Great game but

[Popeye]

Theres no way Marvin shouldnt start next game. Evans can get hot sometimes, but if Marvin has the added range he says he has, he might be hard to keep off the court.

Exatcly, but Evans played well i love the energy. He will be first of the bench no doubt.

[SmooveTheFuture]

If Evans ever takes Marvin starting job we might have some hawks fans on suicide watch no doubt LOL.

[Theeyo]

i just hope Marv can play that back up 4 spot b/c i was cringing seeing JJ play that in the small lineup...though it was somewhat effective against ORL with Shard or Hedo as their 4

[frosgrim]

To switch the thread back to the game.

Dislikes

The one thing that I didn't like last night was that, at times, the defensive rotations were not crisp at all. The Magic had a lot of clean looks at 3s. There was one play that the Magic ran over and over where Howard or Battie got two Hawks players screened in the paint while a Magic shooter was clean in the corner. That has to be fixed.

That said, the rotations will probably get better as the season goes on and the guys figure out where they are supposed to go and how they are to handle that sort of baseline/key screen.

The other slight problem last night, and this maybe due to a shortened bench, was that Evans played 40+ minutes. Woody still seems intent upon playing certain guys into the ground. I/we will get a better read on the rotations on Saturday when Woody has the full 12 to work with.

Likes:

Ball movement was excellent. Even though there were turnovers, most of those can be attributed to lack of playing time together. Along with those turnovers was how fast the Hawks scrambled back to cover them. At one point the Magic had something like 6 points off 7 Hawks turnovers. That is excellent recovery defense.

Smith played within himself most of the game. Only once did a I cringe at one of his shots, and the thing went in anyways.

Overall very good opening night for the team. But since this is sports, they have to show that they can keep it up for the next 81 :whistling:

[DrReality]

You could tell JJ's legs were rested because he really had the rise on his jump shot. Also liked Za's physical play. Smith's blocks had a major impact on the game and think he altered others.

JJ and Bibby played well together too. I can see them really developing some chemestry that will take some of the load off of JJ in the crunch.

When I first saw Solo I didn't know who he was. Good to see him bulked up.

[Boomer]

I like how they went right at Reddick with Flip. Poor Reddick, you could tell he was trying so hard to play well since he finally got some playing time, but nothing went right for him.

Thought Zaza played pretty well. Showed some good hussle.

Solo got thrown around by Howard when they were in together.

Bibb was awful from the 3 pt line.

Smith looked like he was under Howard's skin all game. Smith seemed to always be a step ahead of him with steals and blocks. Smith had two ridiculous blocks on Howard.

[mrhonline]

Evans didn't have that great of a game.

Marvin will no doubt start the next game.

[exodus]

Evans didn't have that great of a game.

Marvin will no doubt start the next game.

Some of the comments here are pretty ridiculous. Not only did Mo have a weak game but Marvin had two strong games against Philly late last year when we really needed them.

[mrhonline]

Statistically, Evans does much better against weaker opponents, which is why he's best used of the bench.

I've been saying it for a while, but no one listens to me. :)

[Diesel]

Statistically, Evans does much better against weaker opponents, which is why he's best used of the bench.

I've been saying it for a while, but no one listens to me. :)

Well, Evans played last night and we won convincingly. AND Lewis is on the back of a Milk carton. Would the same be true if Marvin have started?? I don't know.

I will say this though, the powers that be have to take into consideration chemistry. When we were up 23-8, it looked effortless last night. Everything was clicking. If that same effortless play happens with Marv.. good for the team. However, if Marv comes back and we're struggling... even if he's hitting his shots, I say maybe we should try Marvin off the bench. Last year, at the end of the year, Woody determined that Marvin is not a finisher. It kind of lends itself to the fact that Marvin does not have good chemistry with our starters. Chills did a better job finishing games. That kind of said that there was a better chemistry with Chillz in there. There is no mandate (now that BK is gone) that says that Marv must start. I think right now, the only mandate is finding the best chemistry for the team. IF that is with Marvin starting good. IF that is with him coming off the bench good. But let's not start the same BS of the last 4 years that so and so guy plays better off the bench blah blah blah start Marvin. I have felt that Marvin has never earned his starting position and now more than ever he should show that he deserves it. I don't think it should be taken from him, but I do think we have to look at the chemistry strongly.

[Admin]

Some of the comments here are pretty ridiculous. Not only did Mo have a weak game but Marvin had two strong games against Philly late last year when we really needed them.

What was weak about Mo's game? 8 points, 8 rebounds, excellent defense and he managed to play 42 minutes. His FG% was pretty poor but he didn't let that carry over to other parts of the game and made up for it with a few timely shots and a lot of hustle. At worst I'd say he had an average game, but I think saying it was weak is a bit harsh.

That said I'm very excited to see the new Marvin starting at SF and I think Evans will be much more effective coming off the bench.

[exodus]

What was weak about Mo's game?

He was 3-11 from the field with 4 turnovers and didn't get to the foul line once in 42 minutes. If Marvin had a game like people would be trashing him.

[mrhonline]

^^^You're right.

It wasn't one of Evans' best offensive performances. I'm excited about this team's 1-4 rotation, because I know that Evans can be better and having Marvin's size will help.

[HawkItus]

geez we beat the division champs on the road, in a pretty much a post to post win......but no Hawks' fans want to nit-pick.......yall have fun with that....I'll enjoy the ride.

[Admin]

He was 3-11 from the field with 4 turnovers and didn't get to the foul line once in 42 minutes. If Marvin had a game like people would be trashing him.

Do you believe that Marvin would deserve to have his game called weak if he put up the same numbers?

I could see calling it a weak game if Bibby had it since he offers nothing defensively but Evans played stellar defense and shot 40% from 3. I don't expect him to shoot many FTs since he's not that type of player.

[exodus]

Do you believe that Marvin would deserve to have his game called weak if he put up the same numbers?

I could see calling it a weak game if Bibby had it since he offers nothing defensively but Evans played stellar defense and shot 40% from 3. I don't expect him to shoot many FTs since he's not that type of player.

First of all you know that Mavin is going to get dogged whether he deserves it or not so asking if he would deserve it is pretty silly.

I don't have a problem with Evans' game last night because it is early in the season and sometimes a player's shot is just off. What i have a problem with is someone saying Marvin should lose his starting job when his replacement had more turnovers than field goals.

Plus saying someone had a weak game when they are 3-11 with 4 turnovers isn't exactly a harsh condemnation. If that isn't a weak game then what is it? Do you think it is a good or average game? If he averaged those numbers on the season would you be satisfied with that?

If a guy isn't going to get to the line at all in 42 minutes, shoots 3-11 and commits 4 turnovers that means he was a liability on offense. Saying that he played good D is fine but there are two sides to the court. It is pretty riduculous for someone to say he should start based on last nights game.

[Admin]

First of all you know that Mavin is going to get dogged whether he deserves it or not so asking if he would deserve it is pretty silly.

I don't have a problem with Evans' game last night because it is early in the season and sometimes a player's shot is just off. What i have a problem with is someone saying Marvin should lose his starting job when his replacement had more turnovers than field goals.

Plus saying someone had a weak game when they are 3-11 with 4 turnovers isn't exactly a harsh condemnation. If that isn't a weak game then what is it? Do you think it is a good or average game? If he averaged those numbers on the season would you be satisfied with that?

If a guy isn't going to get to the line at all in 42 minutes, shoots 3-11 and commits 4 turnovers that means he was a liability on offense. Saying that he played good D is fine but there are two sides to the court. It is pretty riduculous for someone to say he should start based on last nights game.

I was asking if you feel that Marvin would deserve to have his game called weak if he put up those same numbers. Would you personally say that his game was weak?

To me saying someone had a weak game is saying that he had almost as bad of a game as possible. In order for that to happen he would have to have a bad game both offensively and defensively. He was at least good defensively and he was poor offensively, although he did shoot well from 3 at 40%. To me that averages out to an average game. The funny thing is that if he makes 2 of those misses then he's over 50% from the field, 40% from 3, and played at least good defense. I would consider that an excellent game from a guy we're paying so little. Does missing 2 shots instead of making them change his game that drastically?

I never said he should start, someone else may have, but I must have missed that. There's no question in my mind that Marvin should be the starter and will be the starter.

[exodus]

I was asking if you feel that Marvin would deserve to have his game called weak if he put up those same numbers. Would you personally say that his game was weak?

If a player goes 3-11 with 4 turnovers that is a weak game regardless of who does it.

To me saying someone had a weak game is saying that he had almost as bad of a game as possible.

Comments like that make me think English must be your second language.

If i said Evans had a horrible game or sucked ass then i could see someone taking exception. But he just had an off night. It happens. The only reason i even mentioned it is because some here think last nights game is evidence that Evans should start.

I never said he should start, someone else may have, but I must have missed that.

Did you even read this thread?

[Admin]

If a player goes 3-11 with 4 turnovers that is a weak game regardless of who does it.

Comments like that make me think English must be your second language.

If i said Evans had a horrible game or sucked ass then i could see someone taking exception. But he just had an off night. It happens. The only reason i even mentioned it is because some here think last nights game is evidence that Evans should start.

Did you even read this thread?

It's good to see that you are still incapable of making your point without resulting to insults.

[exodus]

It's good to see that you are still incapable of making your point without resulting to insults.

RIF

If you aren't going to bother reading the thread then why even comment at all?

And saying "weak = as bad a game as possible" is just plain weird.