Ivan's minutes - I'm not pleased

[DJlaysitup]

Honestly...as much as we (LD) give these yo-yo shooters all the rope they want and nearly lose games because of their jacking up shots like drunken sailors (esp. after offensive rebounds/tipouts)...I'm a tad p!ssed about our short leash on Ivan and our seaming refusal to go with the bigger lineup.

I'll post Ivan's minutes the last 10 games - I would post his stats but they have been pretty consistent and pretty decent....so no real need to do all that typing.

ORL - 17:31

WAS - 5:31

CHA - 4:54

LAC - 16:41

CHA - DNP-CD

CLE - 8:59

DEN - 15:35

WAS - DNP-CD

MEM- 10:30

MIA - DNP-CD

ORL - DNP-CD

I just don't understand DNP-CDing Ivan in ANY game that he is healthy for. The guy can play and he deserves time - he is a force inside - even if it's 3-4 minutes a half for energy. I think we are really missing out a bit if we don't keep Ivan involved in the rotation.

There are a few teams around the league that would have Ivan as their sixth man - JMHO.

Edited December 13, 2012 by DJlaysitup

[thecampster]

Honestly...as much as we (LD) give these yo-yo shooters all the rope they want and nearly lose games because of their jacking up shots like drunken sailors (esp. after offensive rebounds/tipouts)...I'm a tad p!ssed about our short leash on Ivan and our seaming refusal to go with the bigger lineup.

I'll post Ivan's minutes the last 10 games - I would post his stats but they have been pretty consistent and pretty decent....so no real need to do all that typing.

ORL - 17:31

WAS - 5:31

CHA - 4:54

LAC - 16:41

CHA - DNP-CD

CLE - 8:59

DEN - 15:35

WAS - DNP-CD

MEM- 10:30

MIA - DNP-CD

ORL - DNP-CD

I just don't understand DNP-CDing Ivan in ANY game that he is healthy for. The guy can play and he deserves time - he is a force inside - even if it's 3-4 minutes a half for energy. I think we are really missing out a bit if we don't keep Ivan involved in the rotation.

There are a few teams around the league that would have Ivan as their sixth man - JMHO.

Ivan has the 3rd highest +/- net on the team per 48.

[Colin]

You have to think that he did something wrong again.

[TheTruth]

I, for the life of me, can't understand it. If IVAN has done something wrong, it hasn't been stated in any of the AJC writeups or our beat writer's tweets.

Here is what our beat writer included in his after-game article of tonight's game:

Ivan Johnson did not play for the second straight game. When asked about Johnson’s status, Drew said the forward “will certainly be rested” when it comes time to play the Bobcats.

Yeah LD, he'll surely be rested alright.

I would love to know LD's reasoning for this because prior to this recent string of DNP-CDs, he had been getting relatively consistent (albeit not enough) playing time.

[Randy]

Pretty strange. Makes you think there's more to the story. Maybe LD just doesn't like him.

[benhillboy]

LD is doing an outstanding job of keeping whatever problem it is in house and zip-lipped. Ivan is too for that matter. We can all agree that there is a problem there because he immediately proves he's one of the more versatile bench bigs in the league soon as he steps on the court. I just can't see how whatever he's doing, or not doing, be so bad to where the coach is compromising the depth and versatility of our rotation night in and night out. Hopefully both get on the same page sooner than later.

[BrandonJ0]

ld is jus an idiot point blank

[BrazilianHawk]

Last night Zaza had 3 or 4 open looks in the paint, he just needed to dunk it but he deferred to the shooters who missed all those opportunities, while the Magic was having a big run. I don't think that would happen if IVAN was in those situations.

FREE IVAN!

GO HAWKS!

[macdaddy]

Last night Zaza had 3 or 4 open looks in the paint, he just needed to dunk it but he deferred to the shooters who missed all those opportunities, while the Magic was having a big run. I don't think that would happen if IVAN was in those situations.

FREE IVAN!

GO HAWKS!

I didn't see the game but i don't know how you can play 18 minutes and register a -15 when you win the game 86-80. Only Lou had a negative plus/minus for the Hawks. Did they put those 2 guys out there by themselves?

I had to go look up because i was impressed with Zaza and Ivan playing together in the first meeting with Orlando. Those guys combined for 19 rebounds in about 20 minutes. Love to see that again.

[Admin]

I didn't see the game but i don't know how you can play 18 minutes and register a -15 when you win the game 86-80. Only Lou had a negative plus/minus for the Hawks. Did they put those 2 guys out there by themselves?

I had to go look up because i was impressed with Zaza and Ivan playing together in the first meeting with Orlando. Those guys combined for 19 rebounds in about 20 minutes. Love to see that again.

Because twice we had enormous leads and watched them wither away with Zaza on the floor. Not saying it's his fault, but that's the beauty of the +/- stat in limited sample size. Even over 82 games I don't really like it as it depends greatly on the other people on the floor, but for 1 game it's a useless stat.

[Peoriabird]

Honestly...as much as we (LD) give these yo-yo shooters all the rope they want and nearly lose games because of their jacking up shots like drunken sailors (esp. after offensive rebounds/tipouts)...I'm a tad p!ssed about our short leash on Ivan and our seaming refusal to go with the bigger lineup.

I've been saying this all season about LD...Good post!

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I'm to the point where I'm tired of talking about it<br /><br />It's no reason why the dude shouldn't be playing. But I guess drew's plan is to wear Smith and Horford out so that when playoff time comes, we'll be ripe for a 1st round sweep.

[hawkrule152]

As long as we are winning I could care less about his minutes. He gets his minutes against bigger lineup teams. Im just glad to see LD not using 10-11 man rotations EVERYGAME like at the beginning of the season(which we did terrible). SO props to LD for the rotations lately.

[coachx]

Life is good if all the squawk has to wine about are Ivan's minutes.There has to be something going on behind closed doors. Kudos to Ivan and Drew for keeping it in house. The second Ivan starts talking crap about it is when his own dirty laundry gets aired.

Edited December 14, 2012 by coachx

[jhay610]

This thread is looking positively prescient right about now....

Edited December 14, 2012 by jhay610

[DrReality]

He tore it up tonight. Don't know how he can't give him more pt

[TheTruth]

He responded in a big way tonight.. I loved his effort, rebounding, and scoring. Here is a quotable from the nba.com writeup:

"The first half was probably the best we've played all year . . . I challenged the guys to come out in the third quarter, and I want to pay special attention to a guy who has really responded. Ivan Johnson . . . had an impact on the game; you felt his presence. He did a phenomenal job coming off the bench."-- Hawks coach Larry Drew.

This is nice praise for IVAN, especially after the recent strings of DNP-CDs. Two of IVAN's biggest problems are fouling and turning the ball over at high rates. Tonight:

In his season-high 28 minutes: 16 pts (5/8 FG, 6/8 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 Steals. Oh yeah, just 1 TO and Foul apiece.

Hopefully IVAN's performance tonight forces Drew to play him regularly now.

[Guest]

I give IVAN a lot of credit for always being prepared to play.

[coachx]

I am not sure why I never saw this before, but Ivan has everything figured out these days:

http://www.goerie.com/article/20120319/BASKETBALL04/303199947/Former-Erie-BayHawk-Ivan-Johnson-soars-in-Atlanta

"After battling with the refs for so long, man, you just got to give in sometimes," he said. "I gave in. You got to give in. Treat the referees like a woman. Treat them with care."

Love it..........To me, thats the best quote of 2012 !

Just don't tell Joey Crawford.

[benhillboy]

Ivan speaks like he's got a gun on him at all times but doesnt have to use it because he'd rather choke you half to death. Glad to see him turn his life around and control his attitude. We definately need him of sound mind, focused, and evidently doing whatever Drew asks of him. Not just any coach would be hard on Ivan with no fear. Sprewell is a little girl compared to Ivan, and he choked his coach out. With the way this team plays and him hopefully finally getting through to Ivan, Im starting to think Drew is some kind of tough guy, especially with his reserved demeanor in front of the camera. I don't remember his playing days. Was he hard-nosed?

Edited December 14, 2012 by benhillboy