Official Game Thread: Hawks - Pacers GAME 1

[gsuteke]

Just in the 3rd quarter: bonehead shot with 8:00 left in the period. Stupid shot with 4:30 to go. Full retard shot with 1:30 left on the quarter. Turned the ball over trying to play PG at the 1:00 mark. I don't know who is worse, Smith for doing this stupid ish or LD for not sitting him at the end of the bench. Trade his ass to New Jersey so him and Joe can be together again

[Plainview1981]

Would'nt surprise me if Josh has certain guarantee(s) for next season and has checked out on this season. I've suspected that since the trade deadline.

he's stopped blocking shots and everything the second half of the season. Rebounds were down. His scoring was still respectable, but that's about all.

[Jody23]

he's stopped blocking shots and everything the second half of the season. Rebounds were down. His scoring was still respectable, but that's about all.

Yep. By means of his agent, he already knows what teams are interested and what they're willing to do to get him.

[Cwell]

Raises hand!!! Teague proved in that Chicago series that he is a primetime player when given the green light. He just has the misfortune of playing with Josh Smith.

Our future should include Teague and Horf...

We should get some draft picks who work hard. I would parlay some trades to get us some good players. What we need is BBIQ and talent.

exactly, the most memorable moments of the last 2 playoff series' was Teague's play. He's shown more heart than anybody despite the worst circumstances. He's a player

[High5]

Raises hand!!! Teague proved in that Chicago series that he is a primetime player when given the green light. He just has the misfortune of playing with Josh Smith.

Our future should include Teague and Horf...

We should get some draft picks who work hard. I would parlay some trades to get us some good players. What we need is BBIQ and talent.

I meant before the Chicago series. Nobody could have predicted that.

[Nicholasp27]

I meant before the Chicago series. Nobody could have predicted that.

Of course, because he never played before that seriesCoach had to be literally forced by injuries to play him for him to get a shot

[Admin]

Of course, because he never played before that seriesCoach had to be literally forced by injuries to play him for him to get a shot

We've seen the up and down, far too often Teague now several years later. Can you imagine how bad it must have been back then in practice, when you EARN time? It's hard for me to see how a brand new coach would just blindly turn the reigns over to a 2nd year player who was probably passive, lost and inconsistent, when that coach is trying to prove himself. If LD had been more established as a coach or Teague were more consistent and not so immature out there on the court then I imagine LD would have played him like he's done for Jenkins and even Scott this year by playing them minutes once they earned it.

[DocWilkins]

Personally I am not sold on Teague...He is a decent point guard but nothing special to me...He does play hard but is very turnover prone and really lacks an off the dribble jump shot. I really feel think everyone is expendable with the exception of Al. I am sure Ferry is much more inclined to find players that offer consistent production and for the most part this Hawks roster doesn't even come close to offering that.

You truly have no idea where your offensive production is going to come from on a game to game basis. I would not be surprised if we see a massive overhaul and a new coach next season. Turning over this roster is long overdue and I would rather take a step back to pull in some players that have more upside than be mired in mediocity like we are now. It will be refreshing to have players that give consistent effort every game. I think that is what the fans want to see more than anything else. Bone headed plays are one thing...Bone headed plays and a lack of effort is another...Just my $.02!

[High5]

Of course, because he never played before that seriesCoach had to be literally forced by injuries to play him for him to get a shot

He played in 152 games before the Chicago series and he looked pretty awful in most of them, even though his minutes were low and inconsistent. I was just making a comment about how far he's come and how much our "star" players underperform.

[Cwell]

He played in 152 games before the Chicago series and he looked pretty awful in most of them, even though his minutes were low and inconsistent. I was just making a comment about how far he's come and how much our "star" players underperform.

any young guard would play terrible in that situation. Its the toughest position on the floor. U can't play well looking over your shoulder about to get yanked for every mistake. Jeff looked no better than Acie his first 2 years then when he got the shot to play with no other option behind him, he balled out against the effin MVP like he's been out there balling the whole time. These skills don't just come out of nowhere:

[Cwell]

We've seen the up and down, far too often Teague now several years later. Can you imagine how bad it must have been back then in practice, when you EARN time? It's hard for me to see how a brand new coach would just blindly turn the reigns over to a 2nd year player who was probably passive, lost and inconsistent, when that coach is trying to prove himself. If LD had been more established as a coach or Teague were more consistent and not so immature out there on the court then I imagine LD would have played him like he's done for Jenkins and even Scott this year by playing them minutes once they earned it.

so much blind credit given out. Scott still doesn't play and Jenkins is only playing because Lou tore his ACL. If Lou was still healthy people would be on here already calling Jenkins a wasted pick and who we should have taken over him like usual because he doesn't play

[Bahamut]

Personally I am not sold on Teague...He is a decent point guard but nothing special to me...He does play hard but is very turnover prone and really lacks an off the dribble jump shot. I really feel think everyone is expendable with the exception of Al. I am sure Ferry is much more inclined to find players that offer consistent production and for the most part this Hawks roster doesn't even come close to offering that.

You truly have no idea where your offensive production is going to come from on a game to game basis. I would not be surprised if we see a massive overhaul and a new coach next season. Turning over this roster is long overdue and I would rather take a step back to pull in some players that have more upside than be mired in mediocity like we are now. It will be refreshing to have players that give consistent effort every game. I think that is what the fans want to see more than anything else. Bone headed plays are one thing...Bone headed plays and a lack of effort is another...Just my $.02!

Post of the Year

[High5]

any young guard would play terrible in that situation. Its the toughest position on the floor. U can't play well looking over your shoulder about to get yanked for every mistake. Jeff looked no better than Acie his first 2 years then when he got the shot to play with no other option behind him, he balled out against the effin MVP like he's been out there balling the whole time. These skills don't just come out of nowhere:

OK, my point seems to have been completely missed. So forget I said anything. Go Teague!

[Nicholasp27]

We've seen the up and down, far too often Teague now several years later. Can you imagine how bad it must have been back then in practice, when you EARN time? It's hard for me to see how a brand new coach would just blindly turn the reigns over to a 2nd year player who was probably passive, lost and inconsistent, when that coach is trying to prove himself. If LD had been more established as a coach or Teague were more consistent and not so immature out there on the court then I imagine LD would have played him like he's done for Jenkins and even Scott this year by playing them minutes once they earned it.

Not blindlyThere were games Teague would finally get to play and he'd do well but then get dnp-cd the next 3 games

[MrMeltdown]

I can't see how people continue to throw everyone under the bus except Al. Yes, Jeff is nothing special and Josh is not a good teammate, but Al does not protect rim, will not consistently make rotations on d that call for rim protection,and passes up shots. Al has his issues also so anyone claiming let's just keep Al I have to take opposition to. Almost forgot how after he missed big FT's last playoffs he has lost his confidence there.

[Admin]

Not blindlyThere were games Teague would finally get to play and he'd do well but then get dnp-cd the next 3 games

LD has always said he plays young guys based on what they do in practice and Teague himself said that he was inconsistent and even this year he's still saying he's too passive and too often plays timid and that he knows its on him. This is 3 years later and Teague says that about himself but yet you guys criticize LD for not playing Teague more back then when his job was on the line and he had better options in Bibby and Hinrich. I don't believe anyone here would have done anything different had they been in LDs shoes then.

[Admin]

so much blind credit given out. Scott still doesn't play and Jenkins is only playing because Lou tore his ACL. If Lou was still healthy people would be on here already calling Jenkins a wasted pick and who we should have taken over him like usual because he doesn't play

Scott doesn't play over Smith and Ivan and that's justifiable and the same for Jenkins earlier in the year with Devin and Lou ahead of him on the depth chart. LD plays the players who give the team the best chance to win and I don't fault a lame duck coach for doing that. I swear the level of hypocrisy here sometimes is just alarming!

[DocWilkins]

LD has always said he plays young guys based on what they do in practice and Teague himself said that he was inconsistent and even this year he's still saying he's too passive and too often plays timid and that he knows its on him. This is 3 years later and Teague says that about himself but yet you guys criticize LD for not playing Teague more back then when his job was on the line and he had better options in Bibby and Hinrich. I don't believe anyone here would have done anything different had they been in LDs shoes then.

It seems to me that every pregame interview or discussion around the Hawks offense involves Jeff Teague and the word "Attack" or LD talking about pushing the ball. To me this gets back to the identity crisis this team has. LD wants us to play up tempo and half the guys ae jogging up the floor. How many times last game did Harris or Teague have the ball in the Indiana back court with no one to throw the ball too?? Seems not everyone is getting the message and this does hurt Teague. Teague makes a lot of poor decisions as is and does not need any additional help...the rest of the guys need to move up and down the floor to create this uptempo style...

[Guest]

It seems to me that every pregame interview or discussion around the Hawks offense involves Jeff Teague and the word "Attack" or LD talking about pushing the ball. To me this gets back to the identity crisis this team has. LD wants us to play up tempo and half the guys ae jogging up the floor. How many times last game did Harris or Teague have the ball in the Indiana back court with no one to throw the ball too?? Seems not everyone is getting the message and this does hurt Teague. Teague makes a lot of poor decisions as is and does not need any additional help...the rest of the guys need to move up and down the floor to create this uptempo style...

Very good point about only the guards running the floor.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Scott doesn't play over Smith and Ivan and that's justifiable and the same for Jenkins earlier in the year with Devin and Lou ahead of him on the depth chart. LD plays the players who give the team the best chance to win and I don't fault a lame duck coach for doing that. I swear the level of hypocrisy here sometimes is just alarming!

Dolfan, I disagree.

Drew plays the people that fit whatever matchup that is in his mind. The constant changing of lineups, even when people were healthy, kept this team in a complete state of flux.

It's been obvious since last season vs Miami, that Ivan Johnson should've been receiving at least 20 minutes a game. Remember this interview last year?

The dude is a better offensive scorer than Josh Smith, and plays harder than anybody on the team. Yet, Drew had him buried on the bench for 1.5 seasons until he was forced to play him when Zaza went down.

Sound familiar? It should. Because it was how Jeff Teague finally got a chance to show what he could do, once Hinrich went down and Drew was forced to play him.

Zaza's last game this season was the Laker game on March 3rd. Ivan has played at least double figure minutes since that time. So from March 4th until now, here are Ivan's numbers.

9 ppg

5.3 rebs

1.2 stls

1.2 turnovers

56% FG

73% FT

In 20 minutes of play.

That's pretty damn good for a reserve big man on a team that is desperate for decent frontline play off the bench. That production is better than what Zaza was giving us. And that production is right in line with what Ivan produces on a Per 36 Minute basis

15.7 ppg

9.3 rebs

1.9 stls . . ( which leads the team )

Drew doesn't play his best players. Drew thinks he's the smartest dude in the room and tries to cook up offensive matchups that he thinks will get him a win. He tries to get defense lacking players to play better defense, so that he can keep his offensive philosophy intact. Forget simply putting out a team that can grind things out and get wins by doing the little things. We have to literally outshoot people to win.

Well, someone needs to tell Larry that the NBA just doesn't work like that all the time, especially during the playoffs. You're not going to win games hoping that Kyle Korver is going to slow down All-Star SFs. You're not going to win games by playing mini-me basketball against one of the most physical teams in the league.