No Need to Panic
It is just one game. No. It was just one quarter.
Many will go on and on about the unimaginable offensive breakdown in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s loss to the Cavs. It was crazy, I will give you that, but trying to draw conclusions about the Hawks (or Cavs) as a whole based on that 8 minutes and 48 seconds would be a mistake.
I will make a bold statement – The Hawks were one basket away from winning the game tonight. One basket in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter and 1) the Hawks take the lead, 2) everyone takes a deep breath and refocuses. As it was, that basket never came. It was a cold spell when everyone fell a little out of rhythm. Don’t try to tell me that “the pressure got to them”. The Hawks have won close games in hostile environments and in the Highlight Factory. Sometimes there are cold spells that can’t be explained. The Cavs defense is good, but it did nothing to make two of the Hawks best free throw shooters miss three in a row.
Even with the absurd drought, the Hawks fought back to within five points in the final minute and had the other team’s back-up center shooting a 3-pointer from the corner. Ilgauskas is not your typical back-up center when it comes to long-range shooting, but it was still the shot Atlanta wanted to give up. The shot went down, and that was that.
The beauty of the quirk in this year’s schedule is that there is little time to dwell on this “fluke”. The two teams do it all over again tomorrow night in Cleveland. (7pm, Fox Sports South HD)
Well said Micah. And if the hawks come out with a no nonsense attitude tomorrow night and steal a game at quicken loans arena, then tonight’s mishap will be forgotten by everyone.
This was a good game. The Atlanta Hawks have one more chance to win and they can do it. Oh well on this game, mistakes were made but you can’t continue to focus on it. I will truly say that the main focus needs to be the playoffs and getting the championship. Once they set that goal in their minds, it doesn’t matter who is in attendance and how the other team plays, they will get what they need to have, A WIN. I think it is easy (sometimes) to get the Hawks off they game and shake they momentum. They will get the next one.
Reminded me of the 2nd half meltdown against Orlando on Thanksgiving. I’m pretty disappointed about that, considering the refs didn’t even have to cheat in team Lebron’s favor tonight. Hawks should have taken advantage of the fair game being called.
coulda sworn this woulda been a reference to widepread panic at phillips
This one felt different to me. Orlando’s defense seemed to have a lot more to do with the breakdown on Thanksgiving. This one was a specific stretch where everything and everyone was out of sync even when we had numbers on the break. We will regroup and focus on the rematch tomorrow.
I love Bibbylicous and all, but this is so funny.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/123596-funniest-sports-look-alikes#page/7
Well..guys I don’t think so. The Cavs will be even better on defense tommorrow night. I don’t think Hawks fans understand anything about this Cavs team. The Cavs is a defense team first and LeBron had a off night and they still won. On Wednesday at the Q LeBron will be LeBron…but he still had 10 assist and 8 rebound on a off night. What you are witnessing is the Cavs becoming the best team in NBA. Now… they are just starting to understanding how to play with Shaq and everybody know their spot in the rotation. By springtime if everybody stays healthy this Cavs team will be real scary. They are now starting to click.
What Hawks have to learn is that when you don’t score is to play defense. That is what the Cavs have learn by playing Detroit,Boston and San Antonio in the past. When those teams were at they best.
well said thomas! The Hawks will never be a championship contending team. Not with the roster they have now
But these two are just alike.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/123596-funniest-sports-look-alikes#page/2
Thomas, I think everyone agrees that the Cavs hang their hat on defense. This post doesn’t dispute that. Newberry is just saying that it wasn’t the Cavs “stepping up their D” that caused a 9 minute drought. Watching the game I would have to agree.
I doubt either of you watch the Hawks enough to decide if they are “contenders”. One well known thing if you follow the Hawks is that Woody harps on defense all the time.
you’re stupid, Z (the back up center) consistently hits that 3 pointer from the corner for 2 years now, if you give him that shot wide open like that he will hit it 90% of the time, hawks are a bunch of athletes that will never win a NBA championship with this core group of players, face it josh smith is a whiny baby who can only jump high. Maybe if he put in some off-season work his jumper would be half way decent. Josh smith is pathetic
There is a BIG NEED to PANIC and here’s why. JOSH SMITH! Yes, the best defensive player in the league has the worse attitude on the team and his inept performances is a cause for panic. Timmy touched on it a little bit. You see, Josh Smith want to be a scorer but he doesn’t possess a reliable jump shot and he doesn’t have the moves or touch to be a consistent finisher.
I’m not saying that Josh is the only problem but he is the biggest one. This is not championship caliber team because some of the players are not doing the necessary things to be successful. The thing that really disturbs me about Josh is when he makes a good play on defense then turnaround and make a bonehead play on offense. VERY ANNOYING! Joe Johnson has gotten a little better about passing the ball to Crawford but Josh is reluctant to pass the ball to him most of the time. It’s almost like they’re afraid Crawford will steal the show from them if they pass the ball to him. Guess what fellas, you probably would have won the game if you kept passing the ball to Jamal because he was knocking down everything. He could have scored a 100 points if given the opportunity. Denver beat the crap out of you because they kept feeding J.R Smith when he was hot. Did you forget? Who cares how many points Jamal score as long as your team get the W. Now that you got a player who can help you win a lot of games and possibly a championship, you won’t take full advantage of his abilities. THAT MAKES NO SENSE!! It about winning fellas.
Again, there is a need for panic unless Josh Smith can stop making bonehead decisions and start doing the little things on offense to help the team win games. He need to tear a page(rebounding and solid D) out of Dennis Rodman playbook and study it. Dennis helped 2 teams(Detroit/Chicago)win championships. If he would just focus on rebounding and solid-D, everything else will take care of itself.
I disagree about J Smoove i would call him passionate not whiny, but really J SMoov is the most important player on the hawks I think, because at the end when Joe and Jamal two very good gaurds, neither of whom is very clutch, started slacking, but J smoov got angry threw of his head band and hustled you saw him he was trying to block anything that went up, I feel like smoove could be elite but he need to put in work like timmy said, this offseason Josh has got to develop a shot (3pt,Field Goal, and Free Throw,) aside from that he should really get into the weight room and work on getting sum upper body strength and being explosive when jumping, and his ball handling could use some work too, and he needs to work on his balance and flexiblity also, Josh SMith is good but I dont think hes an all-star or an elite player yet, if he wants to be either of those things he has got to work on his weaknesses, if Josh Worked On that we would have our own version of a lebron james and yalll could stop talkin abt i.
also Jeff needs to aadjust quick I no its hard, but others have done it Joe isnt to old to work on his game this summer along with working on his shooting joe should work on developing some form of speed, Joe is Sloe (LOL!) Hes a good player but he needs to get faster and stronger this offseason and both him and Jamal need to become more clutch, also Al needs to work on balance and Get a shot, and keep working hard on post moves, Mo evans needs to be Mo’ (LOL!) consistent with his three point shooting. And Marvin……………. I like him but he has a lot work on a like the little Carmelo type ball-fake/Drive-or shoot move he did yesterday if he perfects that weel be straight.
Hey now im not going to rub in the game against Cle nd LBJ, because Im pretty sure hes staying there next season, but lets be real the better team one last night and Godd Luck to the hawks tonigght in the Q I think we can pull a win but its obvious that clevelands is a better team. So since were not getting LBJ and the hawks key players dont seem to want to get better, (J smoov, JJ)
What do yall think we should do this offseeason? Me personally I think we all know that bibby is running out of GAS unfortunately, we already had a starting PG who was SLow,COuldnt Jump, COuldnt penetrate, and was short. So all we could depend on was his shooting ability and his ability to create for other teamates, i really think that if MIke BIbby should have been replaced by Rafer Alston (last season), aside from that We need to draft a bif man I like Solomon Alabi from Florida, Also i think we should look into signing [{T-MAC}] next season what do yall think?
You guys still making excuses for being failures, jesus doesnt it get old, just take responsibility for having a terrible franchise. The hawks have been doing this now for years…get their fans excited for beating the teams they should beat…and of course getting worked in the playoffs (whether it be the 1st or 2nd round, doenst matter)
Get off your high-horse. The Cavs are the cockiest in the league. Worse than Lakers, Spurs, C’s… and they were embarrassed the only year they made it to the finals. Calling out the Hawks as a “terrible franchise”? Really? If you don’t win the lottery LBJ comes out where would you be?
The Hawks is a good team and in time they will learn how to win games like this. Cleveland have experience working for them. Last night game was a ugly game. Cleveland played defense but over all the Hawks have to learn when your jump shot is not falling then start taking the ball to the rim. The Hawks lived and died by the jump shot.
Tonight’s game is going to be really bad for the Hawks. The Hawks will make the playoff but they need to trade for a true center and a true leader who can settle them down when the game is close.
Jon, i’m going have to disagree with your post. The Hawks need some sense of urgency when playing elite teams, or they’ll NEVER earn the respect of the top teams in the league. Yes, the Hawks got into a shooting slump in the 4th, but so did the Cavs!! The difference is that the Cavs didn’t let that get to them and continued to play complete team ball, eventually pulling away for the win!
Jon, you are posting about what could have happened and the scenario that could have followed……..it didn’t happen! You can’t take these moments back and re-live them. As big a fan I am of the Hawks, Cleveland is the one team that has Atlanta’s card and no matter how you try make the argument of “oh, this player wasn’t on his game” or “he needs to work on things in the offseason”, the end result is that the Cavs have won 6 straight against the Hawks and they can’t do anything about it.
Before the game, I was on Peachtree Hoops blog site and this one as well, and I saw all the post regarding the Hawks being healthy and this team is a different and improved team from last year……same results, Cavs win!
It’s like the Hawks don’t have the killer instinct to win. The only player that had that killer instinct was Jamal Crawford. I saw constant drives to the hole by Cleveland small guards all night and bad perimeter defense. As I stated before, to beat a team, you contain the star and SHUT DOWN the role players! The role players outhustled and outplayed the Hawks last night and that’s what made the difference.
Josh Smith IS a whiner AND a passionate player. He just whines a little more that forcing his will on the court. JJ is a good player, but streaky shooter. He started the game off great, but was non-existent til the aggresive drive to the hole in the 4th quarter. He needs to be aggressive for 48 minutes, not 12. I could sit here and type pages of things why the Hawks aren’t elite, and I am a TRUE die hard fan of my Hawks, but i’m a realist as well and will call it as I see it. The Cavs have Atlanta’s card and that’s the only team I hope we don’t see til the Eastern Conference finals because clearly, they are too much for the Hawks physically and mentally.
http://www.fan2band.com/dl/hawks6thman/hawks6thman/225003_3513_122_4312
http://www.fan2band.com/dl/hawks6thman/hawks6thman/225003_3512_122_4311
i was just on hawksqawk and i get what hawks 21 was saying what if we could trade marvin for maggette, i was once on marvins bandwagon but he has been a dud this year.
he also talked about trying to get nate robinson, i do know this we are going to have to get somebody to replace bibby and give us a spark at the point
hawks will bounce back at Cleveland that’s for sure
“Just one game” may be 2 after tonight I doubt they steal one at the Q, no way Bron goes for under 2O at home.
wow i liked everything the hawks did, i like the way they came out , the way they kept their composure, they answere every cavaliers run. anto see collins stand his ground against shack was ORGASMIC.
i guess sense it was lebrons birthday the refs gave the hawks a shourt shot clock and a verichow a 3 pointer at the end of the game. and bibby took a few to the hole instead of being taken to the hole.
josh and al got hammered going to the hole.but i would have to say this was one of the best played games composure wise that i have seen the hawks play away from phillips.
looking at this game i can tell you this if they play us again in the playoffs it want be a cat walk like it was last year
Well, Hawks gave it there best shot! Cavs still havnt played there best. I would Atlanta played there best
Lebron can step it up in the playoffs. Not sure anyone on the Hawks can do that
ROBBED!!!! The last two minutes needs to be played over, just like the Hawks-Heat game last year!! It’s a shame how the ref rigged this game for a superstar’s birthday……damn shame!
Go to Peachtree Hoops to see a more heated, debated discussion on this game.
I BELIEVE IT IS TIME TO PANIC, JUST BECAUSE THE COACHING STAFF SUCKS,THE REFS GIVE THEM NO RESPECT AND THEY JUST HAVE NO IDEA ON HOW TO COACH. BY OBSERVING THE HAWKS PLAY FROM THE VERY START OF THE SEASON, I CAN TELL THAT THE COACHING STAFF HAVE DONE A TERRIBLE JOB. EVRYONE IN AMERICA KNOWS THAT, THAT ONE-ON-ONE STYLE OF PLAY IS (REALLY NOT GOING TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP), WE ALSO KNOW THAT PLAYING LACKLUSTER DEFENSE FOR AN ENTIRE GAME IS NOT GOING TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT BEING A (DUMMY) DURING THE GAME IS NOT GOING TO GET IT DONE EITHER. SO WHAT DO YOU DO? FIRING THE COACHING STAFF AT THIS TIME WOULD NOT BE GOOD, BUT SOMEBODY HAS TO LIGHT A FIRE UNDER WOODSON AND HIS STAFF’S A$$.
SEEMS TO ME THAT SOMETHING IS GOING ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AND UNDERCOVER WITH A FEW MEMBERS OF THE TEAM. YOU WILL SEE BY THE END OF FEBRUARY, WHAT I AM SAY’IN. I PLAYED BASKETBALL IN HIGH SCHOOL, THE MILITARY,COLLEGE AND IN THE SEMI-PRO LEAGUES. I CAN TELL YOU FROM EXACT EXPERIENCE, THAT THE TEAM HAS INSTALLED THE WRONG PHILOSPHY OF THE WAY THEY ARE TO PLAY AND WHEN THAT IS WRONG,THEN IN THE END IT WILL BE EVIDENT. THEY WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO BEAT ORLANDO,CLEVELAND AND BOSTON DURING THE PLAYOFFS. THOSE TEAMS KNOW (HOW) TO PLAY. UNTIL THE HAWKS FIND THAT OUT, THEY’RE JUST GOING TO CONTINUE TO (TEASE) THE FANS AND CITY OF ATLANTA. CALL ME IF YOU NEED SOMEBODY TO TELL YA’LL, HOW TO STRAIGHTEN OUT THE PROBLEM.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! DON’T LET THE KNICKS BEAT YA’LL…….
WOW! WOW! WOW! Is there a conspiracy against Jamal Crawford or something? Why are they so reluctant to get Jamal involve in the game? Call me crazy if you want to but I know they are avoiding Jamal because I pay attention to what is going on. Jamal was brought to Atlanta because he is a terrific scorer otherwise they should have kept Flip Murray. They could have won both of those games by 10 or 20 points if they had gotten Jamal more involved in those games. I know he could have scored 40 or more points in that 1st game because he was on fire and at least 25 points last night. If Crawford shot the ball as much as JJ he would score 50 points a game. I said it once and I will say it again. Jamal Crawford is the best scorer, penetrator and finisher on that team.
Yes, the referees didn’t call the game equally, but that’s not the reason why they lost those games. They lost those games because Woodson is holding Jamal’s hands and he will evenually fall if he doesn’t turn him loose.
Wus up ATL! G from cleveland here…. I will admit that shot clock situation was wrong, but i really respect the hawks hunger and they have gotten a hell of alot better.. The Cavs were you guys about three years ago, just a hair away from being a top team.. Good luck, Dont give up just yet.. and maybe we will meet yall in the playoffs to beat yall AGAIN! LOL! keep your heads up..
Cavs Fan.
C I can respect that kind of clev fan. Good Luck to your franchise to
The shot clock was at 19 sec when the hawks took over. So you lost the game over 5 sec..lol they still had plenty of time to get a shot off. And as far as the fouls, shaq gets hacked more than anyone i know
This is what i have learned
1. The person who controls the shot clock in Cleveland does everything in his power to give the advantage to the cavs.
2. The Bucks got screwed in cleveland too because of shot clock.
3. Ken Mauer screwed dallas in a game vs the rockets making Mark Cuban to file a protest with the NBA and now he screws the hawks also forcing mike woodson to file a protest with the NBA.
There is something suspicious about Ken MaueR.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
E, what you r saying don’t make no sense at all. You know as well as anyone that 24 sec is a nba rule and the rule was broken in that game. So to say that 19 sec was plenty of time to get a shot off is totally irrelevant.
What Im saying Tony is the Hawks should of put the cavs away when they had them down. It shouldnt have come down to a possesion here or there. Cavs played terribly for 3 Qtrs. Hawks brought there best game and had them
Happy New Year ATL Hawks!
Although the team didn’t come out with the wins, it’s obvious the ATL Hawks have a shot at taking one of the top three spots and definitely can beat Cleveland. Take heart Hawks with the exception of the shot clock screw up, the game on Wednesday came down to a final desperation shot from the Cavs that lucky for them went in.
Oh what a joy it was to see Jason Collins handle Shaq, Marvin Williams play good defense on Lebron, the team fighting to win the game, Lebron get most of his 48 points from the free throw line, and the Cavs crowd quiet for most of the game.
Lets move on from the back to back and get back to collecting in the wins column starting tonight vs the Knicks. Cavs gotta see you guys in March and April. NOW THEY KNOW (Cavs Nation) it ain’t gonna be easy to beat you when the team is at full force.
GO HAWKS, CONTINUE THE RISE, ONE GAME AT A TIME!
LOL mizz get back on track with a loss to the Knicks. U should of read what the fans wrote above. You need a coach!
Can we trade marvin and joe and get a superstar?
What the Hell is going on? I believe there are some issues going on in the locker room, they have to start playing other players. They came out too flat, somebody has to step up. I guess the motivation is not there. Come on Woody!