Anyone else have the feeling that we're playing possum?

[mrhonline]

I have no idea which team will show up from game to game against the Magic, but we've all known the Hawks' likely 1st round matchup was Orlando for months.The past week is irrelevant to me. In some ways, the entire regular season has been irrelevant.

[Admin]

We've just been spoiled by Woody for too long, he would of coached the last two weeks as though getting to 50 wins was the championship itself. Coasting the past few games may not be ideal but it beats having what happened to the Lakers and Spurs where Bynum and Ginobili went down in the last week of the season. For them it's tolerable even if it compromises their championship hopes because they were playing for the top 2 seeds but for us that couldn't go neither up nor down it would be even more of a disaster.

I really do think this team can turn it on though. We are not the favorites and we are not playing a team that we have zero history with so I don't see why the guys would coast through the series. This is a division rival and personal buggaboo for us, after what happened last year I highly doubt that the guys just walk in like business as usual, lay an egg and go home. There is some pride when facing Orlando.

Well we did lose the BIG Kryptonite which might be just as big as either of those guys going down. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll be ready to go 100% come Saturday!

[frosgrim]

I really hope this team shows well in the playoffs. I want to be enthusiastic about the Hawks, but right now I can't even watch them. I've pretty much created a rule, turn off the game at the first Josh Smith 22' jump shot. My kids and wife are much happier with me after instituting that rule. I need a house with a man cave...

[niremetal]

no because our coach is too dumb to think of something like that

We are not that smart.

I think there's a difference between "dumb" and "weak/soft," and there's also a difference between "dumb" and "immature." Not saying that it's better to be weak, soft, and immature than it is to be dumb, but I think it's good to recognize the difference between them (just like it's important to recognize the difference between "cheap" and "dumb" with respect to our front office) because weak/soft/immature types of problems require different solutions than "dumb" types of problems.

Well we did lose the BIG Kryptonite which might be just as big as either of those guys going down. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll be ready to go 100% come Saturday!

Honestly, we only need him to be big and immobile, and sell it to the referees on some of the 346547 offensive fouls that Dwight commits every game. He can do that on a somewhat gimpy ankle. Edited April 14, 2011 by niremetal

[ATLien_]

I mean let's be real here for a minute, there is NO WAY that we're really this bad that we'd lose 6 games in a row unless we didn't care enough to really try and win the games. I just have the feeling that we decided to coast once our 5th position was locked up and that maybe we're trying to lull the Magic into a false sense of security and come into the playoffs as the underdogs. I guess time will tell whether or not we are truly capable of flipping the switch come playoff time but for some strange reason I am feeling very optimistic. :alcoholic:

I definitley believe we were playing possum. The last six games looked like pre-season football. We definitley looked like we didn't game plan for any of the teams we played. I wouldn't be suprised if we have been practicing only for Orlando after our matchup was locked in. The part that wasn't possum was our poor shooting performances. This worries me. Joe, Al and Hinrich couldn't hit open shots during this stretch. In the playoffs, Drew has to do a better job of getting our players easy looks. Almost every shot is contested or off the dribble. Off topic, but I think Drew needs to run plays for Hinrich. Hinrich is a system player similar to Al and Marvin. If you we expect him to be productivity just standing around the perimeter it's not going to happen. Even Bibby had alot of screen plays designed to get him open looks. Where have all these plays gone? Could it be the Possum factor? Edited April 14, 2011 by ATLien_

[CWebb]

I definitley believe we were playing possum. The last six games looked like pre-season football. We definitley looked like we didn't game plan for any of the teams we played. I wouldn't be suprised if we have been practicing only for Orlando after our matchup was locked in. The part that wasn't possum was our poor shooting performances. This worries me. Joe, Al and Hinrich couldn't hit open shots during this stretch. In the playoffs, Drew has to do a better job of getting our players easy looks. Almost every shot is contested or off the dribble. Off topic, but I think Drew needs to run plays for Hinrich. Hinrich is a system player similar to Al and Marvin. If you we expect him to be productivity just standing around the perimeter it's not going to happen. Even Bibby had alot of screen plays designed to get him open looks. Where have all these plays gone? Could it be the Possum factor?

It might be the possum factor,indeed.Ive just watched the first game of the season against Memphis. It seems like we were another team. A lot of these plays are not called anymore.

[WraithSentinel]

If these guys truly like playing together then they will have to step-up in the playoffs. Otherwise(hoping at least) ASG will for once actually have to do some house cleaning. All I know is I am ready for game 1 to see how this team responds.

[Guest]

Playoffs start on Saturday, no use in looking back now. If momentum going into the playoffs guaranteed a series win then I would be worried.

[macdaddy]

It might be the possum factor,indeed.Ive just watched the first game of the season against Memphis. It seems like we were another team. A lot of these plays are not called anymore.

Exactly. Everyone forgets that we looked good on offense early in the season. I think our defense actually improved a lot as the season went on but our offense hit the skids. It seemed like several guys just did their own thing after a while.

[niremetal]

Exactly. Everyone forgets that we looked good on offense early in the season. I think our defense actually improved a lot as the season went on but our offense hit the skids. It seemed like several guys just did their own thing after a while.

Yup. LD lost control of the team as the season wore on, and it showed in all aspects of the Hawks' game.

[hawkman]

It might be the possum factor,indeed.Ive just watched the first game of the season against Memphis. It seems like we were another team. A lot of these plays are not called anymore.

+1 this. Drew has offensive plays no doubt about it. The way the offense looked early on was a very pleasant surprise. You could see the intelligence behind what we were trying to do. JJ and the bigs were getting wide open backdoor layups left and right. I'm just confused as to why we only ran the motion offense for half a season when that was Drew's selling point with the ASG. Maybe this possum thing has legs. :stirthepot:

[Seano]

I definitley believe we were playing possum. The last six games looked like pre-season football. We definitley looked like we didn't game plan for any of the teams we played. I wouldn't be suprised if we have been practicing only for Orlando after our matchup was locked in.

I would love to believe that our coaching staff and management is capable of being so devious and smart as that. That's about a Bill Belichick-ian level of coaching foresight and intelligence, anything at all in order to try and throw off and confuse the opponents, anything to gain an edge now matter how small that edge might be, and even if it's just a perception of an edge. I don't know that our 'braintrust' (HA!) is quite so smart as that, but we'll see, and like I say I would absolutely love to see us at least trying to gain an edge over a playoff opponent. We did certainly end the season gasping and wheezing, so if that was done by design in order to lull Orlando to sleep, then we sure succeeded in that, cause we sure did look like crud down the stretch.

[Hawkxan1]

Like others said, after those last 6 games you really just have to hope so. If not...ugh.

[lethalweapon3]

Are we playing possum? If we're talking in terms of roadkill, then absolutely.~lw3

[BusBoyIsBack]

Can't buy into this. This team does not have the mental toughness to just flip a switch back on like that. LD played a really poor hand by ending on 6 losses in a row.

HE would have done a POOR job if we played our starters heavy minutes in games that don't mean jack squat and the only thing that can happen is for those guys to get hurt.We should be FRESH going into the playoffs. Hawks fans and the entire world are underestimating how bad these guys want to beat Orlando. WE played better vs them than any team we played this season. Hawks in 5 or 6.

[benhillboy]

No. The NBA is still a business and the players and coaches are still auditioning for their next contracts besides Joe, Etan, and Twin. They've had way too many laughable performances. What they've shown this year is what they are: one of the poorest, most inconsistent winning teams you'll ever see (mostly a by-product of the coaching change and poor management) The only way we could "flip a switch" is if Marvin all of a sudden pours in 20 and 8 per. Not happening. Who knows what would've happened if Carlos Delfino hadn't left game 7 early last year. His confidence was sky high when matched up with Marvin. Carlos Del-f$&kin-fino.

Edited April 16, 2011 by benhillboy

[Admin]

No. The NBA is still a business and the players and coaches are still auditioning for their next contracts besides Joe, Etan, and Twin. They've had way too many laughable performances. What they've shown this year is what they are: one of the poorest, most inconsistent winning teams you'll ever see (mostly a by-product of the coaching change and poor management) The only way we could "flip a switch" is if Marvin all of a sudden pours in 20 and 8 per. Not happening. Who knows what would've happened if Carlos Delfino hadn't left game 7 early last year. His confidence was sky high when matched up with Marvin. Carlos Del-f{:content:}amp;kin-fino.

:sarcastichand: Ummm yeah ...

[Guest]

Per the chatroom, we request that Dolfan puts a possum over Mike Bibby on the banner. The okie doke was definitely on for the past month, they sure had me fooled.

[MVP23]

Joe looked like he was fresh off the operating table tonight. He has to keep that up. He played awesome tonight. In fact, everyone looked awesome. Even LD was Awesome. We played horrible since the All star game. I knew we were going to suck down the stretch though. I don't know, maybe the players were just bored? The Celtics and Lakers do this every year..

[Admin]

Per the chatroom, we request that Dolfan puts a possum over Mike Bibby on the banner. The okie doke was definitely on for the past month, they sure had me fooled.

Is there an image of Bibby someplace that I forgot about or is that what you guys were saying you want to see?? Somewhere Muhammad Ali is smiling after watching the Hawks play tonight.