RealGM

Tough matchup. Magic in 5 for me but I would love to see a competitive series. Lets go Hawks!

From ESPN:
A question: Would you rather have a center averaging 15.6 points and 9.9 rebounds, shooting 56 percent from the field and 74 percent from the line? Or would you take his counterpart, a guy with a flashier nickname but with averages of just 9.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.5 fouls, not to mention his 48 percent field goal percentage and his 38 percent success rate from the line?

If you chose the former over the latter, then you chose Al Horford over Dwight Howard.

Charlotte did a good job on Dwight Howard. He only had over 9 rebounds during one of the four games and over 10 points during two games. We need to get him into foul trouble like Charlotte did because he committed 23 fouls during four games.

Some good news: Mickael Pietrus sprained his ankle

I think we actually come to play against Orlando during this series and stretch it to 7 games.

ATL DirtyBird wrote:From ESPN:
A question: Would you rather have a center averaging 15.6 points and 9.9 rebounds, shooting 56 percent from the field and 74 percent from the line? Or would you take his counterpart, a guy with a flashier nickname but with averages of just 9.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.5 fouls, not to mention his 48 percent field goal percentage and his 38 percent success rate from the line?

If you chose the former over the latter, then you chose Al Horford over Dwight Howard.

Not to mention the 25 mpg and 5 BPG, but people shouldn't sweat the little stuff

- the one half of basketball when the Hawks dominated the Magic, the team was sharing the ball and getting all their points off of assist.

- the Magic own the Hawks, especially when Joe goes ball hog and everybody stands around. Joe has to look to pass first and everybody else needs to move and give Joe and Jamal some targets

- i'm worried that Nelson is going to do the same to Bibby that Jennings did. Joe on Nelson, Marvin on Carter, and Crawford on MP.

- don't double Dwight and defend the 3. Magic are unstoppable when they are hitting threes, i would rather Dwight get 40 than have the rest of the team nailing 3s.

- play alot of Zaza and Randolph, both of them can give you 12 fouls.

- if Woody was smart, he would call his old mentor Larry Brown and have him secretly game plan for you

- when ever these two teams meet up, i always find it weird how our center is from Florida and their center is from Atlanta.

The matchups are just brutal for the Hawks. Horford has a tough time with howard but howard doesn't have any problems guarding Horford. Josh Smith hasn't been able to exploit Anderson and Lewis on offense where on defense those guys can drag him to the outside. Jameer Nelson is exactly the kind of PG that gives the Hawks trouble but Bibby can't really exploit him the other direction. (though Crawford at the point is a different matter) The matchups are just terrible.

That said- on offense the hawks get in trouble when they beat their man off the dribble and settle for the long jumper instead of driving to the basket. They need to push forward and dish to Horford and Smith once the help defense goes over or draw contact and try and get to the line. Either way- don't settle for long jumpers.

On defense I don't think you can play bibby much in this series as the matchup with Nelson is just terrible for him. I think that they have to just take their lumps with Horford and Zaza guarding Howard 1 on 1 and make him show that he can carry the load without picking up dumb offensive fouls. Unfortunately on paper the Magic just have a lot of advantages on offense and I don't think there is much the Hawks can do- they will have to win shootouts to win the series.

If we can get Howard in foul trouble like the Bobcats did we have a very GOOD chance to win this series. We are a better team than the Cats and Horford/Smoove could dominate the post without Howard in there.

Against MIL, even without Bogut, it was like pulling teeth to get our offense to make use of the low post advantage. It's wishful thinking to believe we'll change.

In other words, look for mostly iso jumpshots.

Good luck guys!! I really Like your team, but I can't say that im not hoping to mop the floor with you.. hehehe.. You guys really do have a great team and im pumped about this series!!

Magic in 5. Hard to be confident going into a series like this after what just transpired against the Bucks.

I think it will come down to which team shows up as to how competitive the series turns out to be.

I think Orlando wins in 5 or 6 games. I was hoping you guys had to play Cleveland or Boston so I could wish you luck.

I think the Hawks will be tougher than most think. With that being said, I think 2 wins will be a realistic, but not very easy goal to reach. Here's my take on our players in the 1st round against the Bucks, and how they could match up with the Magic.

Horford: Reliable. His game is all about playoff basketball, no wonder why he's been ready since our 1st playoff game in Boston a few years ago. The last game we had against the Magic, he was hitting jump shots from everywhere, that's the only way he can be effective against Howard.

Smith: He struggled against the Bucks, couldnt score down in the post. He got outrebounded by pretty much every Buck that was on the game, Ilyasova. Mbah Moute, or Thomas. I don't trust him a bit for big games like the ones in this series.

Marvin: I read something about his numbers in the 1st round. If you take games 1 and 5 out of the equation, he's shooting around 30% and avg about 5ppg. That in 30mpg.

Johnson: Can JJ get on my nerves sometimes. Pass the ball for God sake. He won't score in the paint against the Magic, I don't expect big numbers from him. He looked really tired yesterday.

Bibby: Where was his defense and rebouding in the regular season. He's elevated his game better than any player on this team. This is a guy who's been there before, can deliver and isn't afraid of the moment.

Crawford: I was pleased with his performance. He rebounded some and of course saved us in game 6. He's that kind of guy who can scare the hell out of you if he's on, which he will in at least 1 or 2 games this series. Hopefully he can exploit Gortat's presence on the floor.

Skyhawk1 wrote: Smith: He struggled against the Bucks, couldnt score down in the post. He got outrebounded by pretty much every Buck that was on the game, Ilyasova. Mbah Moute, or Thomas. I don't trust him a bit for big games like the ones in this series.

Smith averaged 10 rebounds per game. The only game where he had less than 9 was the last game where he played only 24 minutes. I will take that from him any time.

IMO, the keys are:

1. Use all those big men (that never play) we have on the end of the bench and pound Dwight Howard with multiple bodies.

2. Josh has to stay at home on Rashard Lewis.

3. The rest of the perimeter has to stick to their men.

4. Recover quickly from switches or fight over screens.

5. Drive the ball and either shoot runners, pass inside, or kick it. Their perimeter D is aggressive because they have Dwight in the back to erase mistakes. As such you don't get many clean jumpers, so you have to drive, but if you go all the way to Howard he will abuse you.

6. Make adjustments. Standing pat won't work against the Magic. They know how to blow out what we normally do. Throw some wrinkles in and hopefully Van Gundy will out think himself when he adjusts.

Dwight always gets tons of blocks against us. That should continue barring any foul trouble. Josh seems to have no effect on either end of the floor. Hawks have got to play with energy and get out to the shooters quickly.

I find it hard to predict the Hawks these days. Which Hawks team will show up? The one that looks competitive against any elite team, or the one that flops to low seeded teams?

Hard to pick, my hope is for a competitive series whether it's 4 games or 7, I just want to enjoy the series. This could be the last time we see this group together, so let's enjoy it.

Hoopshype Compares The Players

Prediction: Magic in five

Jameer Nelson vs Mike Bibby
Jameer Nelson looked every bit like an All-Star in the first round of the playoffs while Mike Bibby struggled to stay in front of Brandon Jennings. Clear advatange for Orlando.

Matt Barnes vs Joe Johnson
Matt Barnes' main focus will be on slowing down Joe Johnson. He seems to have done a good job at it this year. JJ shot just 38 percent from the field against Orlando this season.

Vince Carter vs M. Williams
Vince Carter has to come through for the Orlando Magic at some point and this would very a very good occasion following a terrible first-round outing against the Bobcats.

Rashard Lewis vs Josh Smith
Rashard Lewis will force Josh Smith to play defense outside the paint, which is good news for the Magic since Smith has been blocking shots like crazy this season.

D. Howard vs A. Horford
Should be a great battle to witness between the most and one of the most physical centers in the NBA. If Dwight Howard continues to be in foul trouble, the Hawks could have a good chance.

M. Pietrus vs J. Crawford
The lack of playoff experience may have affected Jamal Crawford. Cold shooting plagued him against the Bucks. Orlando is not Milwaukee. The Hawks need him to be effective now.

- don't double Dwight and defend the 3. Magic are unstoppable when they are hitting threes, i would rather Dwight get 40 than have the rest of the team nailing 3s.

This is the thing about the Magic...It doesn't matter if we double Dwight or not because he can just pin Horford underneath the basket while establishing position w/o the ball. There's also the occasional back door alley oop when you try to front him in the post.

All I want to see is the Hawks compete with Orlando. I think the odds of pushing this series past 5 games are low....but that's not an excuse to just go out and get curb stomped 3 or 4 times in front of a national audience. I'd be extremely disappointed if the Hawks lost by an average of 15-20 points after seeing both Charlotte(despite getting swept) and Philly put up a decent fight vs Orlando.

HMFFL wrote:Hoopshype Compares The Players

Prediction: Magic in five

Jameer Nelson vs Mike Bibby
Jameer Nelson looked every bit like an All-Star in the first round of the playoffs while Mike Bibby struggled to stay in front of Brandon Jennings. Clear advatange for Orlando.

Matt Barnes vs Joe Johnson
Matt Barnes' main focus will be on slowing down Joe Johnson. He seems to have done a good job at it this year. JJ shot just 38 percent from the field against Orlando this season.

Vince Carter vs M. Williams
Vince Carter has to come through for the Orlando Magic at some point and this would very a very good occasion following a terrible first-round outing against the Bobcats.

Rashard Lewis vs Josh Smith
Rashard Lewis will force Josh Smith to play defense outside the paint, which is good news for the Magic since Smith has been blocking shots like crazy this season.

D. Howard vs A. Horford
Should be a great battle to witness between the most and one of the most physical centers in the NBA. If Dwight Howard continues to be in foul trouble, the Hawks could have a good chance.

M. Pietrus vs J. Crawford
The lack of playoff experience may have affected Jamal Crawford. Cold shooting plagued him against the Bucks. Orlando is not Milwaukee. The Hawks need him to be effective now.

I feel like they underrated JJ, Josh, Craw, and Dwight in this comparison.

Let's be honest, Horford is a stud, and a Florida boy, but Dwight is his antithesis. Taller, more athletic, etc. Against nearly every other center Al holds his own.

His only hope is to get Dwight in foul trouble with pump fakes (very possible). Single cover Dwight, and he will rim run, seal, and backdoor oop all game, all series.

If I were Woodson I would constantly sending the double from the weakside because Dwight still has a hard time passing there from the double. Also, his other passes out of the double, while crisp, are predictable, so if your wings are watching film and picking up patterns they may be able to jump the passes and get out and run.