points, 14 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Lorenzen Wright also had a big contribution to the game as he only scored 1 point but put in 19 minutes of solid defense on Dwight Howard. Horford got in foul trouble early and only played 17 minutes but he had a couple of real nice offensive plays going man on man with Dwight. Real good win for the Hawks who know go to 10-10 with their best start since 2002 (also 10-10). Toronto is tomorrow night at home and the Hawks have a 3 game winning streak on the line.
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Post by Agent Kev on Dec 11, 2007 21:57:48 GMT -5
Toronto 100 Hawks 88
I saw this one coming after winning 3 straight and winning last night in Orlando. The Hawks just looked kinda tired and never really got going in this one. Toronto also never really looked that great (although both teams got hot at times) they just made plays and hit shots when they needed to be done. Marvin had a good game for the Hawks as he finished with 23. Sheldon played another good game tonight (that's two in a row) and Josh Childress had a real good game with 13 on 5/7 shooting. Of course, Woody didn't see fit to play Childress down the stretch. Josh Smith fouled out with about 5 minutes left on a real questionable call but it was probably for the best as this was the worst game he's probably played all year. He went from all-star (in the last week and a half) to out-house.
There was a scary moment toward the end of the game when Al Horford went up to block TJ Ford on a lay-up and hit his head instead of the ball. Ford took a hard fall and was taken out and taken to the Hospital. His arms and legs were moving according to the sideline reporters (although the re-cap on cbs.sportsline.com says he wasn't moving). Horford was ejected for the hard foul. Ford had a real good game tonight with 26 on 11 of 15 shooting and Chris Bosh didn't really stand out but had a good night. A lot of Toronto's role players like Anthony Parker, Jemario Moon, and Jose Calderon outplayed the Hawks role players and ultimately that's why they won.
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Post by Agent Kev on Dec 15, 2007 21:58:08 GMT -5
Hawks 93 Charlotte 84
This was a good win for the Hawks and they had this one pretty much in control after the 1st quarter. Sheldon Williams was carjacked earlier in the day but was in uniform although he only played 1 minute. The only guards that the Hawks had available for tonight's game were Joe Johnson, Anthony Johnson and Mario West. Josh Childress, Salim Stoudamire, Acie Law, Tyronn Lue and Speedy Claxton (insert joke here) were all out with injuries. Anthony Johnson had a good little game and continues to improve in running point for the Hawks. He played 40 minutes tonight (which is also probably his age) and had 11 pts and 4 Assists. Joe Johnson went to work early tonight and ended up with 31. Josh Smith played really well tonight as he played within the team concept and had 19 pts, 8 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals and a block. Marvin quietly had a good game as he ended with 20- he did a real good job of taking the ball to the hole and initiating contact and drawing fouls. Horford returned tonight from his one game suspension and had a decent game and Zaza Pachulia continues to just be awful this year. Mario West ended up playing 19 minutes and provided some needed minutes at the point- Charlotte didn't seem to notice that he isn't a PG and has never really played PG so they didn't both to press him.
Charlotte didn't look real good tonight. They have absolutely horrible fast break defense and tried to go one-on-one way too much tonight. Gerald Wallace had a good little game but he was really the only guy who had a good game. Okafur would go in that bucket to but the guy just can't hit foul shots.
This win brings the Hawks back to one win from being .500 at 11-12 and actually tied for 6th with Indiana in playoff contention. We've got Utah and Miami at home next week and on the road at Washington. If we can get a guard or two back and take 2 out of 3 next week I would be real happy at 13-13 considering where we've been in the past.
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Post by Agent Kev on Dec 17, 2007 23:44:53 GMT -5
Hawks 116 Utah 111
The Hawks almost let this one get away but they are winning some games this year that they would have lost in years past. Hawks only dressed 9 for this game and Anthony Johnson was the only PG available for the Hawks (for the 2nd straight game) but he came up huge tonight playing like a cagey veteran. He hit 2 huge threes down the stretch, scored 17 points and had 14 assists. Joe Johnson got in early foul trouble and didn't score in the first quarter but ended up with 26. Marvin continued to get to the line and really anchored the Hawks in the 2nd and 3rd quarters- he had 21. Josh Smith had 21 and 5 blocks. Al Horford played huge with 17 pts including hitting 4 straight shots in the first quarter and hitting his first 6 from the field. Zaza finally played an adequate game and hopefully he can come out of his slump. Mario West also added some needed minutes in the first quarter spelling Joe and scoring what had to be his career high of 7 points including what is probably the first jumper of his NBA career.
Boozer was awesome tonight. He ended with 39 points and it didn't even look like he was exerting himself at times during the game as he let the game come to him and looked real fluid in getting his 39 as he didn't force much. Ronnie Brewer had a good little game but went quiet in the 4th and Derron Williams did a good job of running their offense but never got his offense going as Anthony Johnson got the better of him on this night.
Hawks improved to 12-12 on the year and continue to play like a team that wants to make the playoffs. Right now we are sitting in 7th place in the Conference. Next up is Miami and then Washington.
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Post by Agent Kev on Dec 20, 2007 1:23:43 GMT -5
Hawks 117 Heat 111
The Heat almost snuck out with this one. Hawks led throughout and the Heat came back and took the lead with 2 minutes. Hawks battled back to tie the game and put it into OT. Heat up by 2 again late in OT but Hawks made a defense stop and then Joe got a quick score and a foul to put them up. Horford then hit 2 foul shots and AJ iced the game with a jumper as the shot clock expired to put the game away. Big games by Joe, AJ and Marvin. Joe and Marvin both had 26. Joe added 9 assists and Marvin 10 boards. Anthony Johnson had 21 pts and 9 assists and hit big shots. Josh Smith fouled out and did not get a block (broke his streak of like 75 straight games with a block). Horford and Zaza also ended with 5 fouls. Tons of fouls called on the Hawks in the first 3 quarters of this game. DWade went to the foul line 22 times and scored 36 points on 8 made shots. Joe played 53 minutes and Marvin 50 as Childress, TLue and Salim are still out (as is Speedy but I'm not counting him anymore). Acie came back tonight but played sparingly as he is coming off injury.
Hawks are now 13-12 which is their best start since like 88-89. Hawks have won 7 of 10.
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Post by Agent Kev on Dec 21, 2007 22:44:33 GMT -5
Hawks 97 Wizards 92
Hawks battled and hung tough and pulled this one out on the road. The Hawks had a great opening as they caught fire early but then cooled off in the 2nd and 3rd quarters but played a good steady game. Hawks came back and scored 29 in the 4th and won it down the stretch by hitting a big shot or two (Smith hit a big three in the last two minutes), being in the right place at the right time (Josh Childress getting a big offensive rebound put-back on a Josh Smith miss) and hitting free throws (Joe hit 4/4 in crunch time and Mario West hit 2/2 to ice the game). Joe had 32 and 8 assists and made shots/drives when the team needed to be lifted in the 2nd half. Marvin had a fantastic first half and ended with 22 on 8/12 shooting (this was his 4th straight game over 20). Josh Smith had 16 pts, 14 boards, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. Horford had a solid game with 13 pts. Anthony Johnson cooled off a little tonight but did a real good job running the show and picked up 8 assists. Josh Childress only scored 4 points in his return from injury but he had a huge put-back in crunch time and had 11 boards.
The Wizards surprised me a little bit in that they have more talent than I thought. Everyone knows about Butler and Jamison but Nick Young played real good and Stevenson had a good game. You can see flashes in McGuire and Mason but they aren't there yet. The biggest weakness on the Wizards that I saw tonight was their defensive rebounding was very poor- Hawks had 16 offensive rebounds and I think it was a little bit of the Hawks having guys who like to rebound but it was also poor fundamentals by Washington on not blocking out and ultimately this cost them the game. Washington also had very weak interior help defense and really doesn't seem to have a guy on the team who can block a shot when they need it. I was a little surprised by the Wizards as they seemed to play together really well and when I watched them last year with Gilbert they seemed to be a more one on one team so they seemed to run their offense better this year and it led to Jamison quietly putting up 30. The other thing I was surprised about was Jamison and Butler not seemingly wanting or demanding to be the go to guy in crunch time as this was handed off time and time again to Nick Young- who I thought did a good job in that role as he made a very difficult lay-up over Smith and Childress but Butler and Jamison just didn't step up like Joe Johnson did and that's why the Hawks ultimately won (besides Washington's lack of defensive rebounding). But I guess that's a by-product of Gilbert. Anyway, I thought these two teams matched up pretty well so it will be interesting to see what happens when they meet up again since I think they are both playing better than they were when they met earlier this year.
Hawks have won 4 straight and are now 14-12 and are shockingly 5th in the Eastern Conference. There is a long way to go but the team is really playing well right now.
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Post by Agent Kev on Dec 26, 2007 22:27:29 GMT -5
Hawks 107 Pacers 95
Hawks didn't play a great game tonight but they played a steady balanced game and pulled one out against a Pacers team that played very selfishly at the end of the game. Joe continued to be the man and scored 26 and 11 assists. 5 other Hawks scored in double figures- Josh Smith, Marvin, AJ, Horford, and Sheldon Williams off the bench. Acie is started to get back in shape as he had some nice minutes and hit two real nice drives in traffic and Josh Childress gave the Hawks some big minutes of the bench. Zaza didn't completely suck tonight- which was an added bonus. When the Hawks can go 9 deep they are going to be tough and they were able to do that tonight.
The Pacers seemed a bit off tonight. O'Neal played fairly well but the Pacers seemed like they would rather shot first (especially Jamal Tinsley- 6 of 21, 0 of 8 from 3) than play inside out with O'Neal or let him foul out Horford or JSmith. Indiana just played very selfishly in the last 5 minutes and it really cost them in this one.
Hawks have won 5 straight and 8 of their last 10. Next up is @ Dallas on Saturday.
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Post by IWSfan4life on Feb 23, 2008 18:52:56 GMT -5
To catch everyone up on the trades of players that matter:
Kidd to Mavs for Devean Harris, Van Horn and others.
Juan Dixon to Pistons
Shaq to Phoenix for Marion and Banks
Gasol to Lakers
Cavs get Ben Wallace, Wally Szerbiak, Joe Smith, and others.
Bulls get Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown, and others.
Rockets get Bobby Jackson and Gerald Green.
Atlanta gets Mike Bibby for Sheldon Williams and others (can't BELIEVE Kev didn't post this.)
-Jason
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Post by Agent Kev on Feb 29, 2008 20:44:51 GMT -5
I didn't post it because I am still bitter that the Hawks refuse to fire Mike Woodson.
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Post by Agent Kev on Apr 14, 2008 22:25:03 GMT -5
Despite being weighed down by the anchor that is Mike Woodson the Hawks are in the playoffs for the first time in about 10 years. Maybe we can sneak out one win during the series versus Boston. Hopefully this doesn't mean job security for Woodson as we are easily 10-15 games better without him this year.
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Post by Agent Kev on Apr 28, 2008 22:05:41 GMT -5
And we are coming back to Hotlanta for Game Six. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Nuff said.
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Post by Agent Kev on May 2, 2008 22:43:30 GMT -5
Game 7 here we come!!
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