Houston @ Atlanta - 7 PM

[High 5]

1) Wow, Bibby didn't belong anywhere on the court tonight yet he played more than anyone not named Joe. Give me Law, Salim or Mario please.

2) Who decided Childress should guard T-Mac?

3) We cannot grab an important rebound to save our lives.

4) This loss sucks the most for me this year. Besides the fact that I was there, we had plenty of chances to take this game and stop history from being made and as usual we lay an egg when it counts. Joe and Bibby had the arena ready to explode on several occasions and they were barely drawing iron.

5) Josh Smith HAS TO STOP taking more than one jumper a game until he can hit it with consistecy. (most likely never)

6) Zaza is completely worthless unless he gets fouled. When your only skill is getting fouled, you don't belong in the NBA.

7) I'm sick and I'm going to bed. And I got a headache from all the d-bag Rocket fans who sat behind me and yelled "TAKE HIM T-MAC, TAKE HIM! YOU GOT HIM ON A STRING, HE CAN'T GUARD YOU!!!" the entire game no matter how many shots he missed.

[HMFFL]

JJ should ask to be traded. his back is going to break trying to carry this team of scrubs.

At times I really feel for Joe!

[High 5]

The good news is we have arguably the easiest 10 game stretch any team has had this year. If we show up with the effort we had tonight (for the most part) then we should be able to finish this month really strong. Anything less than 7-3 would disappoint me.

[conleyorbust]

The worst part about it is that this was a winnable game. Joe shooting 9-25 was offset by Tmac going 10-28, Bibby had a brickfest but so did Rafer. Smith, Al, and Joe combined for 39 rebounds... outside of Marv, our starters outplayed their counterparts across the board.

The problem is that our bench was 0-10 for 4 points and 6 rebounds... that would be a bad statline for one player but 4 guys accounting for more than 42 minutes? Come on.

Anyway, good points about us not going inside once Joe's shot stopped dropping in the third. We did get outcoached for sure. I'm really dissappointed that Al and Josh pulled down that many rebounds and we still got owned on the glass... Chuck Hayes is yet another example of a bargain player that is better than Shelden.

[DirtybirdGA]

Aint worth ****&&&

[Rip2137]

JJ should ask to be traded. his back is going to break trying to carry this team of scrubs.

And I once again want to point out how much a bunch of bullcrap this is.

The guy stunk up the joint for 4 FREAKIN MONTHS. From October to MARCH...He SUCKED. He was HORRIBLE. He was putting up the same numbers as Kevin Durant and he is our max player. HE WAS HORRIBLE.

This team of "scrubs" carried him for 4 months before he finally got out of his slump. Now people want to bash him?

Childress has not played well for the last 5-6 games after playing very well for the first 4 months of the year. Marvin played great for the first 3 months of the season, and had a bad 4th month and is somewhere in between so far this month. Josh Smith had a tough first month offensively but has been consitantly good/great since then. Al Horford has been consistantly doing what he does.

It is unfair, and pretty disgusting to throw all these guys under the bus for having a small stretch of not playing as well as they did earlier this year just because Mr. Max man decided to show up in MARCH. And you know what, all those other slumping guys? They aren't sulking about it. They aren't going out there and just killing the flow of the offense and tossing up shots while triple covered or refusing to give the ball to open teammates either. So while they are struggling, they aren't b!tcha$$ struggling like Joe did earlier this year.

Its just shortsighted and one of the reasons this city has such a laughable fan base to ignore the fact that the reason we aren't sitting in the 5th seed in the East right now is because Joe Johnson was in a slump, and continued to destroy the flow of this team for 4 entire months. The fact we even have a chance at the playoffs is because of these "scrubs" he is on the court with and what they have been doing while he was wetting the bed and whining about it for months on end.

[tontoz]

The guy stunk up the joint for 4 FREAKIN MONTHS. From October to MARCH...He SUCKED. He was HORRIBLE. He was putting up the same numbers as Kevin Durant and he is our max player. HE WAS HORRIBLE.

This team of "scrubs" carried him for 4 months before he finally got out of his slump. Now people want to bash him?

You simply don't understand basketball.

The only guy the other teams had to game plan for was JJ. He was the guy their defense was focused on. There was nobody to take the pressure off him, nobody to space the floor and stop the defense from collapsing on him.

Do you think other teams were worried about getting beat by Smith, Marvin or AJ?

Do you think it is a coincidence that he just happened to start shooting better when we got Bibby?

[Rip2137]

So what you are saying is that the last two years teams have been planning for other players?

JJ was the guy they planned for last year. His shot was falling, so he was playing harder defense, he was giving the ball up to the open man quickly off the double, he was averaging more points at a higher percentage because teams couldn't double as hard because he was actually passing the ball.

This year, his shot stopped falling and he stopped doing all those things. Don't tell me I don't understand basketball. I understand that I counted 8 times last night where Horford set the screen, went to the front of the basket wide open with both his hands up and instead of passing the ball, JJ just kept dribbling. A couple of those times ended with him hitting a jumper or giving it up and getting it back, but the point is, it is pure trash that he is not making that simple pass for the simple play to get points. He completes the pick and roll and the big man doesn't show as hard next time you run it.

He is making it harder on himself by playing selfishly just like he has all year.

And you keep wanting to put down Childress's scoring as just getting his points on runouts or garbage buckets, how many of JJ's points have been in transition jumpshots? Bibby has done a great job of finding him there.

And no it isn't a coincidence that when Bibby got here he played better. They started running the pick and roll on the other side of the court with Bibby and Horford/Smith and BIbby *gasp* actually made the pass. JJ became a outlet man there to catch and shoot for everyone elses on the courts passes. And do you know why he was open? Because they have to try and stop the other guys actually envolved in the offense. JJ versus the world doesn't get anyone envolved, he takes a bunch of crappy shots, and yet you want to blame his teammates.

If you are getting extra attention, pass the ball. Thats was Tracy did last night when they finally started doubling him. That is what Kobe does. That is what Lebron does. We have just as good and arguably better talent around JJ only he doesn't actually pass the ball when doubled.

You are trying to defend playing bad basketball and that is just not going to work. People are looking at his point total and saying "Wow, look at JJ try to carry the team." I am busy screaming PASS THE BALL to congratulate him on hitting his fade away, bad shot. Yeah...two more points. Steve Smith and others go WHOOOOOOOOOOOO. But its a bad shot. play team ball and this team will win. Simple as that.

And once again, this is game 64 of the season. SIXTY FOUR. The team has been carrying him for over 50 games this year.

I repeat, it is LAUGHABLE to try and throw them under the bus now because he has started playing well 60 games into the season. he still has to play well every other game this year to catch Marvin Williams positive output for the first 3 months of the season.

[tontoz]

JJ was the guy they planned for last year. His shot was falling, so he was playing harder defense, he was giving the ball up to the open man quickly off the double, he was averaging more points at a higher percentage because teams couldn't double as hard because he was actually passing the ball.

Last year JJ's hot shooting coincideded almost exactly with Lue's hot shooting. When Lue went out JJ's shooting went downhill. When Lue came back JJ went on a tear.

It is simply because there was another guy on the court who could make an open shot.

Marvin/Childress/Smith are a combined 32-128 from 3 on the season (25%). The defense wasn't the least bit worried about those guys.

And you keep wanting to put down Childress's scoring as just getting his points on runouts or garbage buckets, how many of JJ's points have been in transition jumpshots?

Do you realize how stupid that comparison is?

Childress gets his transition points by either failing to get back on D or leaking out early. JJ gets his transition points by getting a perimeter shot before the defense gets set. He isn't leaking out early before the Hawks even have the ball like Childress does consistently.

If you are getting extra attention, pass the ball.

To who? Bibby couldn't make a shot. Smith missed every jumper he took (5).

Bibby made a perfect feed to Horford on a pick and roll and Horford blew an uncontested layup. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

he still has to play well every other game this year to catch Marvin Williams positive output for the first 3 months of the season.

Why do you think Marvin gets left open so consistently? Because the defense is worried about JJ.

On the season the Hawks score 5.4 more ppg when JJ is playing.

http://www.82games.com/0708/07ATL7D.HTM

They score 4.6 fewer when Smith is playing.

http://www.82games.com/0708/07ATL11D.HTM

They score 2.5 fewer when marvin is playing.

http://www.82games.com/0708/07ATL10D.HTM


What makes those numbers even more significant is that those three are on the court at the same time so often.

Marvin is shooting 38.8% EFG on his jumpers. That is lame.

http://www.82games.com/0708/07ATL10A.HTM



The defenders on opposing teams know who they have to worry about on the hawks.

[Rip2137]

Jesus dude. Its like you learned a new "stat" the other day and have just beaten it into the ground. I could give a crap about any stat outside of the simple, basketball ones.

Marvin Williams had been hitting 45+ percent of his shots until february. i don't give a crap about adjusted field goal percentages, and all that other useless crap. He shot the ball X number of times and Y number of times it went in. That is all that really matters when it comes to basketball.

And you are still trying ot argue that Joe taking consisted shots and missing them is better than him giving the ball to wide open teammates. That is just plain ridiculous. Because Horford missed this layup this one time, Joe shouldn't have given him the ball any of the times he was wide open directly by the rim with both hands up? REALLY?

Teams aren't covering the pick and roll when Joe has the ball at all anymore because they know he isn't going to pass the ball. That is a problem. This is not video game land where every shot has to be a 3 or a dunk. passing the ball make the entire offense move better and you are going to get better shots. Holding the ball for no reason and forcing up a brick isn't going to get wins.

You can argue that all day, but at the end you are arguing that Joe missing shots is better than open players getting the shots. That is just plain stupid and there is no other way around it.

[tontoz]

You can argue that all day, but at the end you are arguing that Joe missing shots is better than open players getting the shots.

That is not it at all. The reality is that JJ taking a heavily contested shot is better than passing to a wide open Smith. When Smith got the ball and the top of the key and tried to take TMac off the dribble i had to laugh. TMac stole it before Smith could even take a dribble.

Marvin showed off a new move yesterday, traveling while going backwards. Nice one.

If everyone shot the ball equally well and didn't turn it over then moving the ball around makes sense (ala Detroit and San Antonio). But when your team can't shoot and is turnover prone it is a different story.

When JJ leaves the game the offense is a train wreck. That is because the other guys just can't score

[Rip2137]

You are arguing that Joe Johnson missing a bad shot is better than someone else maybe missing a good shot.

And I don't know basketball.



I dont care if its the Spurs, the Hawks, or some pee-wee league. To win, you need to play good basketball and get good shots. You are actually arguing that bad shots would be better becuase guys aren't great shooters. That is just mind numbingly, mike woodsonesque dumb.

You play basketball the best you can play and good things will happen all the time. If you miss a good shot, so what, it was a good shot. There is no reason to take horrible, bad shots ever and nothing good is ever going to come of it.

Tim Duncan has no problem having a game where he scores 8 points if the other team is going to double agressively. Even if his team struggles at first(like they did against the Hawks) he will keep giving it up because eventually, you keep giving guys good shots they are going to make them.

You want to say the offense goes to crap when JJ leaves, you think it might have something to do with no one else being envloved in the offense until he leaves? Or that we have a coach whose only play is "give the ball to JJ on the block and everyone else stand on the other side of the court."

Once again, there is NO excuse for a player to be wide open on the same side of the court with a doubled player in front of the rim calling for the ball and for him to get looked off because Mr. Superstar wants to dribble around for awhile longer. I don't care if he hits a tough layup 5-10 seconds later. I don't care if he hits the fall back jump shot. Make the good play and it will give you alot more than those bad ones, which we are seeing night in and night out when Joe keeps forcing it and eventually those shots stop falling and the team loses in the second half. [/b]

[tontoz]

You are arguing that Joe Johnson taking a contested shot is better than someone else maybe taking an open shot.

And I don't know basketball.

Corrected

Tim Duncan has no problem having a game where he scores 8 points if the other team is going to double agressively. Even if his team struggles at first(like they did against the Hawks) he will keep giving it up because eventually, you keep giving guys good shots they are going to make them.

That is because they have guys who can actually shoot. We don't.

You play basketball the best you can play and good things will happen all the time. If you miss a good shot, so what, it was a good shot.

What you can't grasp is that an open 20 footer isn't a good shot for Shaq (or Smith).

You want to say the offense goes to crap when JJ leaves, you think it might have something to do with no one else being envloved in the offense until he leaves?

They get plenty of shots. They just can't make them.

Make the good play and it will give you alot more than those bad ones, which we are seeing night in and night out when Joe keeps forcing it and eventually those shots stop falling and the team loses in the second half

Wrong. The problems the Hawks have had in the second halves are BECAUSE JJ passes to other guys and then the offense becomes a turnover festival when Smith throws a bad pass or Childress charges or Marvin travels or Zaza is just Zaza.