JJ's leadership will be challenged on West Coast trip

[hawks21]

West Coast trips have been the Hawks' kryptonite for more than a decade, and one of the big signs of whether this team has taken that 'next step' is how they do on the road against teams like the Lakers, Blazers, Spurs, Denver, etc.

Will the Hawks have that deer in headlight look once they go on the road?

Last year, the Hawks were 3-9 (I also included the OKC win). We were swept in Texas and at times we look lost and usually in those games Joe Johnson has disappeared. However, I am looking at who will take the challenge and be a leader and have a "refuse to lose" attitude.

The Lakers want to make the Hawks look bad after losing to Dallas. We may see more of an aggressive Kobe early in the game instead of him laying back and letting his team get into the flow. Ron Artest got into foul trouble against Dallas, so the refs may let Artest play more aggressive against the Hawks, and the Hawks must be ready to respond.

This is the type of game I would like to see JJ go for 35 and make a ROAD STATEMENT against Kobe, but I recall seeing JJ blowing into his hands against orlando in the Hawks' last pre-season game as if he was NERVOUS and this was like a Game 7 in Boston or a Game 1 in Cleveland (in which things fell flat quickly)

This trip is important for JJ because the Hawks have to make a decision to give him BIG BUCKS. Well, this is one of his tests..PERFORM ON THE ROAD AGAINST A GOOD TEAM... LEAD THE HAWKS..MAKE YOUR TEAMMATES BETTER...

I would like to see Marvin hit a few threes in response to the inevitable jumper from Derek Fisher or Kobe, but that may be asking for too much for Marvin, but at least two players must be able to hit perimeter shots under pressure. Whether its Maurice Evans hitting timely threes, Al Horford hitting mid-range shots (hopefully getting Odom or Bynum in foul trouble) or Jeff Teague doing his Tony Parker or Chris Paul imitation and getting in the lane and hitting floaters in the lane.

[niremetal]

Something tells me we're going to see about 20 of these "this is the big test for JJ" posts during the rest of this season.

[Mrs. Joe Johnson]

Something tells me we're going to see about 20 of these "this is the big test for JJ" posts during the rest of this season.

This is so true

[TheNorthCydeRises]

LOL . . I'm surprised that he didn't describe this as a "must win game". It's obvious that those guys aren't even thinking about that preseason debacle . . . mainly because it was a PRESEASON GAME.

Asking JJ to score 35 points . . in LA . . is silly, mainly because JJ is a playmaker type on the Hawks, and not a volume scorer.

A great game for JJ in LA, would be for him to score 20 - 25 points, shoot close to 50% FG, and get 7+ assists. Teams usually beat the Lakers with a great TEAM EFFORT, not a great individual effort.

I'd much rather see JJ go for 22 pts - 9 assts . . . than to get into a shootout with Kobe.

Woodyball is a team oriented concept . . not a one-man scoring show. But no matter how well JJ plays, it won't matter if the Hawks frontline doesn't step up big time.

[hawks21]

LOL . . I'm surprised that he didn't describe this as a "must win game". It's obvious that those guys aren't even thinking about that preseason debacle . . . mainly because it was a PRESEASON GAME.

Asking JJ to score 35 points . . in LA . . is silly, mainly because JJ is a playmaker type on the Hawks, and not a volume scorer.

A great game for JJ in LA, would be for him to score 20 - 25 points, shoot close to 50% FG, and get 7+ assists. Teams usually beat the Lakers with a great TEAM EFFORT, not a great individual effort.

I'd much rather see JJ go for 22 pts - 9 assts . . . than to get into a shootout with Kobe.

Woodyball is a team oriented concept . . not a one-man scoring show. But no matter how well JJ plays, it won't matter if the Hawks frontline doesn't step up big time.

I never said this was a "must win game". However, this is one of the type of games that JJ will be judged over the course of the season. JJ wants bigger bucks in their offseason, and Kobe showed why tonight he step out of his 'team oriented role' with the Lakers and stepped up his scoring when his team needed it.

The Hawks were competitive in the first half, but after halftime, the team including JJ couldn't step up and answer Kobe, Artest's hustle plays and the Lakers. The season isn't over, but on the road, our STAR PLAYERS have to show why they are star player in a hostile environment.

Superstars and/or franchise players know when to step up at home AND ON THE ROAD. The team concept isn't the issue in this case, the issue is the team's best players freeze up on the road entirely too much (that's why I referenced JJ blowing into his hands before the Orlando preseason game). Our best players touched the ball and were sharing the ball including Big Al, Marvin and Josh, but nobody can or wanted to make a shot. And Marvin should go to the bench, and those minutes should go to Crawford or Evans.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

And like I told you in the post, it doesn't matter how well JJ plays, if the frontline didn't step up. And our frontline got thoroughly spanked tonight.

Even in the scenario you described, in which the superstar is scoring a lot of points, his team needs to help him in those non-scoring areas ( mainly defense and rebounding ). If a guy scores 40, but his team isn't rebounding and defending, his team will most likely lose.

So while Kobe scored 41, he got A LOT of help in other areas. Their guys stepped up and helped Kobe. Our guys ran and hid in the bushes, leaving JJ and Bibby out to dry.

Lebron had that great game against Boston on opening night, but still lost by double digits to Boston, because he got very little help.

[thescout]

Same ole Hawks team not being able to get it done vs the better compeition.We've kept this team around for awhile either they put up this year and go deep or the Hawks need to find some more pieces . Where were J Smith and Marvin tonight? We still can't control the lane yet these guys are now getting paid like kings. Before it was keep the group together which management has done. There really should be no excuses on why this team can't take the next step. The players need to take accountability and if they get it done bring in new players.

[hawks21]

And like I told you in the post, it doesn't matter how well JJ plays, if the frontline didn't step up. And our frontline got thoroughly spanked tonight.

Even in the scenario you described, in which the superstar is scoring a lot of points, his team needs to help him in those non-scoring areas ( mainly defense and rebounding ). If a guy scores 40, but his team isn't rebounding and defending, his team will most likely lose.

So while Kobe scored 41, he got A LOT of help in other areas. Their guys stepped up and helped Kobe. Our guys ran and hid in the bushes, leaving JJ and Bibby out to dry.

Lebron had that great game against Boston on opening night, but still lost by double digits to Boston, because he got very little help.

Northcyde, I agree with most of what you said. However, Kobe can carry a team from start to finish (from first quarter to the fourth quarter) and he is often in the faces of his younger teammates...

JJ did more than any other Hawk for two quarters, but I would like to see him make a few shots in the third quarter to keep the Hawks competitive in that fateful third quarter. If JJ wants the bigger bucks he has to do much more during the big moments of a game--especially road games (and I don't want this to be seen as a criticism). And I have said this in regard to BIG AL... what happened to him? Horford has to take more of a leadership role, because if JJ leaves, then Al will have to be main man. I would like to have seen JJ get in Big Al's face or Josh Smith's face and challenge them to be better, just like Kobe does with his teammates...