2 Observations

[sillent]

Larry Drew is going to be a great coach in this league which I'll explain in a later thread but this is the playoffs. He got caught up making a rookie mistake which was taking the emphasis the opponent made to the head. Stan Van Gundy made sure he spoke loudly about how we broke them down one on one and made this a one on one game which Stan supposedly didn't like. We of course played into his game plan instead of our own which was ball movement and exploiting mismatches. Instead everyone played the one on one game from Kirk to Joe to Jamal. Josh had some success because he played inside. Horford not so much. The one on one game wouldn't have been that bad if it was actually one on one's but the Magic's closed out and gave quick double teams especially on Joe and we waited too late( 4th quarter) to change our strategy.

It would be nice to see Teague get in the game at least for energy in Atlanta. Marvin has to focus and be more of a focus all over the floor and not be stuck only taking the 3. He can be out there because it spreads the floor but he has to use his other skills as well. Horford has to man up and show why he is the second best CENTER in the East. He should focus on being more dominant since he get's to play his coveted Power Foward position. I think Larry Drew realized he got baited into changing his game plan and switched it back in the 4th. When the score was 74- 78 I still didn't see the energy out of the team needed to steal this game. This is the difference between having the heart of champions and just being skilled. You got the momentum and you are down by four you got to dig deep and take the game. Make them exert that much more energy to try to deny you. I saw Derrick Rose refuse to lose against the Pacers in their first game when there was no way the Pacers should have lost. Where is our lion heart?

When the other team has more offensive rebounds than you have defensive rebounds and you are not shooting 50 or more percent that's a lack of hustle. I saw us so focused on holding Dwight back that we didn't even go after gettable balls/rebounds. That's like so many businesses now a days that want to make money but scared too spend when spending might help you make more money. We missed point blank shots ourselves out of fear of Dwight. Make him stop you but don't ever stop yourself. Let him know either your going to come get it or I'm going to take it and have plan B's and C's for those moments when you know he is stalking you.

MESSAGE FOR THE HAWKS: Everybody is tired and banged up during this time of year but this could be your last time balling together and period for awhile. THERE IS A LOCKOUT LOOMING THAT HAS ALREADY PUT THOSE NOT IN THE PLAYOFFS ON HOLT AND IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SHOCK THE WORLD BY PUTTING ALL OF YOUR TALENT TO GOOD USE AND REFUSING TO LOSE. IF YOU LIKE BASKETBALL LIKE YOU SAY YOU DO PLAY LIKE YOU WANT TO CONTINUE PLAYING!! TEAM BALL, SMART PLAY AND HUSTLE. THOSE ARE THE INGREDIENTS FOR WINNERS THAT HAVE HELPED TEAMS WITH LESS TALENT SUCCEED!!

[prolific25]

Here is my observation-The Hawks were up 32-22 at the time Jason Collins picked up his 2nd foul and Drew benched him for the rest of the half(as he did with Zaza and Horford prior to that). Did he really expect the Hawks to keep the lead with Powell/Armstrong guarding Dwight 1 on 1 for over 8 minutes in a crucial playoff game? Drew's(like his predecessor) irrational fear of any of our centers fouling out hurt us big time tonight.

Edited April 20, 2011 by prolific25

[TheTruth]

Here is my observation-The Hawks were up 32-22 at the time Jason Collins picked up his 2nd foul and Drew benched him for the rest of the half(as he did with Zaza and Horford prior to that). Did he really expect the Hawks to keep the lead with Powell/Armstrong guarding Dwight 1 on 1 for over 8 minutes in a crucial playoff game? Drew's(like his predecessor) irrational fear of any of our centers fouling out hurt us big time tonight.

Horford got two quick fouls to start the game. Sat the rest of the first half.

Did not pick up a single foul the rest of his 26 minutes of play.

LD continuing the Woodsonian "first half 2 fouls and you're out" rule.

[Joker]

Larry Drew is going to be a great coach in this league which I'll explain in a later thread but this is the playoffs. He got caught up making a rookie mistake which was taking the emphasis the opponent made to the head. Stan Van Gundy made sure he spoke loudly about how we broke them down one on one and made this a one on one game which Stan supposedly didn't like. We of course played into his game plan instead of our own which was ball movement and exploiting mismatches. Instead everyone played the one on one game from Kirk to Joe to Jamal. Josh had some success because he played inside. Horford not so much. The one on one game wouldn't have been that bad if it was actually one on one's but the Magic's closed out and gave quick double teams especially on Joe and we waited too late( 4th quarter) to change our strategy.

It would be nice to see Teague get in the game at least for energy in Atlanta. Marvin has to focus and be more of a focus all over the floor and not be stuck only taking the 3. He can be out there because it spreads the floor but he has to use his other skills as well. Horford has to man up and show why he is the second best CENTER in the East. He should focus on being more dominant since he get's to play his coveted Power Foward position. I think Larry Drew realized he got baited into changing his game plan and switched it back in the 4th. When the score was 74- 78 I still didn't see the energy out of the team needed to steal this game. This is the difference between having the heart of champions and just being skilled. You got the momentum and you are down by four you got to dig deep and take the game. Make them exert that much more energy to try to deny you. I saw Derrick Rose refuse to lose against the Pacers in their first game when there was no way the Pacers should have lost. Where is our lion heart?

When the other team has more offensive rebounds than you have defensive rebounds and you are not shooting 50 or more percent that's a lack of hustle. I saw us so focused on holding Dwight back that we didn't even go after gettable balls/rebounds. That's like so many businesses now a days that want to make money but scared too spend when spending might help you make more money. We missed point blank shots ourselves out of fear of Dwight. Make him stop you but don't ever stop yourself. Let him know either your going to come get it or I'm going to take it and have plan B's and C's for those moments when you know he is stalking you.

MESSAGE FOR THE HAWKS: Everybody is tired and banged up during this time of year but this could be your last time balling together and period for awhile. THERE IS A LOCKOUT LOOMING THAT HAS ALREADY PUT THOSE NOT IN THE PLAYOFFS ON HOLT AND IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SHOCK THE WORLD BY PUTTING ALL OF YOUR TALENT TO GOOD USE AND REFUSING TO LOSE. IF YOU LIKE BASKETBALL LIKE YOU SAY YOU DO PLAY LIKE YOU WANT TO CONTINUE PLAYING!! TEAM BALL, SMART PLAY AND HUSTLE. THOSE ARE THE INGREDIENTS FOR WINNERS THAT HAVE HELPED TEAMS WITH LESS TALENT SUCCEED!!

I like your post and +1 you but it's not that easy. We don't have heart or team identity. Nothing new about that. We don't have someone who can put this team on their backs, nothing new about that. Even though they didn't box out a lot, when they did, I seen D12 out jump them, break their box outs, just abuse them. More of Orlando rebounding was due to Dwight's presence. Some of it was boxing out but more than not, it was Dwight. Dwight's biggest strength is not his ability to block shots, but it's his defensive awareness and lateral quickness on D which is second to none. I seen eight possessions where we beat the defender off the dribble only for Dwight to go from lane to lane in Usain Bolt type timing. You can't attack the way you want and Atlanta players aren't the type who can draw fouls. Only Marvin has previous success and driving a drawing fouls at a solid rate. His defensive ability along makes any team he plays for a top 3 defensive team. I like you post, it made some sense but Dwight will be a monster on defense because he's the best we've seen since Bill Russell.

Edited April 20, 2011 by nbasuperstar40