Archive for the ‘Game Recap’ Category

Hawks Beat Blazers 98-80, Win Fifth Straight

Monday, March 16th, 2009

The Highlight Factory was on fire yesterday as the Hawks destroyed the Blazers.  I was actually in attendance for this game and I enjoyed every bit of it.  When I walked into historic Philips Arena I was greeted with a Hawks Head Band/Wrist Bands, and a read to achieve notebook, which I have already used twice today.   This package was supposed to be for kids 14 and under, but I was lucky and the greeter either thought me and my friends were indeed 14 years old or she didn’t care.  I am going to go with she probably didn’t care.   I am definitely going to wear my Hawks Head Band,  when I play on Wednesday night.  My friends and I went into the Hawks store shortly after that and I bought my first Hawks hat since I was young.  I am pretty jacked about the hat and will wear it religiously.

Back to the game the Hawks played one of their best games defensively that I have seen all year.  We really forced Brandon Roy to try and beat us.  This is a good strategy against good teams and I think when the Hawks play the Lakers next they need to try to make Kobe beat them.  I have to give credit to my colleague Chris Campana for this strategy, but it is definitely true.  The star of the  game was Josh Smith.  Smith had 18 points and 8 rebounds, and really showed his presence on the defensive end.  Josh is finally buying into Hawks basketball, and  is only going to get better.  He still shoots jump shots with his feet touching the 3 point line, but he is starting to drive to the hole more.  Josh is at his best when he penetrates to the hole or when he drives and kicks to an open shooter.  Joe Johnson had is 4th consecutive 30 point game and is playing like the all-star selection he was awarded.  Hawks are also 11-1 when Mo Evans starts, does that mean anything?  I do not know if it does or not, but it’s got to mean something.  Maybe when Marvin comes back the Hawks should let Marvin be a spark off the bench for the rest of the season.   Look for a Queens preview tomorrow from my main man Penguis. Out!!

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Trivia

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

What do Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Al Horford, Marvin Williams, Mo Evans, Zaza Pachulia, Flip Murray, Larry Hughes, Chris Wilcox, Chris Duhon, David Lee, Al Harrington, Wilson Chandler and some guy named Gallarni have in common?

A: They both had more or as many rebounds as the Hawks’ power forward had in the game tonight.   Chipper is not amused.

Way to let a Nate Richardson-less Knicks squad beat you.

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Hawks beat Kings: At least we won

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

woody

Hawks 105 Kings 100

The Birds really didn’t want this one but we pulled it out.  The game was actually tied 100-100 with about a minute left when the Hawks decided to let anyone except Kevin Martin beat them and we pulled it out.  Martin was just sick – 32 points on just 17 shots.  He got to the line 17 teams and made 14 of the charity shots.  The Hawks would have lost had this not been a place where Mike Bibby loves to play.  Bibbs had 29 points 5 boards 4 assists and 3 steals (along with 3 turnovers).  I thought Bibby may have been cursed after he scored 12 in the first quarter and ‘Nique said something to the tune of, “Mike is going to have a huge game tonight.”  C’mon ‘Nique we are at game 54 someone has to tell you these predictions are not good for the heart.

But Bibby didn’t let anyone down although he did miss 4 of 9 free throws.  That brings us to the negatives of this game.  Well besides for the fact that we turned a mid 2nd quarter 13 point lead into a 4 point half time deficit to the SACRAMENTO KINGS.  Who probably cannot out bench press the Sacramento Monarchs.  Anyone the Hawks went 22 of 34 from the line for a dreadful 65%.  We are 2nd best of the worst in free shots this year, ahead of the Magic.  I’d rather catch them in the Southeastern division rather then have that distinction.

Other stuff: Joe put in 20 but looked soft again.  I just wish he would go nuts and just score the ball when he wants to.  Al had a nice game with 18 point and 18 boards.  The 18 boards were a season high, 3rd best for high career, and the 18 points were the most he has had with at least 18 boards.  Good job fillin’ the lane for Brad Miller.  Also, Mario had 12 seconds of Pt and recorded a foul.  Way to get in the box score, Mario.

Flip Murray should hopefully be back Friday from the family problems he has had going on.  We are going to need him if we play like we did last night or Tuesday in LA, against Portland Friday.

FYI: Stotts Era is on Facebook

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Solo was our best player last night (Laker game recap)

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

And that’s not a good thing.

Hawks got spanked by the Lakers last night 96-83 in a game that was not even that close (we won the 4th quarter 23-10). When we should have let Kobe have his points and not let the role players beat us, Kobe had a season low 10 and six Lakers got into double figures. Paul Gasol had a triple double and Lamar Odom had 20 rebounds. I’m not sure where to get the stats on this, but I’m sure the Hawks are in the top of the league in giving up offensive rebounding.

You know it was a bad game for the Hawks when under “Top Performers” on Yahoo’s game recap it features Zaza for the Hawks. Honestly in recapping how the Hawks did last night I don’t know where to start. Joe is soft. He can’t take over anything. He is our best player but he cannot get the team in the game, intensity wise. If we are going to be intense as a team it is usually started but someone else (see Zaza or Horford in the playoffs last year). It would be nice for Joe to actually show some emotion and get the rest of the team excited. But we need to realize that is never going to happen. And the best player on a team needs to do that once in a while for a team to prosper. Joe and Bibby combined point total last night was 23. No way the Hawks would have a chance against the Lake show with that showing. Bibby actually 9 in the first quarter which the Hawks ended up leading by one. But he disappeared after that with no points the rest of the game. It would have been nice to see someone get pumped about that and hold the lead but the Hawks decided to play uninspired ball and let Paul Gasol and Jordan Farmer beat them from that point on.

Sandpaper had a big ZERO rebounds to Gasol’s 13 and Odom’s 20. And he should have been well rested after having most of the last week off. The zero boards were the least he has had since the game he was injured in earlier this year and before that, not since his rookie season. Do these things just happen? Where is the intensity you are playing the best team in the NBA show what you are made of! Of course the IV got way too many minutes and went a miserable 2 of 9 from the field. Take it to the rim Acie. If you look good enough another team will want you more and you can get the heck out of Atlanta.

The rest of the B-Team was filled out by Solomon Jones who has no right to be on the Staples Center floor but looked not terrible last night. The Mario West had a career high 5 steals (he never had more than 2) and career high tying 7 points in 7 minutes of action. The hustle is not going to get him anywhere though.

Random Stats of the night (as mentioned above):
Josh Smith had only his 6th zero rebound performance of his career. He only has 7 one rebound games as well.
Mario West had 5 steals. He had never had more than 2 which he completed in 3 other games. All four career games of 2 steals or more for Mario have been in Hawks losses.
Mario had 7 points, which tied a career high. He had two 7 point games last season, both coming in wins.

Also, don’t forget the Lakers are the best team in the league playing on their home gym. Hopefully the Hawks learn something from this game and don’t come out flat against one of the worst teams in the Association, the Kings.

Kobe had a lot of time to chat it up last nightkobe

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Hawks over D-Troit

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Hawks 99 Pistons 95

Sorry about lack of timely, complete posts recently, I really have no excuse. I am making it up with a timely and complete post right now just hours after the Hawks have defeated the Pistons in Auburn Hills. Although I didn’t watch the game, I was in the Highlight Factory tonight (or Blueland) at the Thrashers (who are terrible) game and I was in a suite, where the Hawks were on TV. So I am gonna try to put in a recap by dissecting the box score and by remembering the bits and pieces of the game I watched. Also I am listening to the Winterhawk All Star jam right now, its delicious, let me know if you want a copy.

From the box score two things jump out at me and they are both a little negative. First I looked at how Mike Bibby did and it does not look good. 5 points, 4 assists, 3 turnovers. Doesn’t appear to be a great night. Also, I see the Hawks went again with the 8-man rotation, DNP – Coach’s Decision’s given to the IV, Solo, Randolph Morris and Mario. I suspect this is what we are going to have to do down the stretch and in the playoffs too close games. Although it’s not the worst strategy in the world (and we are going into an all-star break where everyone will get some rest) it would nice to see the IV or even Solo play a QUALITY 10 minutes or so.

Flip burned his old team and filled in where Bibby left off, scoring 23 on 18 attempts. Joe scored 27 and J Sandpaper chipped in with 10 points, 7 boards and 7 assists. Exactly what we need from him every night. Really wish he wouldn’t shoot 12 times (1 for 5 on shots out of his range) and he went 0-2 from the line, but I’ll take the assists any day of the week. For Detroit, Iverson had 28, but I’d suspect on Iverson’s higher scoring games the Pistons probably lose more. Not sure if that is a fact or not but apparently he is not working out like they though in Detroit. Rasheed Wallace was a non factor against his former team with 9 points and ended up sitting out the last 16 minutes of the game. Said Pistons coach Mike Curry, “his knee was bothering him.”

The Hawks have now won four of five and this is our best record at the All Star Break in 10 years. The win puts us 3.5 games ahead of Detroit for the fourth spot in the East, which is huge because: 1) home court advantage; 2) we would like to stay as far away from the sixth seed as possible to avoid the “big three” in the East. It is nice to keep Detroit struggling and with all the bad play we have had this first half (Sekou says it best, “I’ll be the first to admit that the Hawks bi-polar routine can get a little old sometime,”) the Hawks are still 10 games over .500 with a strong hold on the four seed. I was very interested to see the outcome of this game. I knew the Clippers game would piss the team off and the Wizards were the perfect remedy to cheer the Hawks up. But how would they respond in Detroit mattered and they could have mailed it in going into the break. But these Hawks rise up when they know it is a big game and last night was one of those games.

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Hawks Blow Out Wizards

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Last night the Hawks and Wizards game was not televised, so I listened to most of the game on radio. Since I listened to game on radio I have to comment on Atlanta Hawks announcers, Steve Holman and D3 (Dennis Scott). Steve Holman is in his 24th season as the voice of Hawks. He is a great announcer, but is getting very negative. D3 who most of you will remember his days at Georgia Tech and Orlando Magic is a horrible announcer. How did this guy get this job? He loves talking about the home advantage at the Highlight Factory!! From, what I recall D3 never played for the Hawks and the only reason why he has this cupcake job is that he played at Georgia Tech.

Anyways, the Atlanta Hawks took control of this game from the start. Mike Bibby suited up tonight and returned as our floor general. He led the Hawks to 111-90 win against the Gilbert Arenas less Washington Wizards. Arenas and our own Speedy Claxton are battling it our for scamming their clubs of millions of dollars, while sitting on the bench most of the past three seasons. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. It was good to see Johnson back in form and shooting a respectable field goal percentage of 56 percent on 9 of 16 shooting. This was the first game in awhile that I have seen the Hawks take control from the start. The Hawks ourscored the wizards 24-17 in first quarter and did not look back from there. This is the kind of game I was expecting against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Hawks have to win these types of games and it was good to see our starting five all on the floor together again. On a historical note the Hawks set a record of most wins prior to All-Star break of 30. This is the most wins by Atlanta Hawks team since the 1997-1998 season. This was Pre-Stotts Era, so I will not comment on who we had on that squad, etc.

The Hawks play the Detroit Pistons tonight and it is possible the Pistons will be without Allen Iverson who is suffering from the flu. I am looking forward to watching the Hawks win and get 10 games over 500 before the All-Star Break.

Fantasy News/Last Night in NBA: I traded away New Jersey Center Brook Lopez for Milwaukee forward Charlie Villanueva. My colleague Penguin also desperately wants Kobe Bryant. Also, Bron you fouled Danny Granger last night. It was not the worst call on the planet. I do not care if there is .4 remaining on clock, you cannot mug another player. Thanks Bron and keeping whining about it.

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Pistons/Hawks Preview

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Game: Hawks (30-21 – Won 1) at Pistons (27-23 – Lost 2)
Date: February 11th, 2009, 7:30 PM
Where: Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
TV: SportsSouth Channel 53
Odds: Pistons -2.5, O/U 186

Last Games: Hawks 111 Wizards 90 on 2/10 in Atlanta
Pistons 102 Bull 107 on 2/10 in Chicago

Last Pistons/Hawks game: Hawks 85 Pistons 78 on 12/21 in Atlanta

Key Pistons:

Scoring Allen Iverson (Georgetown)
 18.0
Rebounds Rasheed Wallace (UNC)
 7.6
Assists Allen Iverson 5.1
FG% Rodney Stuckey (Eastern Washington)
 46.1
FT% Richard Hamilton (UConn)
 85.6
3PT% Rasheed Wallace 37.2
Blocks Rasheed Wallace 1.4
Steals Allen Iverson 1.6

Pistons Update:  coming soon…

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Bobcats and Clippers Recap

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

There was good and bad news this weekend for the Atlanta Hawks.   The Hawks had a great win this past Friday against the Charlotte Bobcats.  They rallied from 17 down to come back and beat the Bobcats 102-97.  The star of the game was Marvin Williams who finished with 29 points and shot 18-20 from the line.  This was Marvin’s best game of the year, and he did a great job of filling in for injured Joe Johnson.  The bad news in this game was that Mike Bibby injured his ankle in the fourth quarter.  J Sandpaper also shot 3-7 from the line to continue his struggles at the charity stripe.

Bibby was absent the next night with his ankle injury against the Los Angeles Clippers.  All I got to say about this game is poor.   The Hawks looked like they did not care at all and the only bright spot in the game was that Joe Johnson participated in the contest.  Atlanta lost the game 121-97.  This was the worst lost of the season for the Hawks especially since we were playing the Los Angles Clippers.  I realize they were finally at full strength with Marcus Camby, Baron Davis, and Zach Randolph back, but that did not stop the Charlotte Bobcats in beating the Clippers 94-73 last night.  Not having Mike Bibby proved the importance in re-signing the star point guard.  Woody’s offense simply cannot run without Bibby or a point guard like him.  Atlanta’s offense revolves around Joe Johnson, and the point guard making open shots.  Although even if Bibby was in lineup the overall attitude of team was apathetic and lazy.   J Sandpaper was 4-7 from the line.  Hopefully the Hawks can bounce back against the Wizards tonight at the Highlight Factory.

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Hawks beat Twolves 94-86

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Any win on the road for the Atlanta Hawks is a good win especially, with star Joe Johnson sidelined with a viral infection. While the Hawks are 18-5 at home there road record of 10-15 is not to boast about. Mike Bibby led the Hawks with 24 points and 7 assists, but the real bright spot in the game was Marvin Williams in my opinion. Marvin finished the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Marvin said this about the Hawks win, It’s huge,” Williams said of winning without Johnson. “It shows the growth of our team not having him in the lineup and still coming away with a win.”(ESPN) I feel the real key to the game was the defense of the Atlanta Hawks. They held the Twolves to 17 less free throw attempts and to 36 percent shooting from the field. The Hawks also forced the Twolves into 18 turnovers.

Some negative spots in the game were the Hawks free throws made. The Hawks shot 25-38 from the charity stripe, which is not going to get it done against top tier NBA teams. J Smooth shot 3-8 from the free throw line. J Smooth or (J Sandpaper) has been horrid from the line as of late. The Hawks also committed 18 turnovers like the Twolves, which is way too high.

I don’t want to shy away from the great win in Minnesota. Years ago the Hawks would have lost this game or even tanked it. Some other bright spots in the win was getting Al Horford back in the line up. Al did not particularly have a great game especially for his standards, but his overall leadership and presence has been sorely missed. Another bright spot was the play of Acie Law IV. The stat line will not show it, but I feel like Acie was a spark off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks. I would like to continue to see Acie log 10-15 minutes each game. This is because I would like to see Bibby and Joe get some rest, and just in case we do not resign Bibby I would like to see Acie gain some experience. Overall a pretty good game for a Joe-less Atlanta Hawks. Look for Charlotte Bobcat and Los Angeles Clippers previews. Also, come down to the Highlight Factory on Saturday for Clark Howard Night. Thanks.

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