GETTIN READY FOR PORTLAND

[Wretch]

Yeah, if the Hawks would play D like this every night, they could get away with subpar offenses performances like this.

They are playing some serious defense....solid...SOLID defense.

...and is it just me, or are those Portland fans just downright awesome? Good God. Their team is down big in the 4th, struggling with a middle of the pack team in the West, Sunday night...and they are packed in that arena STILL into this game. Kinda makes me a little ashamed of myself. Until I think about our 40 year playoff history vs. theirs...lol

[HalfHawk]

I knew Bibby was bad on defense, but WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!

[tomac]

Refs are swallowing the whistle on the Hawks' end of the floor. I guess the guys will have to play through it.

[exodus]

Another 4th quarter drought. The ball movement just dies. This crap is getting old.

[AHawks89]

The fact that the refs are terrible helped out the Blazers in the 4th.

[Popeye]

Batum is a flopping sob,,,,,,,

[High5]

The Hawks have to be the worst 4th quarter team ever with a winning record. Good thing the defense was INCREDIBLE before that (again). I don't know who or what lit a fire in this team but I hope the effort lasts. There's no excuse for them not to play with that intensity every night.

[TheTruth]

18, 18, 13, 34

Those are the points scored by the Blazers each quarter.

24

The number of turnovers we had in the game.

10

Number of players who played for the Hawks today. 8 of them (Teague and Wilkins being the two excluded) had at least one TO. 7 had at least two.

Had it not been for solid D, we come out on the wrong end of that score. The ball movement died in the 4th, we eased up on the gas, and we turned it over like they were getting paid by the TO. And why Drew played Craw at PG most of tonight and allowed him to turn it over left and right (6 TOs) without punishment was asinine. Yeah, he bailed us out with FTs at the end, but cmon son!

Maybe we are just a good 3 quarters team?

Edited February 28, 2011 by TheTruth

[capstone21]

Basketball is a game of runs. The Blazers just had theirs a little too late.

Refs were bad for both teams

Joe with a quiet 22...a very solid game offensively

Too many turnovers tonight and we made a lot of dumb plays but our D was solid

Zaza was a beast in the first half. He played with a lot of heart

Teague played well.

Hinrich still has a little learning to do. I do like what I see.

JC did not want to give the ball up tonight. He dribbled it down to 1 before launching a three . I don't like that ... lucky he made it

[DarnShadyRefs]

Batum is a flopping sob,,,,,,,

Those were some athletic flops. He puts so much passion in to them, I'm surprised the refs didn't give him a standing ovation after blowing the whistle......

[BudBall]

Crawford with 6 turnovers. He needs to stop playing PG. Even though he hit some big shots, he killed the offensive flow.

[MaceCase]

Josh can miss as many shots as he wants as long as it's in the paint and he manages some free throws. I rather have him miss 5 contested layups than 3 open jumpers. He forced the action and had the Blazers scrambling defensively and offensively with him patrolling out there.

Expect a visit to the boards by Colin after Zaza's nigh and good bounce back Marvo.

[HawkFoLife]

I totally agree...that's the Josh i can live with and will allow him to take his share of jumpers if he can mix it up in the paint like he did tonight. Very disruptive defensively the last 2 games against a high scoring Warriors squad and a decent Portland team that was hot lately. I got to admit i was feeling like after the Phoenix loss this team needed some kind of trade that could inject some life into them. And that's exactly what happened cause you know you always try to impress your new co-workers. The Hawks as a team are trying to whooo Kirk and vice versa and it's working so far. Makes the rest of this year all of a sudden very interesting from a Hawks fan stand point with these huge games coming up. Denver tonight, Chicago then OKC and NY at home. It's kind of fun for me again. :jumping11:

Edited February 28, 2011 by HawkFoLife

[Bawse]

Crawford playing the point irritated me, I hope this isn't going to be what it's like when Hinrich finally gets the start at point... good lord that was annoying to watch. Same result as last game, solid 3 quarters and another collapse in the 4th. I do not understand the constant isolation play after play after play, I mean, I do understand they are trying to kill clock, but when you don't get a shot off and turn the ball over.. worse case scenario. Someone said it correctly in chat tonight, the Hawks weren't playing to win the 4th, they were playing not to lose.

The final score should have been much more lopsided.

Edited February 28, 2011 by Boss

[Superiorblogman]

It's sad that Hinrich has been on the floor both times we gave up big leads since he has been here. I am not seeing this heady leader and Teague is definitely better on D. I wish we had traded for something we need like a SF upgrade or a Big.

[Superiorblogman]

I'm still waiting on Hinrich to turn into the "floor general" Sund talked about. Looks more to me like a SG, but hopefully I'm wrong.

He isn't Sund and others are just trying to justify this lateral move. Teague is way better than Hinrich is defensively, Andre Miller had 20 and none came on Teague, it was all Jamal and Hinrich, nothing has changed man, it's all about shot making with LD and was with Woody also. I hope Teague gets traded this summer because he deserves better. Hinrich has been on the floor both times we blew big leads since he been here and it does not matter because he can score better nothing will ever be made of it.

[capstone21]

Josh can miss as many shots as he wants as long as it's in the paint and he manages some free throws. I rather have him miss 5 contested layups than 3 open jumpers. He forced the action and had the Blazers scrambling defensively and offensively with him patrolling out there.

Expect a visit to the boards by Colin after Zaza's nigh and good bounce back Marvo.

I agree wiht you. He is such a different player when he takes it to the hoop or posts up. If he would stop taking so many jumpers and focus on getting to the rim ... I really believe it would help this team.

[Bawse]

He isn't Sund and others are just trying to justify this lateral move.

Please stop. This is stupid coaching and we all know this. Jamal running the point = Kirk's 2nd game and not knowing the plays. We all know what Kirk can bring to the table. Let him get comfortable with his players first, Kirk is still the odd man out. No one is used to seeing him at the point.

[exodus]

Earlier this month the Hawks had 4th quarter collapses in tight losses to the Clippers and Cats. I guess Hinrich was at fault there too.

[Seano]

Earlier this month the Hawks had 4th quarter collapses in tight losses to the Clippers and Cats. I guess Hinrich was at fault there too.

He was. He's also at fault for global warming, the revolution in Libya, and Charlie Sheen going off the deep end. If there's an ill to be found in the world, you can bet that Kirk Hinrich is probably at least partially at fault.