KG and Pierce shooting over smaller Hawks has been the difference...

[HAWKS1986]

Dikembe is essentially retired. Stephen Jackson is long gone. Jackson is a long two guard capable of defending a player like Pierce. And Dikembe is a physical player with LENGTH who can make Garnett's jumper a little tougher..

GM Sund has to make a move. This Celtics game is barometer for what this team needs to go to the next level.. The Hawks will face the Celtics again in the playoffs and this team has to change its profile, and that mean LESS MINUTES for either Josh Smith or Al Horford...

However, the Celtics are able to rest their starters for longer periods of time going way into the fourth quarter. And for the most part Garnett and Pierce are able to shoot over the Hawks most of the time. Pierce was able to shoot over the smaller Bibby a couple of times and even though the 6'8 Josh Smith is a strong defender and the 6'9/maybe 6'10 Horford plays with energy, they can not consistently defend Garnett who is close to 7'1, the tallest guy on the court.

Randolph Morris and Soloman Jones has more size and girth, but they sit n the bench.

The Hawks have to find a CENTER who can defend in the mold of a Dikembe, Tree Rollins and yes Jon Koncak...

Garnett does settle for jumpers, but he is very comfortable shooting over our smaller guys.

Edited December 18, 2008 by jsmith55

[Chris18]

We need a big man that can rebound and block shots. I don't know if Deke could come in and do that but it's worth a shot and I would love to see Marcus Camby on this team.

[Frenzy]

lol Garnett isnt 7'1........We need another big though,but teams match up different depending on who theyre playing.We really dont match up bad against the C's.We have lost by a combined 4 points in 2 games against them

Edited December 18, 2008 by falconfrenzy

[HAWKS1986]

lol Garnett isnt 7'1........We need another big though,but teams match up different depending on who theyre playing.We really dont match up bad against the C's.We have lost by a combined 4 points in 2 games against them

Okay, 6-12 (LOL!!)..he is still the tallest guy on the court... The Hawks GM can't ignore this much longer..

[HAWKS1986]

We need a big man that can rebound and block shots. I don't know if Deke could come in and do that but it's worth a shot and I would love to see Marcus Camby on this team.

If Sund can swing a deal for Camby, I would be happy...

[Frenzy]

Yea weve needed a good big for a while,if we ever get one,we will be so much better

[Frenzy]

If Sund can swing a deal for Camby, I would be happy...

I would love that

[exodus]

Dikembe is essentially retired. Stephen Jackson is long gone. Jackson is a long two guard capable of defending a player like Pierce. And Dikembe is a physical player with LENGTH who can make Garnett's jumper a little tougher..

guys.

Huh? Pierce was shooting over Bibby when they switched on screens. Jackson is a straight up chucker, shooting 37% from the field and 27% from 3.

[bronnt]

Huh? Pierce was shooting over Bibby when they switched on screens. Jackson is a straight up chucker, shooting 37% from the field and 27% from 3.

Yeah, the problem is Woodson's defense scheme, which paradoxically is also a big part of the reason our defense is good. We switch on almost every screen, regardless, and that gets us into mismatches. It's great when the help is there and you know where it's coming from, especially if the team is versatile on defense (which the Hawks are, especially when Bibby is off the court). It's bad when there's no help, and you've got a short guy guarding a longer man who can shoot.

[GameTime]

I don't see how this will help when they switch on screens. Unless you want to start a 6'7 or above lineup with Captain Jack.

[coachx]

First Captain Jack is not the answer. Even Hollinger says he is one of the most over-rated players in the league.

I see things differently. I think offense is what lost us the game. Simply put we did not knock down enogh of our open looks. However, we do a excellent job getting to the line since perimeter shots di not fall as much as we would have liked.

Defense was not the problem. We held the Celtics to under 90 points. Thats pretty darn good.

Pierce was held to 41% from the field and 18 points. You got to take that !

KG was held to 15 points and shot under 50%. You got to take that !

Allen was held to 33% from the field. You got to take that !

The "Big 3" was basically held in check.

We also got to the line much more then Celtics.....27 Ft attempts for the Hawks to 13 FT atemtps for the Celtics. That was a must for us to be in the game !

Rondo played very well vs. us, as usual. I really wish Acie would be given more of a chance to play leading up to this game. He is the only guy on the team who has the physical ability to defend Rondo and keep him out of the paint.

We missed a TON of wide open looks that we would have normally made. Thats what lost the game in my eyes. JJ was just off most of the game. Bibby got him a ton of open looks but JJ just could not knock them down for the better part of the game.

On a positive note I loved the offensive aggressivness that Bibby and Marvin played with last night. We need that consistently from them. I also love how Smoove took it to the rim and got to the line much more then he has recently.

The Hawks just barely lost but with the way they played they could have just as easily won. Those open jumpers will fall more often then not............they just were not falling last night.

When jumpers are not falling we need an offensive post up option. Horford and Smith's FG % was AWFUL last night. However, that can be over come if Marvin and Smith continues to be aggressive and get to the line then it will serve the same purpose.

This team as constructed can get it done ! They play Boston better then ANY OTHER team in the entire NBA !

Edited December 18, 2008 by coachx

[HAWKS1986]

First Captain Jack is not the answer. Even Hollinger says he is one of the most over-rated players in the league.

I see things differently. I think offense is what lost us the game. Simply put we did not knock down enogh of our open looks. However, we do a excellent job getting to the line since perimeter shots di not fall as much as we would have liked.

Defense was not the problem. We held the Celtics to under 90 points. Thats pretty darn good.

Pierce was held to 41% from the field and 18 points. You got to take that !

KG was held to 15 points and shot under 50%. You got to take that !

Allen was held to 33% from the field. You got to take that !

The "Big 3" was basically held in check.

We also got to the line much more then Celtics.....27 Ft attempts for the Hawks to 13 FT atemtps for the Celtics. That was a must for us to be in the game !

Rondo played very well vs. us, as usual. I really wish Acie would be given more of a chance to play leading up to this game. He is the only guy on the team who has the physical ability to defend Rondo and keep him out of the paint.

We missed a TON of wide open looks that we would have normally made. Thats what lost the game in my eyes. JJ was just off most of the game. Bibby got him a ton of open looks but JJ just could not knock them down for the better part of the game.

On a positive note I loved the offensive aggressivness that Bibby and Marvin played with last night. We need that consistently from them. I also love how Smoove took it to the rim and got to the line much more then he has recently.

The Hawks just barely lost but with the way they played they could have just as easily won. Those open jumpers will fall more often then not............they just were not falling last night.

When jumpers are not falling we need an offensive post up option. Horford and Smith's FG % was AWFUL last night. However, that can be over come if Marvin and Smith continues to be aggressive and get to the line then it will serve the same purpose.

This team as constructed can get it done ! They play Boston better then ANY OTHER team in the entire NBA !

I respectfully disagree. This Hawks' team as constructed can win 41 games, but can they win a best of seven series against the Celtics and the better teams in the league. The Hawks were outscored by 20 in the paint..that's a recurring problem... To a certain degree the Hawks keep them in check, but at crunch time, Pierce and KG are able to shoot over our smaller guys and make shots.

Josh Smith's strong aggressive move to the basket for a dunk was cool, but the team needs more of that !!! Al Horford had a reverse jam along the baseline against Cleveland on Saturday... This is what we need more of on a nightly basis, but it just hasn't materialized.. Joe Johnson is 6'8 240 and Lebron is 6'8 250.. They are both talented, and has a tendency to miss FTs..However, Lebron has more of attacking style which draws MORE fouls and gives his team more opportunities to score and even break the game open..Joe Johnson is more of a finesse player..when he is hitting his jumper everything is great, but when he comes up short especially when the game is tight the Hawks overall weaknesses are exposed-- too many jumpers and off-balanced shots.

Players such as a Jason Richardson, Kobe Bryant, Corey Maggette (when healthy)and Michael Finley in his prime were examples of players with strong handles who attack the basket and will dunk on the opposing if there is an opening..Joe Johnson chooses to shoot floaters and jumpers..

Josh Smith is a dunk machine, but his 'handle' is weak and so is Horford and they lack the offensive fluidity to be a consistent force along the baseline and in the paint.. Guys with Chris Webber's skillset is what the Hawks need for them to take their game to another level...Marvin Williams can shoot the ball, but has a suspect handle and when he tries to attack the basket, over half the time he gets stripped or turn the ball over..

This current roster has limitations and last night's loss was a barometer to what is needed to get better... A player such as Marcus Camby can help the Hawks, a player such as Marion can help the Hawks...

The Hawks played solid defense, but there are holes on our roster that the GM has to TRY to fix this season...

Edited December 18, 2008 by jsmith55

[TheDude]

Smooth is a very good defensive matchup on KG. What are you going to do, put a taller player on KG who isn't atheletic so can't jump as high as smooth?

we need a post presence but only for offensive purposes and to defend big CENTERS such as BigZ and Yao.

[crimedog]

Yeah, I think we need a competent back up big but not because of last game. As far as Paul Pierce, you realize that he is 2 or 3 inches shorter than the SF on our team, right?

That's KG's game. KG isn't a center, he's a PF and probably the tallest one in the history of the game. He's 7'1 but there is really no player that is near his height that you'd want to put on him because he's so comfortable taking that 18 footer and playing out of the high post.

I'd like to see Deke' on the bench, but could you imagine him trying to chase KG around? Trying to contest his catch and shoot attempts from 18 feet? Trying to guard the drive at the elbow? No way, he'd get completely embarassed. Hell, Al Horford isn't rangy enough to hang with KG and he's one of the more mobile F/C's in the game.

Josh did a good job on KG in man D and actually, aside from letting KG spin off of him for that oop, so did Al. They contested the shots the right way, didn't generally get beat on fakes, kept him away from the hoop for the most part. He just hit tough shots. Thats why he's one of the greatest players of his position of all time. That's why he's a former MVP. That's why he's the best player on a freaking 24-2 win team and Tumbo, as useful as he might be for a couple minutes a night, would have been exposed BIG TIME last night if you'd tried to put him on Garnett who can play like a 7 foot combo guard.

[mrhonline]

The real reason the Hawks is this:

They played the best team in the league - the defending champs, no less - on a terrific hot streak.

[BossTweed]

We didn't lose the game because of our defense.

We lost because our offense started playing not to lose at about 9 minutes left in the game, instead of playing a normal offense. We tightened up and forced everything through Joe, running the shot clock down to nothing every play, instead of continuing to do what got us to that point with a lead.

[Traceman]

We didn't lose the game because of our defense.

We lost because our offense started playing not to lose at about 9 minutes left in the game, instead of playing a normal offense. We tightened up and forced everything through Joe, running the shot clock down to nothing every play, instead of continuing to do what got us to that point with a lead.

We scored more points in the 4th quarter than any other quarter. Problem was, Boston did too. KG was huge down the stretch and Pierce and Rondo made big plays as well. Our D was terrifc for the game but Boston took advantage of mismatches in the 4th (as good teams do) and hit us for 29 big points.