(4) Orlando vs. (5) Atlanta Game Three Thread

[Hawk4Playoffs]

Jamal Crawford for threeeeeeeeee!

[evildallas]

Great game. Much better substitutions. We're offensively challenged, but defense kept us in it.

[johnny878]

j rich is a tool for gettin in zaza's face after he got cheap shotted. Dwight flails his arms like he is having a seizure under the basket all the time.

[evildallas]

BTW, guaranteed to go 6 unless we can win it 5!!!

[panthermark]

Come on Atlanta fans...
You are in the offs...you just went up 2-1 on the Magic....

This thread is only two pages long....

Good job tonight...

[HMFFL]

j rich is a tool for gettin in zaza's face after he got cheap shotted. Dwight flails his arms like he is having a seizure under the basket all the time.

I'm curious to see if anyone gets suspended. I have no idea what to expect from the NBA office!

I think Jason deserves to be suspended since he approached ZaZa so aggressively. He also made contact with ZaZa's face, but ZaZa made contact with Jason as well.

[Skyhawk1]

Despite J. Smith's game we won this game. L. Drew must be the worst coach in the playoffs. Good game by Horford when the Hawks remember to give him the ball. Zaza was decent, so was Kirk.

[NWO4Life]

There is no question we must resign Crawford. That is all.

[johnny878]

j rich is a tool for gettin in zaza's face after he got cheap shotted. Dwight flails his arms like he is having a seizure under the basket all the time.

I'm curious to see if anyone gets suspended. I have no idea what to expect from the NBA office!

I think Jason deserves to be suspended since he approached ZaZa so aggressively. He also made contact with ZaZa's face, but ZaZa made contact with Jason as well.

maybe if this was the regular season, but i dont think this warrants a post season suspension. It was just kind of a **** move by j-rich to step in zaza's face after he got a lil cheapshot, to like further instigate the whole thing.

on a side ntoe, i dont know whats happening on offense, but it seems like every one moves around some cept smith who sits motionless near the 3pt line the whole possession.

[HoopsGuru25]

I'm curious to see if anyone gets suspended. I have no idea what to expect from the NBA office!

I'd be shocked if Richardson played in game 4. Zaza getting suspended could go either way IMO.

[evildallas]

NBA TV is predicting both get a game suspension (Richardson and Zaza). I don't think either should get suspended, but who knows about the NBA front office. At this point I think it is harder for us to replace Zaza than for them to replace Richardson. Especially if Jason Collins is banged up.

[FCNATL85]

Totally agree. 43 minutes played by Collins - Zaza if you take off the minutes that Dwight played on the bench, Al had to play Dwight only for the last minutes of the game, that helps.
Sad to say with our team but I think that behind the 3+1 and obviously the final 3 from Crawford, the best play of the game was when JJ aggressively drove to Dwight in the 4th.
My question is why not more of this? Why Smoothe is staying on the 3 pt line rather than aggressing Howard? Yes, you will be blocked a few times but it might be worth a few real D fouls on Dwight.
I do not have the stats but I will be curious to know if DH is not getting more Offensive fouls than defensive ones. That in itself is sickening when you consider the athleticism of our team between Al, Smoothe or marvin and even JJ at time. They should attack him more...especially with zaza out (less fouls on the Of end for DH)!

[niffoc4]

Come on Atlanta fans...
You are in the offs...you just went up 2-1 on the Magic....

This thread is only two pages long....

Good job tonight...

Sorry, rather than commenting on Real GM I focused on the game, stupid me. On the series, we will really miss Zaza next game if he's suspended, though the Hawks will be able to abuse Redick if he picks up J-Rich's minutes.

I noticed that Teague got a bit of run, we could see more of him if Hinrich gets into foul trouble again.

[mhectorgato]

Have any of you ever (I know I haven't, nor the announcers) seen a technical handed out based on a replay?

No question there was retaliation by Howard, but to hand one out after the fact seems unprecedented.

[Geaux_Hawks]

Have any of you ever (I know I haven't, nor the announcers) seen a technical handed out based on a replay?

No question there was retaliation by Howard, but to hand one out after the fact seems unprecedented.

Well thats what sparked the whole confrontation, so might as well T him up for what was a hands down elbow to the face and scratches on his arm.

[mhectorgato]

Have any of you ever (I know I haven't, nor the announcers) seen a technical handed out based on a replay?

No question there was retaliation by Howard, but to hand one out after the fact seems unprecedented.

Well thats what sparked the whole confrontation, so might as well T him up for what was a hands down elbow to the face and scratches on his arm.

I don't disagree that he retaliated ... but the playoff is not the time to do unprecedented things.

[evildallas]

Have any of you ever (I know I haven't, nor the announcers) seen a technical handed out based on a replay?

No question there was retaliation by Howard, but to hand one out after the fact seems unprecedented.

Yes, I have. In the last 2 years they've changed the way they use replay. Any time there is a scrum they now have the ability to use the replay to insure they punish all parties and especially to identify the instigator. You don't see it much because multi-person scrums aren't that common anymore because of the threat of suspension, but it was no way a new action nor something Dwight-specific if that's your thinking. More often it results in a full ejection than just a technical or in off-setting technicals so there isn't a free throw to go with it.

[Harry10]

1. Hawks won, but it wasn't a good game. Hawks just looked really bad and made everything look hard. I was really hoping that game three, the Hawks would pick up momentume and blow out the Magic, but the Hawks couldn't step up, they just played down to Orlando's level. game 4 and 5 are going to harder than i thought.

2. Smoove did not have a bad game like everybody thinks. his number are fine. he did miss alot of wide open jump shots, but he had to take them. i would rather him play agressive then play scared. and he couldn't take it inside, because even though Collins and Zaza play Dwight great, Dwight is still able to play monster help defense in the paint.

3. Horford did have a bad game. Bass and Anderson can't handle Horford, and i don't know why Horford doesn't force the issue and dominate those two. on some posessions, Horford is so slow in getting into his post moves, i don't know what he is waiting for, and that really helps the defense help, defend him. I wish Horford would just keep it simple and learn at Christian Laettener pump fake move, muscle Bass into the paint, give a pump fake, get Dwight in the air, and make Dwight foul him.

4. Joe has really lost a step. i remember 3-4 years ago, when Joe was putting up 30pts every time he went up against the Magic, when Mo Evans was guarding him. Joe doesn't look like that same player. Dwight is their, in his face on every play, i want to see Joe get into the paint, draw Dwight, get him in the air, and make right pass to Zaza or Horford for an easy dunk, but Zaza, Collins, Horford, and Smith, have to get into the paint and give Joe a target.

5. Crawford did the right thing on the last posessions. everybody dogs him about taking a bad shot at the end and just got lucky, but he did the right thing. fans thinks he should have worked a pick and role......... but the pick and role would have been the absolutly wrong thing to do, because a 6'9 Bass or Turk would have switched and contested Jamal. it is better that Jamal just did what he did and get into rythem and shot in rythem over a guy who is 5'10, so why run a play, when you already have the mismatch...... so props to Crawford for the high basketball IQ.

6. the best part of the night was the press conferense that Dwight gave. he had great things to say about the Hawks, the players, the city, and the fans. he talked about growing up in Atlanta and remembering watching the Hawks, watching the Hawks win and be in the playoffs, and he made alot of indirect comments of wanting to play for the Hawks.

[Harry10]

There is no question we must resign Crawford. That is all.

I agree that Jamal should be resigned, but i also feel that Joe should have not been resigned last summer.

Jamal is better and more important than Joe. I want to see Jamal back, but because of the Joe signing, i don't think Jamal is coming back..... but if the Hawks can some how work out a Joe trade, i have no problem is resigning Jamal for as much as 10 million per year.