Hey folks, so it has been 10 games since my last post so its time for an update on all things Hawks. Last time we chatted the Hawks were finishing up a quick home stand and about to embark on the longest road trip of the season. While the home stand ended on a very good note with quality victories against both the Bucks and Thunder, the road trip was quite tough! We went a combined 2-4 on the road trip, but were in contention at the end of each game. The quality of play over the road trip excited me and I think has our Hawks headed towards the right direction. Overall our Atlanta Hawks went 6-4 over the past 10 games which is a win with our continued health issues. Lets get to some of the main points.....
-The New Lineup- Go back to my first Hawks blog post of the year and you will see the evidence of my genius regarding the Hawks lineup. I always felt that a starting lineup consisting of Teague/Hinrich/Joe/Smoove/Zaza would yield better results than Marv at the 3 position. With this lineup it gives the Hawks an ability to come out with an aggressive style of play while also letting Joe play off the ball even more than usual. I know everyone is not the biggest Marvin fan, but I think when he is coming off the bench he is more potent. Not only can he see how the game is playing out, but he is also going against the opponents second squad while being the teams #1 scoring option. Don't believe me about the benefits of the whole team with this lineup??? Just look to Joe's scoring average and efficiency since being in our new lineup. He is averaging close to 26 points/game while shooting 50% from the field and an astonishing 50% from behind the arc. This is the Joe Johnson we need to make a run at this thing. He is able to get his points in an efficient manner, while also getting wide open looks because of Teague&Hinrich's penetration. Good lineup Larry Drew, I'll tip my cap to ya this time.
-Health- In years past the Hawks have been one of the healthiest clubs in the NBA. This year, eh not so much. Yes we all know about Horford, but in recent games Marvin, Pargo, Green, Radmonovic, Collins, and Ivan Johnson have been hit by injury. Not to mention TMac's inconsistent minutes per game. Given all this I think the Hawks can only go up from here. As long as we keep playing with the consistent effort in every game, I think if we get everybody back together we can make a strong playoff push. Yes folks I still have faith even against Miami and Chi-Town. No matter the amount of players, the Hawks have been playing together as a team instead of sulking about the team. Hopefully Joe and his knee won't have any problems the rest of the year and we can continue our push to complete health, including Horford.
-J-Smoove- Last but oh most certainly not least is my man JSmoove. Okay, I can kind of understand why Smoove was snubbed again for an All-Star spot given his perceived malcontent. Honestly people this man has matured and his game is taking a change that many Hawks fans have been hoping for in past years. Yes the shots are still being taken, but they beginning to fall on a very consistent basis. His defense is one of the most underrated aspects of his game. Everyone knows about the blocks but they forget that Smith is literally controlling our paint defensively by himself as an undersized power forward. He should be up for Defensive POY. Take the Cleveland game as an example. Smith was struggling through a rare off shooting night, but continued to be effective with his assists(9) and rebounds(8). Combine the emergence of Smoove into a bonafide star mixed with Joe's hot shooting and the hopeful return of Horfod......Excitement!
-We have a combined 7 homes games out the next 10 Hawks games. This is the point in the season where we need to continue to improve on our play. We can make a strong push for a higher seed if we play up to our capabilities at the Highlight Factory. A strong string of games will give the Hawks fanatics some hope for the season and also help us in our playoff positioning. I hope you all enjoy the next 10 as much as I will. Let's keep our Hawks going as they have shown us they will not quit on this season no matter what the case!!! #Hawksfaithful see y'all in 10 games.
No comments:
Post a Comment