Atlanta @ Phoenix 10-08-08

[HMFFL]

Phoenix favored to win by 4 points.

[rsavaj]

Is this televised?

[HMFFL]

No.

[lethalweapon3]

Doesn't appear to be on the tube, although NBA has Audio League Pass for those who choose to listen in. Phoenix fans probably have the game on radio, just not live audio via the computer.

Link

~lw3

[lunarblues]

you can always look at the gamecast on espn coupled with sound to get a sense of the game (a little anyway.

[HMFFL]

Two games for Marvin and he has two 3-pointers.

[HoopsGuru25]

The Phoenix radio announcer just said Marvin "loves that 3 point shot". That's a very positive sign.

[evildallas]

He's now 3-5 from 3 pt range tonight and Josh has attempted 11 FTs. Both are excellent signs. Of course, it isn't all good, Bibby couldn't buy a basket (1-9 from the field), but the Hawks are ahead late on the road with only 3 pts from Bibby which doesn't suck.

[Jamaaliver]

Three things

1. It's pre-season.

2. PHX has a new coach. (Still working out the kinks.)

3. Amare didn't play.

Though it's good to see marv get going a bit.

[Hawks]

Good to see Marvin making his 3pt shots.

[HoopsGuru25]

I don't think anyone is actually concerned with the outcome of the game. It's just that Marvin even attempting three pointers is encouraging because he only hit 1 3 point shot all of last year and that was from about 70 feet away. It would have been disappointing if he continued not to take them after he talked about how much better his 3 point shot was in the summer.

[evildallas]

It is preseason and the scores in reality mean nothing, but this team needs the practice winning games not losing them especially on the road. Outside of the injuries, Phoenix played their starters the same as Atlanta, so it wasn't a completely invalid test. I'm not crowing at the 2-0 start to preseason (although I'd rather win than lose anyday), but rather HOW the team is playing. You do the right things often enough and they become habits and translate into better performances when they do count. Winning the game positively reinforces those habits as well whereas losing even a meaningless game can lead you to question what you are doing out there.

Just going after positives:
Josh Smith did miss 2 early 3s (first 6 minutes of the game), but didn't take another. He drew 11 free throws which is a good sign of how he's playing on the offensive end. Would have been nice if he made more than 6, but that's another story.
Al Horford went 5-6 from the field while matched against a true C of size.
Marvin Williams attempted 5 3s in the flow of the offense making 3 of them.
Flip Murray provided 2nd unit scoring (something that was often missing last year).
Acie Law had a good second half.
The team actually outrebounded Phoenix on both ends (a concern with the loss of Childress).
The team won the battle of the 3rd quarter again (always a concern because of how often the other coach outflanks Woodson strategically).
Joe Johnson didn't have to will the team to be competitive and actually only played a half minute more than Steve Nash.

[lethalweapon3]

A few pix from Phoenix's news site.

~lw3

[Master8492]

^Looks like a foul there.

[evildallas]

A few pix from Phoenix's news site.

~lw3

They seem very smitten with Goran Dragic. Lots of shots of him in particular.