Archives For Larry Drew

Keeping Drew?

Bo Churney —  May 16, 2013 — 4 Comments

It has been almost two weeks since the Hawks’ season ended… and Larry Drew is still under contract. To me, this is a huge surprise.

Now, I think Drew is a good coach, but with his contract coming to an end, I figured the Hawks would have gotten rid of him already. It seemed like GM Danny Ferry would want to hire his own guy and would have sent Drew on his way by now. However, Drew is still under contract, even though the Hawks are looking at other candidates. To be fair, the Hawks have allowed Drew to interview for any job he may want.

I still don’t think Larry will be back in Atlanta next year, but his odds have increased (to me, at least) purely from the fact that he’s still around. And to be honest, if Josh Smith is gone, I think Drew could work for this team. The two clearly can’t seem to agree on shot selection, meaning that they would probably be better off in different cities next season.

The Hawks have talked with Nate McMillan. Two words: bad idea? McMillan has the same M.O. as Mike Woodson: isolation offense and is supposedly a great defensive coach, despite team defensive efficiency not being reflective of that. Now, McMillan may have learned some things since he was fired from the Trail Blazers, but hiring an isolation-heavy playcaller when you don’t have a dominant wing player would leave me scratching my head. I’d rather have Drew, regardless of the Josh Smith situation.

Of course, I still believe Stan Van Gundy is the best option as coach. He’s a proven winner and has a system that is fun to watch. The Hawks should do everything they can to get him or Brian Shaw, who is probably the best assistant coach in the Association right now.

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Why Al Horford Should Start Shooting 3s

Bo Churney —  May 14, 2013 — 8 Comments

I understand your skepticism.

Josh Smith comes to mind immediately. The screams of “NOOOOO!” from a harassed Philips Arena crowd are probably still ringing through your ears. Why on earth would the Hawks want another “mid-range shawty” jacking up three-pointers?

Because Horford needs to start shooting threes.

Al’s a good shooter; there’s no denying that. This season, he shot 45% on long-twos longer than 15 feet. The two seasons before that (excluding the injury shortened 2011-12 season), Horford shot 48% (!) and 53% (!!!) from that distance.

Recently, it seems that Horford has been working to expand his shooting range. He took six threes this season, the most of his career, and a few of those weren’t just late-clock situations; they were plays specifically set up for Horford to shoot the three. In his pre-game warmups, part of his routine was hitting a three from five spots on the floor. He always ended his warmups by hitting a corner three.

Horford expressed to the media earlier this year that the three-ball is something that he wants to add to his repertoire. While it is still a work in progress, coach Larry Drew did have plays drawn up that had Al set up behind the arc. Continue Reading…

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Inexperienced in Mediocrity: Brian Shaw as Next Hawks Coach?

Buddy Grizzard —  May 8, 2013 — 6 Comments

I’m not a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers organization, which squandered its chance to win a championship during the LeBron James era through a series of incompetent personnel decisions. I also don’t like the fact that owner Dan Gilbert first attempted to placate James by firing coach Mike Brown, then threw a gigantic tantrum once “The Decision” was made.

However, I did find a great quote from Gilbert from 2005 when he hired Danny Ferry to pick up the pieces in the wake of the scorched earth campaign that was Jim Paxson’s tenure as GM. Gilbert said that, although he was taking a risk turning his franchise over to a young executive with no experience at the GM level, Ferry’s championship experience was more important.

I actually think it is even more risky to turn over a team to a person who has a lot of experience but has never won anything. Give me a passionate, smart, hungry, young guy who is out to prove something over experienced mediocrity any day of the week.

Continue Reading…

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ChuckFest 2013: Another Lost Season for the Hawks

Buddy Grizzard —  May 6, 2013 — 3 Comments

For all three seasons under head coach Larry Drew, the Hawks have failed to extend a playoff series to a decisive Game 7. In each series, Drew made at least one egregious, inexcusable decision that cost the team a chance to extend the series. However, Larry Drew’s greatest shortcoming in his nine years with the Hawks organization has been his failure to teach Josh Smith how to play basketball.

With 2:13 remaining in Game 6 and the Pacers leading 76-73, Roy Hibbert drove to the basket on Al Horford and lost the ball. While this action was taking place on the strong side, Smith was guarding David West on the weak side. As you can see at the 3:45 mark in NBA.com’s highlights for Game 6, not once during this sequence did Smith turn his head to track West’s location.

If the Hawks had collected the loose ball, the team would have been down three with a chance to tie or draw within a point. Instead, Smith allowed West to gain rebounding position where he collected the loose ball and laid it in. The same scenario happened Nov. 30th in a humiliating home loss to Cleveland. Smith was ball watching and allowed Alonzo Gee to gain inside position where he collected an errant shot and laid it in for the decisive basket. You’d think Smith would have learned his lesson and kept track of his man in a much more important game. Sadly, learning is not a strength of either Smith or Drew, as we will discuss in further detail below. Continue Reading…

In 2012-13 Season, Analysis ,
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Hawks’ Season Ends in First Round

Bo Churney —  May 3, 2013 — 1 Comment

The Hawks had a chance. The series was tied at two games each and it looked like Larry Drew made an adjustment in the lineup that the Pacers might not be able to counter.

That chance was clanked away.

Losing game five was a blow to the Hawks, but one the team could have managed. The whole series had been determined by homecourt to that point, and it was thought that the Hawks would continue to hold serve and force a game seven. However, the Hawks didn’t get to seven; neither in number of games, nor in second quarter shooting percentage. (6.7%)

The Pacers, to their credit, played extremely strong defense. George Hill took the task of keeping the Atlanta ball handlers out of the paint, and even with they got through, Roy Hibbert and David West proved more than capable of cleaning up the mess. Indy’s offensive game was weak and Paul George was limited to four points, but the efforts of Hill (21 points on 14 shots) and Hibbert (17 points on 14 shots) were enough to help the Pacers climb into the second round of the playoffs.

This loss isn’t new ground for the Hawks; they’ve failed to win a game in the second round for the fifth time in the last six years, despite making the playoffs each season. However, this defeat is unique in that the future is now an unknown. Only three players (Horford, Williams, and Jenkins) have guaranteed contracts next season. Josh Smith appears to be heading out the door and not coming back, and Danny Ferry will have over $33 million in cap space to work with in creating a new team.

Even with how poorly this game played out, we still have a positive thought to take from this 2012-13 season. With the odds against them all season, these Hawks never quit. After losing Zaza Pachulia and Lou Williams to season-ending injuries, the Hawks still managed to grab the sixth seed. Despite falling 2-0 in the series, they fought back to even it up and give themselves an opportunity. And even after being down 17 points in the fourth quarter facing elimination, the crowd was electric, cheering on their team, who managed to cut the Pacer lead to three.

Yes, the Hawks lost, but as Al Horford noted in his postgame presser, the team didn’t quit like they have in the past. Moral victories aren’t always the greatest, but at least we know that Larry Drew left the players of this team with an attitude that they will always have a chance to win.

With Horford likely playing the role of franchise player for the next three, hopefully that persona continues to exist in Philips Arena atmosphere for the coming seasons.

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I’m Confused: Which Team is Fragile and Shaky?

Buddy Grizzard —  April 30, 2013 — 7 Comments

Prior to Game 2, I took issue with Indianapolis Star beat writer Mike Wells’ characterization of the Hawks as fragile and easily-shaken. I argued that, “if [Larry] Drew plays his best players the most minutes, the national perception of the Hawks could change.”

It took three games for Drew to reach the same conclusion, but now the whole complexion of the series has changed. And there seems to be some confusion now within the Star’s staff about which team is the fragile, shaky one. Yesterday, in previewing tonight’s Game 4, Star columnist Bob Kravitz had this to say:

A mature, focused team wins Game 4 and closes it out Wednesday back in Indianapolis. That’s the call here, anyway.

A fragile, shaky team loses tonight and lets the Hawks right back into this series.

Continue Reading…

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Hawks After Game Three Win

Bo Churney —  April 28, 2013 — 1 Comment

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Now THAT is How You Hit a Team in the Mouth

Buddy Grizzard —  April 28, 2013 — 4 Comments

In my series preview, I said that “the way to beat the Pacers is to hit them in the mouth at the start of the series.” When I said hit them in the mouth, I didn’t have 3-guard lineups, Kyle Korver guarding Paul George or the return of The Horford Treatment in mind. Watching DeShawn Stevenson go -20 in 44 minutes in the first two games was also not what I had in mind.

What I had in mind was Josh Smith, Al Horford and Jeff Teague playing at least 40 minutes per game and Devin Harris, Ivan Johnson and Korver playing at least 30. In Game 3, Horford and Harris played right at 40 minutes while Smith, Teague, Korver and Johnson all played close to 30. Continue Reading…

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Hawks Backed Against the Wall

Bo Churney —  April 27, 2013 — 1 Comment

No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. That’s the fate that faces the Atlanta Hawks if they lose this game.

The Indiana Pacers come to Atlanta having won the previous two games with offensive dominance. Paul George has been spectacular, scoring 20 plus in each game, while playing 83 of a possible 96 minutes. Indiana’s usually great defense, however, has not been as strong so far; Atlanta is shooting almost 50% from the field and 40% from the line, both better marks than the Pacers.

Indiana, however, has been marching through the lane and getting to the free throw line, something the Hawks have not been able to do. For Atlanta to win this game three, they will have to change that.

How? Well, the Hawks have tried multiple defenders on Paul George already. Kyle Korver didn’t exactly work. Devin Harris and DeShawn Stevenson did better, but George was still able to tear the Hawks about.

It is time for Josh Smith’s turn.

Larry Drew has elected to go big for game three, starting Johan Petro at center, moving Smith to the small forward position. Smoove may be hobbled a bit by an ankle injury, but he’s still the best overall defender Atlanta has. According to mySynergySports, Smith is giving up only 0.67 points per possession in isolation, good enough for 43rd in the league. (which is extremely good, by the way) Considering that Smith has already had turns guarding LeBron James, DeMarcus Cousins, and Monta Ellis, I don’t think Josh will balk at the challenges that Paul George will bring.

Other keys for the Hawks? Running the offense through Al Horford. Now matched up against David West, Horford should be able to work more down low than he was able to against Roy Hibbert. He should still have a good speed advantage, but Coach Drew should attempt to get his star big man established down low early.

One final key: please Larry, sub Ivan in for Petro as soon as you can. Please…

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Hawks’ defensive struggles at root of Game 2 loss

Daniel Christian —  April 25, 2013 — Leave a comment

The Hawks can’t get out of their own way.

Every run seems punctuated with defensive ineptitude, every quarter seems closed with a sluggish submission, every game seems lost by the fourth quarter– the Hawks just can’t stop themselves from tripping over their own feet.

Game 2 against Indiana was more of the same.

The issue is not the ability to score points, it is getting stops. In the second quarter of Wednesday night’s game, the Hawks starters returned (with the abysmal bench lineup returning to their seats), and the offense was a buzz saw. Indiana could not contain Teague in transition or stop Smith from making plays in the halfcourt. Smith’s foul trouble quickly turned the tables on Atlanta, but the Hawks were and have been successful against the NBA’s top defense, an accomplishment worth noting. But, something you’d rather go unnoticed is the fact that Atlanta’s depth and inability to field a respectable lineup for 48 minutes has harpooned their chances of stealing home court advantage.

Continue Reading…

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