Hats off to Larry

[niremetal]

His rotations were great tonight. He seemed to know exactly when to call timeout to stop a Magic run, didn't give into the temptation to double Dwight despite the fact that he was racking up a Wilt-like stat line in the first half, and got the guys to move the ball around better than they did against Orlando. When the Magic cut the lead to single digits in the 4th, he knew when to pull Jamal and put in Hinrich to stop the defensive bleeding, which is something he just never had the guts to do during the season.

[Admin]

Great post Nire! I know it was frustrating watching Dwight dominate Powell in that 1st half but it was a brilliant strategy to just let Powell rack up the fouls in the 1st half since we wouldn't need him in the 2nd half. Plus with LD allowing Dwight to be so dominant it kept their other players from getting into a rhythm. My only complaint is that I'd like to have seen Teague get a chance to try and slow Jameer down in that 3rd when Jamal was getting abused rather than seeing Joe have to wear his legs out trying to guard him.

[Hawkxan1]

Very true, the playoffs are all about longevity. How long can you keep the momentum going? Powell in the first did turn out to be a good strategy. Dwight got pissed and the rest of the magic played like trash. That's a hell of a combination.

[ag82]

I thought the players played great and LD's poor substitution patterns almost lost the game for us. Kirk was out for way too long while jamal was getting torched and chucking. just my opinion. great win regardless though.

[mrhonline]

Great and important win.

Gotta hope those shots continue to fall...

[lethalweapon3]

Someone please send Woody a Hallmark card.

~lw3

[Bawse]

HUGE WIN to steal home court. Seriously, the theory works. Let Howard get his, who cares. We played lockdown D on everyone else until Kirk was benched in the 3rd and Nelson started going off. WE CAN WIN THIS SERIES PEOPLE!!!!

[bonethugz]

Very true, the playoffs are all about longevity. How long can you keep the momentum going? Powell in the first did turn out to be a good strategy. Dwight got pissed and the rest of the magic played like trash. That's a hell of a combination.

yea and we only win by 10, we need to take some notes on this. i meant really. think what if redick, arenas, both richardson and turkolgu all just made one basket. a whole different ball game.

it's playoff time. a win is a win. stan van gundy isn't the best coach but he ain't bad. i'm sure he'll do some adjustment. let see how ld's going to react.

[jy23]

Offense looked pretty damn good out there tonight...loved seeing Horf and JJ curling off those screens and getting those wide open js, it was a thing of beauty! Joe really deserves some props for his play tonight, as much as people bash him around here he deserves some serious love for his play tonight. The guy was very efficient and came out just playing good ball, looks as tho defensively they dont have an answer for him unlike last year when they had 3 guys they could throw at him (Vince, Pietrus, n Barnes). Im seeing Joe leading us to a series win fellas....lets get it done

[DJlaysitup]

...My only complaint is that I'd like to have seen Teague get a chance to try and slow Jameer down in that 3rd when Jamal was getting abused rather than seeing Joe have to wear his legs out trying to guard him.

"Ah yes Grasshopper...but does the wise man have only a plan for a day? I think not. He sees the season in front of him and plans for all of it. Is it a victory to eat today if only we are hungry tomorrow? Success is not simply a small victory - success requires longevity and longevity requires that we are able to combat the next challenge in a new and decisive manner. Having a new weapon to deploy at the correct time can be decisive. These things you will learn Grasshopper."

- LD's answer to why Teague got a DNP-CD tonight :biggrin:

[Endy9]

The first time I saw this theory pulled off (always reminds me of Ali's rope a dope) was the Lakers vs Knicks in 73. The Knicks had finally lost Willis Reed by that time and had no one to guard Wilt. So they used three big bodies and let them hack the hell out of him. Wilt was never the greatest free throw shooter. Finally, he got frustrated and just didn't even want the ball and the underdog Knicks beat the Lakers (4-1) who were much better on paper.

Edited April 17, 2011 by Endy9

[DJlaysitup]

The first time I saw this theory pulled off (always reminds me of Ali's rope a dope) was the Lakers vs Knicks in 73. The Knicks had finally lost Willis Reed by that time and had no one to guard Wilt. So they used three big bodies and let them hack the hell out of him. Wilt was never the greatest free throw shooter. Finally, he got frustrated and just didn't even want the ball and the underdog Knicks beat the Lakers (4-1) who were much better on paper.

Bingo Endy9...I was thinking much the same thing. I really think (at least at this stage in his career) that Dwight can't handle carrying his team for every quarter - the entire game - and will get frustrated. To be honest, we have the length, strength, quickness and athleticism to effectively guard everybody else they have on their team. So if we stay with the gameplan - it basically comes down to Dwight carrying about 50-60% of the load offensively. I don't think he is up to that. JMHO.

[Hawked]

HUGE WIN to steal home court. Seriously, the theory works. Let Howard get his, who cares. We played lockdown D on everyone else until Kirk was benched in the 3rd and Nelson started going off. WE CAN WIN THIS SERIES PEOPLE!!!!

Didn´t you say Magic in 5 ?

[Bawse]

Didn´t you say Magic in 5 ?

Yeah, I did. With the recently play that was shown before the series it sure looked that way.

[Hawked]

Yeah, I did. With the recently play that was shown before the series it sure looked that way.

Ok, thats cool then.

[benhillboy]

Hell yeah. I'll tip my fresh Ralph Lauren Bucket.

[ngc7]

the powell on howard idea was really stupid. armstrong would of been much better . Powell doesnt have the strength or height to even have a chance. when he was in the game howard ran off bucket after bucket. with some and 1s in there.

[Endy9]

I was in total dread mode until a day or two before game one, when I read that LD said something like, we don't just want a split in Orlando, let's go grab 2! I've never heard a Hawks coach even suggest such a thing. Gave me hope that we might not see a repeat of last year in the 2nd round. Whatever happens the rest of the series, I sure enjoyed game 1! WTG LD!

[Atownplaya84]

Larry did a great job coacing

[niremetal]

His rotations were great tonight. He seemed to know exactly when to call timeout to stop a Magic run, didn't give into the temptation to double Dwight despite the fact that he was racking up a Wilt-like stat line in the first half, and got the guys to move the ball around better than they did against Orlando. When the Magic cut the lead to single digits in the 4th, he knew when to pull Jamal and put in Hinrich to stop the defensive bleeding, which is something he just never had the guts to do during the season.

Bumping this back up because I feel the same way tonight that I did that night. The Hawks came out and did exactly what they needed to tonight, and LD showed a great feel for the intangible "flow" of the game. If he can keep the team playing like this and make tweaks where necessary in response to Thibodeaux's inevitable adjustments (as he did against Orlando), we have a real shot of taking down the NBA's #1 team.

So once again, Hats Off to Larry.

Edited May 3, 2011 by niremetal