The Bench Last Night

[Traceman]

Our bench has been pretty solid all season but last night, man they stunk!

Mo couldn't thow it in the ocean yet he kept shooting plus he was too small to guard Rudy Gay and Gay was killing him.

Flip was doing his one on five act and making dumb TOs.

Solo had zero's acroos the board in his time other than the 1 foul he committed.

Acie was tentative and indecisive with the ball and kept mishandling it even when he didn't turn it over. Lowry was killing him on the other too.

Thank goodness for Zaza! He played a solid game on both ends and he really made some key plays down the stretch. He actually put the ball on the floor and successfully drove to the hoop for all 3 of his baskets. I wish Al would do that more.

I have no doubt that the bench will bounce back with a solid performance Friday night but they had a perfect opportunity to allow Woody to rest JJ's sore toe (he tweaked it again in the 4th last night) and give the starters some rest and they stunk it up.

Edited December 4, 2008 by Traceman

[exodus]

In the last 3 games the Hawks have given up huge runs in the 2nd half as soon as Flip came in the game. I am getting tired of his act in a hurry.

I was at the Wizards game and he came very close to blowing that game. Some of his turnovers are really inexplicable for a vet. It also seems like he is frequently unaware there are other guys on the team who can make shots.

[Traceman]

In the last 3 games the Hawks have given up huge runs in the 2nd half as soon as Flip came in the game. I am getting tired of his act in a hurry.

I was at the Wizards game and he came very close to blowing that game. Some of his turnovers are really inexplicable for a vet. It also seems like he is frequently unaware there are other guys on the team who can make shots.

He is definitely in a slump. The good news is that Woody is developing a pretty quick trigger with him when he gets out of control. I still think he is a valuable piece because of his ability to create his own shot and because he plays pretty good D against opposing PGs, but Woody has to use him right or he can shoot you out of a game as quickly as he can shoot you back in one.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

In the last 3 games the Hawks have given up huge runs in the 2nd half as soon as Flip came in the game. I am getting tired of his act in a hurry.

I was at the Wizards game and he came very close to blowing that game. Some of his turnovers are really inexplicable for a vet. It also seems like he is frequently unaware there are other guys on the team who can make shots.

Flip has become the new T-Lue with some defense. Other teams make a run when he comes into the game.

[Dnice]

So whose better in the open court Flip or Childress??

[DChawk]

Flip has become the new T-Lue with some defense. Other teams make a run when he comes into the game.

One thing I've noticed is that Flip's turnovers always seem to lead to a fast break for the other team. Even when it's just a missed shot, the other team seems able to get out and run when he's in the game. So you're getting these potential 4 or 5 point swings when he touches the ball.

Also not a fan of him running the point when he and Acie are in the game together. This has lees to do w/ Flip than the the fact that Acie's pretty worthless w/o the ball. He just runs in the corner and sits there doing nothing.

[jerrywest2]

One thing I've noticed is that Flip's turnovers always seem to lead to a fast break for the other team. Even when it's just a missed shot, the other team seems able to get out and run when he's in the game. So you're getting these potential 4 or 5 point swings when he touches the ball.

Also not a fan of him running the point when he and Acie are in the game together. This has lees to do w/ Flip than the the fact that Acie's pretty worthless w/o the ball. He just runs in the corner and sits there doing nothing.

Agree. Flip is hurting Acie's career by slowing down his development. Those 1 on 5 are atrocious. Why do you think Flip gets thrown out of so many teams.

[Cwell]

He is definitely in a slump. The good news is that Woody is developing a pretty quick trigger with him when he gets out of control. I still think he is a valuable piece because of his ability to create his own shot and because he plays pretty good D against opposing PGs, but Woody has to use him right or he can shoot you out of a game as quickly as he can shoot you back in one.

he's not in a slump,he's just that bad of a player. This is the real flip,not the guy we saw at the beginning of the season.

[PureGreatness]

as soon as flip goes one on five i would take him asap.

[HalfHawk]

Man I don't know what happened to Mo that game...

0-7 for shooting I think?

That doesn't sound like him at all!

Good thing the starters played great..

[Walker]

Man I don't know what happened to Mo that game...

0-7 for shooting I think?

That doesn't sound like him at all!

Good thing the starters played great..

Mo just had a tough time shooting all night and took a few shots out of rhythm for whatever reason. It was definitely his worst performance of the season. As for Flip... well, he is struggling and is just a turnover waiting to happen. I think Woody's taking note that Acie needs to at least have the opportunity to earn some more minutes... at least let's hope so.

[bronnt]

Agree. Flip is hurting Acie's career by slowing down his development. Those 1 on 5 are atrocious. Why do you think Flip gets thrown out of so many teams.

Woodson really needs to recognize that Flip is preventing Acie from naturally playing the PG position. 71.5% of Acie's minutes come with Flip on the floor (per 82games.com), and Flip dominates the ball so much that Acie has to stand around and hope that Flip doesn't turn the ball over. When Acie DOES get the ball, he's usually stuck because Flip has dribbled himself into trouble and needs to get rid of the ball with the shot clock winding down.

Poor Acie deserves at least a CHANCE to play with the first unit, to see if he's capable of succeeding with them since the second unit (outside of Maurice Evans) can't remotely execute anything resembling sound offensive basketball He might have a chance at being at least a decent NBA point guard, but standing around watching Flip chucking isn't helping his development.

[bronnt]

Heck, look at Acie's top 5-man units on 82games.com. 9 out of 10 involve Flip Murray. The other was a seven minute stretch where he played with Joe, Evans, Solo, and Horford-their offensive efficiency was 20% higher than the best of the Hawks top ten units in floor time.

I might have go buy up the domain FreeAcie.com.

[TheTruth]

Unfortunately, expecting Woodson to realize this soon and then give Acie some of the PT he desperately deserves (by decreasing Flip's) is wishful thinking. Flip is okay when he is hot, but he sucks hard when he is not. Acie NOT running the point with Flip (who is NOT a PG) on the floor is just asking for trouble. But sigh...it's all a dream.