Hawks-Cavs thread

[itsslomotionbaby]

i knew we were going to regret not signing flipp now we have to stock up on more firepower and dont look now but it seems like the cobb webbs are growing on bibby as each game goes by.boy what are we going to do with joe johnson.are we going to give him all the money and gut the whole team or what.

how do you let your team go a whole 8 minutes without scoring.

[ATLNY7]

I am very upset. I wasted my time watching this game. Horrible rebounding really hurt them. The Cavs missed shots, but got the offensive rebounds and got a lot of second chance points. Lebron only scored 14 off of 6-20 shooting. The fourth quarter was a total disaster. Why do the hawks always go away from what's been working for them? They keep playing one on one basketball and expect to make their shots that way. Mike Woodson, as a coach, has to tell them that they are better when they share the ball. How do you only score 10 points in a quarter? In the beginning of the fourth quarter, the hawks missed a lot of easy shots on the fast break, while Cleveland was missing shots as well. That was the time where the hawks were supposed to capitalize on Cleveland's missed opportunies. The Cavaliers only scored 20 points in the final quarter. This is a bad loss. This was a statement game. The hawks could've shown the world that they are an elite team. I guess not.

[AmishBoy]

It's a good thing we get to play them tomorrow. If we really have a bad taste in our mouths it should show. Being on the road will not matter tomorrow because the crowd tonight only got into the game in spurts.

[Yubs]

Yeah. Don't think I'll be watching tomorrow. My head hurts from tonight's game, don't want to make myself go through that again tomorrow night.

But on a completely unrelated note, I just discovered the Hawksquawk "Classics" forum. I'm having a ball reading all the epic sh*tstorms in there.

[WraithSentinel]

That was a tough loss. A soldout crowd that actually seem more behind the Hawks instead of Lebron. The team just completely collapse.

[MaceCase]

Best part of this loss? We get to play again tomorrow against the same team no less. How we come out tomorrow will definitely give me a gauge of this team's heart.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

We got wide open looks in that 4th qtr, but they didn't fall. The defensive effort in the 2nd half was great. And I can't reinterate how good Marvin's one on one defense on Lebron was tonight. He looked like a bonafide defensive stopper tonight.

Overall though, this loss is on the Captain. He missed a ton of open looks adter looking like he was going to go for 30 pts. He had a few defensive lapses as well. This was a game in which we needed people trying to draw fouls, but the refs were letting both sides play.

LOL @ some of you going into negative mode overall about this team. The one thing about the Hawks this year, is that this team has played with tremendous focus on the road against good teams all year. Be careful about you say about this team tonight. They just may shock you tomorrow night.

[Plainview1981]

We got wide open looks in that 4th qtr, but they didn't fall. The defensive effort in the 2nd half was great. And I can't reinterate how good Marvin's one on one defense on Lebron was tonight. He looked like a bonafide defensive stopper tonight.

Overall though, this loss is on the Captain. He missed a ton of open looks adter looking like he was going to go for 30 pts. He had a few defensive lapses as well. This was a game in which we needed people trying to draw fouls, but the refs were letting both sides play.

LOL @ some of you going into negative mode overall about this team. The one thing about the Hawks this year, is that this team has played with tremendous focus on the road against good teams all year. Be careful about you say about this team tonight. They just may shock you tomorrow night.

yeah, they had great focus against Denver.

this team is going to finish the year with about the same record they had last year. Not really much of a difference.

[DJlaysitup]

Hawks playing very sloppy ball offensively, but great defensively. Still in the game, but JJ needs to step up. Refs not giving Smoove a break at all.

I know hindsight is 20/20 north...but reading this after all the anquish we went through in the chatroom...it's like going back in time.

Titanic Captain to First Officer: "What was that?" First Officer: "Just glanced off an iceberg sir...everything should be fine"

[ngc7]

not one person has said anything about the call on josh smith that changed the entire game. i believe the refs gave the cavs 5 points. Yes we had trouble scoring all that good stuff but the cavs are one of the best defensive teams in the league. If not for the 5 pts the end and tempo of the game would of been completly different. where are the real fans? oh yeah driving home from the game.

[WraithSentinel]

Hawks don't handle back to back very well. Tomorrow will be interesting to see. I will be curious on how they respond.

[DJlaysitup]

not one person has said anything about the call on josh smith that changed the entire game. i believe the refs gave the cavs 5 points. Yes we had trouble scoring all that good stuff but the cavs are one of the best defensive teams in the league. If not for the 5 pts the end and tempo of the game would of been completly different. where are the real fans? oh yeah driving home from the game.

I agree with you to a point ngc7. There were a lot of times things could have gone different. We had two borderline moving screen calls and our shooters made both shots (5 points). We had the Shaq "run over the defender" non-call (2 points). We missed a bunch of free throws (5 points or so). We had a clear path and we had a Woody technical (let's say 2 points)....So that's 14 points and we win if we play smart and get ref respect....

[Gray Mule]

1 tec. free throw for the Cavs.

Hawks miss 10 free throws.

That's 11 points.

Hawks lose by 11.

Sleepwalk is alive and well. 4th quarter beginning should leave no doubt in any one's mind.

A good high school team wouldn't go that long without scoring and they get paid big $$$

to do this?

Joe Johnson is the finest example known to match up with the little ditty I learned as a child.

There was a little girl

who had a little curl

right in the middle

of her forehead.

When she was good

she was very, very good

and when she was bad

she was horrid.

When JJ is hot, he's the finest there is. No doubt about it. He can hit those shots

from anywhere on the floor. When he's cold, he couldn't find his own backside with

a flashlight and a roadmap.

Jeff Teague. We saved him for tomorrow night. He only plays in the second game when we

go back to back, or hadn't you noticed??

GO HAWKS!!

Please, no sleepwalk in Cleveland.

:helpsmilie:

[HawksBalla]

Josh Smith really let me down tonight. His temper and tears are keeping him on the bench with foul trouble. And he still takes plays off. His free throw shooting was embarrassing tonight. He says he's grown up, I would say only in shot selection and not with crying.

Mike Bibby looked horrible tonight. Anyone else thinking that 3-year contract might be one year too many?

The Cavs bench exposed our bench as a one-trick pony. Evans cant do anything on offense unless he is wide open. Zaza is only good for tipins or transition buckets. Teague I think could be a wild card but he can't get off the bench. If we're truly going to get past the 2nd round, we need a 2nd scorer off the bench. Otherwise we're running a 6-man rotation, which we all know is Woodson's favorite.

[volman]

I absolutely hate the people in the city of Atlanta. I've lived here for pretty much all of my life and it is sickening how pathetic the fan base is. A lady next to me saying "Go to work Big Shaq Diesel!!!" and freaking out on every LeBron play and I asked her "who was that!!?!" when Parker made a free throw and she didn't know...stating, "I don't need to know". She had fake nails on and a fake mink coat. That goes for all of the other idiot front runners around Atlanta... makes me sick. Not to mention the idiots who ACTUALLY CHEERED FOR CHRIS BROWN WHEN THEY SHOWED HIM ON THE SCREEN. A guy who beat a woman senseless gets cheered. Ridiculous.

Anyway, onto the game. The Hawks definitely should have won this. Marvin played a GREAT game defensively...and the Cavs would not have been in the game had it not been for MANY offensive rebounds/layups in the first half and Mo Williams' outside shooting. Can Josh Smith get any help from the referees these days!?! Has anyone noticed he's almost been a target of the referees the past 5 games? Maybe I'm being paranoid. With Josh Smith out there the Hawks are a completely different team...and that showed when he wasn't out there.

Make some free throws, quit giving "Star" calls to the Cavs, and don't turn the ball over and that's a victory. Kind of is frustrating but that game is over with and onto Cleveland.

time for some revenge...

[TheTruth]

1) Maybe the lady was a Cavs fan and not a Hawks fan?

2) It's pretty sad that Chris Brown is still adored like he is. What a weak man he is.

3) The Cavs didn't need star calls...it was fairly even officiating.

4) Smoove can't get any help from the refs...but that incessant crying surely won't help anything.

5) Once we never could regain the lead after we tore them up in the first quarter, I knew the game was over.

6) We are a totally different defensive team when Smoove is on the bench. What does that say about our overall defense and intensity? It was almost as if he wasn't on the floor when he did come back into the game with foul trouble. He isn't nearly as aggressive (understandably so)...so he needs to, I don't know, try to stay out of foul trouble! In many cases, for better or worse our defense goes as Josh Smith goes.

[Atlantaholic]

This was a loss due to lack of mental toughness. Specifically JJ and Crawford who missed open look after open look (and free throws) in the fourth quarter. I don't even remember the last time JJ showed up for a big game. Our entire team had circled this game on the calender since the start of the season, our own coach admitted that this game was a crucial regular season game... and we choked, hard. We will have chances to redeem ourselves, starting tomorrow... but if we get swept in the home and away it will be something that this team will carry the rest of the season.

[volman]

1) Maybe the lady was a Cavs fan and not a Hawks fan?

2) It's pretty sad that Chris Brown is still adored like he is. What a weak man he is.

3) The Cavs didn't need star calls...it was fairly even officiating.

4) Smoove can't get any help from the refs...but that incessant crying surely won't help anything.

5) Once we never could regain the lead after we tore them up in the first quarter, I knew the game was over.

6) We are a totally different defensive team when Smoove is on the bench. What does that say about our overall defense and intensity? It was almost as if he wasn't on the floor when he did come back into the game with foul trouble. He isn't nearly as aggressive (understandably so)...so he needs to, I don't know, try to stay out of foul trouble! In many cases, for better or worse our defense goes as Josh Smith goes.

1. You missed my point about the "Cavs fans". They're fans because of LeBron...and cheer for the rest of the Cavs and cheer AGAINST Atlanta.....though they probably don't have any ties to that team. Look, I'm a fan of LeBron's game... I hate how cocky he is. He wants all of the glory on him. Makes me sick... He's a heck of a player, but thinks he's bigger than the game sometimes. I also like Carmelo, but the Hawks are MY TEAM. I live in ATLANTA. I like other teams, but I don't go against my HOME TEAM because of one frickin' superstar player. I swear, winning isn't good enough for this city. The falcons were terrible one year but had Michael Vick and sell-out games... It's just the crappy mentality of the people in Atlanta.

These two women to the left of me even said "Go Celtics" when they showed some of the upcoming games... Many people in Atlanta are "Front runners" and it makes me sick. No sense of loyalty to your own home town...

2. Yes, Chris Brown is a weak individual, but so are those who cheered for him. There were a lot of young ladies in that cheering that probably don't even know what he did...and that's a shame.

3. You must have been watching a different game. One time Shaq mowed over Josh Smith and got a foul called on Smoove. Shaq traveled multiple times with no call on him...lowered his shoulder into guys. They called a tech on Woody. The travel on Crawford (wasn't a travel)...I think I remember a 5-6 point possession once...You should watch the replay of the game... The Cavs' coach is sitting there working the referees the ENTIRE game (and the players do as well whenever they don't get a call...they sit there with their hands up in the air and attack the referees, with no technical)

4. Yes, Smoove complains. He whines... He wants to win. The referees are taking him out of games, like it or not.

Edited December 30, 2009 by volman

[jhay610]

Volman, the faults of the Atlanta sports fan are well-documented. I share your frustration.

Lost in all of this was Marvin's fantastic effort on Lebron, who had 14 pts on 6-20 shooting, most of which were scored in either a) transition or b) on someone other than Marvin. It really stood out when Crawford got caught on Lebron on a switch in the 2nd half and was immediately put on skates as Lebron went straight to the rim for an easy and-1. Marvin's play has been sub-standard this year, but he gives this kind of defensive effort fairly consistently and he gets little credit for it because there is no quantifiable metric to measure it in the box score.

Crawford kept us in the game for long stretches. The bottom line is we won't ever beat elite teams when neither Bibby or JJ show up for the basketball game. This game also demonstrates what certain of the constituency around here complain about in regards to Woody's [ahem] "offense" -- despite all the big numbers we've put up this year, when it comes winning time in a playoff-like atmosphere things bog down and we look lost in the half court. It would certainly help if guys were making jumpers, but that's just it -- we were struggling from the field and there were no easy looks to be had to get us going.

Finally, the Shaq acquisition further strengthened Cleveland's position in what became apparent in last year's playoff series: the Hawks athleticism in the front court, which so decisively works to their advantage against most teams in this league, is completely negated by the length of the Cleveland post players. The Cavs kicked our butts on the boards in the playoffs last year and they did it again last night, generating a ton of second chance points and outscoring us 50-32 in the paint. The Hawks, by contrast, only managed 5 offensive rebounds despite being, statistically speaking, one of the top rebounding teams in the league on that end.

It was a very frustrating game with some familiar themes and serves to remind everyone that we are still on that second level in the East. Of course, all of that is remedied with a win tonight in Cleveland. I'm hoping against hope that the Hawks show up, because this is the type of game that last year's iteration would lose by 20-30 pts.

Edited December 30, 2009 by jhay610

[HawksFan87]

The lost can't be blamed on Smoove and Marvin who both played well tonight. But it can be on Al and Joe who seem to never show up against the elite teams in the league..