# Hawks @ Blazers (Game Thread)



## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

Webster with 15 first half points.
Rodriguez with 7 first half assists.
Aldridge with 2 first half blocks.

Statistically, not a bad night.


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## zagsfan20 (Dec 24, 2004)

The main stat that matters

Hawks 60 
Blazers 52


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## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)




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## meru (Jul 2, 2003)

From the NBA.com gamecast it looked like, in both quarters, both teams really struggled to score for the first half, then scored in a huge flurry towards the end. Sergio was amazing - his 7 assists came in only a couple of minutes! And I guess coming off the bench does suit Webster - fine by me. 
Aldridge again seems quiet, although I guess his stats would look good adjusted to 48 minutes - he's still not setting the world on fire. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are killing us. AND a big white guy called Zaza.

This is the HAWKS, people. And they're on the ROAD. And WE'RE down by 8 at the half.

(And remember - we may be without Roy, but they're missing Marvin Williams.)


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

meru said:


> (And remember - we may be without Roy, but they're missing Marvin Williams.)


Atlanta is also missing Josh Childress.

If Joe Johnson doesn't make the All-Star team, it will be a crime.


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## meru (Jul 2, 2003)

TheATLien said:


> If Joe Johnson doesn't make the All-Star team, it will be a crime.


A pretty minor one, though. He's a good player on a bad team. He certainly shouldn't beat out Michael Redd (another good player on a bad team) and I'm not sure he should be there ahead of Rip Hamilton. Then there's Gilbert Arenas (ostensibly a PG, but still) and Paul Pierce and Vince Carter... It's not looking good for Joe, unless the Hawks go on a tear.


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## MARIS61 (Apr 28, 2003)

5 minutes for Joel?

Sergio seems to get Martell the ball in rhythm easier than Jarrett does.

No tv, no radio, no internet stream.

Great way to build a fan base.


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## gambitnut (Jan 4, 2003)

MARIS61 said:


> 5 minutes for Joel?
> 
> Sergio seems to get Martell the ball in rhythm easier than Jarrett does.
> 
> ...


I was listening to it on the radio in the car on the way home from dinner. I turned the Seahawks game on after I got home though. What's the score right now?


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## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

MARIS61 said:


> no radio


I'm listening on KXL.



MARIS61 said:


> No internet stream.


Not their fault, it's league policy that the only NBA radio on the internet is provided through NBA.com.

It's just like every other professional sport: they have to protect their one product.

Shell out 20 dollars for the Audio package. You can also listen to other broadcasts too.


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

MARIS61 said:


> 5 minutes for Joel?
> 
> Sergio seems to get Martell the ball in rhythm easier than Jarrett does.
> 
> ...


_All_ the games are broadcast on the radio -- I'm listening to it now.


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## meru (Jul 2, 2003)

meru said:


> A pretty minor one, though. He's a good player on a bad team. He certainly shouldn't beat out Michael Redd (another good player on a bad team) and I'm not sure he should be there ahead of Rip Hamilton. Then there's Gilbert Arenas (ostensibly a PG, but still) and Paul Pierce and Vince Carter... It's not looking good for Joe, unless the Hawks go on a tear.


...but never mind: he and Zach can meet up at a bar with Rashard Lewis and watch the game on TV.


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## alext42083 (Nov 7, 2003)

This is Atlanta, right? 87 points after three quarters? Unacceptable.... downright embarassing..

It's not like it's Phoenix, GS or Denver out there.


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## zagsfan20 (Dec 24, 2004)

Its quickly turning into a blowout.


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

89 - 74 hawks woot here we come durant and oden!


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## SheedSoNasty (Dec 31, 2002)

Rodriguez with 11 assists already... wow!


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

20 turnovers


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## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

Utherhimo said:


> 89 - 74 hawks woot here we come durant and oden!


Bonehead post of the day. Do you remember last draft lottery? Having the worst record does not guarantee the best draft pick, and you are statistically more likely to have the fourth pick over the second or third pick. So it's feast (#1) or famine (#4). I have no reason to believe this organization won't continue to be snakebitten and end up with whatever the worst possible pick they can end up with.

That's always why I've said losing for the sake of trying to get Oden is a horrible ploy. This ain't the NFL.

-Pop


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

So I like Jack but Rodriguez has been _really_ pretty consistently impressive of late, at least from my perspective. I wouldn't suggest starting Rodriguez over Jack but getting them the kind of minutes they got tonight seems like a fine idea, at least until Roy's back, and even then I'd be tempted to leave Roy as a play-making SG rather more and a back-up point less.


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## mook (Dec 31, 2002)

_mookthoughts: _

• yeah, I think Sergio has firmed up a spot as backup PG, and may even get a few starts before long if we keep losing. 

we've got to shake something up if we're getting our asses handed to us by Atlanta at home. Zbo and Przybilla are going to start. Nate's already experimenting with shuffling around Webster, Udoka and Outlaw. at some point you have to look at your PG and see if you can get better production out of Rodriguez than you do Jack. 

you could argue, "just wait til Roy comes back," but if we are going to lose anyway, we might as well see how Sergio does as a starter for a game or two. 

• I was pretty disappointed Nate left Zach out so long in the third. I know he'd picked up his fourth foul, but it's not like Zach is a foul magnet. odds are he wouldn't have fouled out. with 8 more minutes of Randolph in the game we'd have stood a good chance of winning this one. by the time he got put back in, we were so far buried that there just wasn't time to get back all of it. 

• weird seeing Steve Smith doing commentary. he wasn't bad at it, although among former Blazers (Smith, Drexler, Walton, Anthony) I think Drexler does the best job for Houston. 

Smith kept harping on Sergio for that pass to Magloire in the middle (saying it was a bad play) when it seemed obvious to me that Sergio just forgot it was Magloire in there and not Zach. Zach scores on that possession while Magloire turns it over. it was a bad play because he forgot who his PF was, not because he should never throw it. it's a bad play if you throw it in that kind of congestion* to someone with limited talent. *

anyway, nice to see Smitty again.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

I didn't like Jack's way of running the offense tonight....during key stretches, he made some bad plays or didn't feed the hot hand enough (Zach). also thought playing him and Sergio in the 4th was a huge mistake....just seemed weird.....Zach is a stud. 

Webster played nicely, I wish he got more shots though......his scoring was really sporadic...if he consistently touched the ball, he would score alot......just how it is and how easily he can rack points up. Jack doesn't get him the ball enough for some reason.....


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Yeah, Smitty did a great job.....they have a nice broadcast team.


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## mook (Dec 31, 2002)

to be fair, Zach did get 18 attempts, which is his season average and a pretty good night for most power forwards. there's no other big man in the game who averages over 17 shots a night. 

although I was critical of Nate, I also realize it's not Nate's fault Zach picked up 5 fouls in the game. sometimes a big man is just going to have a night where the fouls keep coming, even when you play lousy defense (as Zach did tonight).


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## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

Looks like Martell had the intensity in the first half, he got a lot of shots but he didn't get enough in the second half. Still, very good to see that Martell already learned a lesson. He needs to shoot more and if he does, he produces excellently. Problem is, Jack doesn't create, Rodriguez does, as does Roy. Martell will be so much better when Roy comes back or Rodriguez plays with him more often.


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## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

outlaw is no starter and exposes we need a sf bad 

one more loss the closer we get to being able to jump into the top 3.


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## gambitnut (Jan 4, 2003)

mook said:


> _mookthoughts: _
> 
> • weird seeing Steve Smith doing commentary. he wasn't bad at it, although among former Blazers (Smith, Drexler, Walton, Anthony) I think Drexler does the best job for Houston.
> 
> ...


Webster, Magloire and Harvey for Pachulia and Smith?


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## HOWIE (Dec 30, 2002)

gambitnut said:


> Webster, Magloire and Harvey for Pachulia and Smith?


I think they are going to want a pick with that and maybe some cash considerations gambitnut! :biggrin:


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## piri (Feb 9, 2003)

mook said:


> _mookthoughts: _
> 
> • yeah, I think Sergio has firmed up a spot as backup PG, and may even get a few starts before long if we keep losing.
> 
> ...


I would really love to see sergio starting, but IMO the key isn't start or not start, but the minutes he takes. Today he takes 25 minutes, and when he plays so much minutes he rounds the double-double, and he scores the same than Jack with a half of their throws.

Just let him play 25 mpg, it doesn't matter if he starts or not


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

Things I noticed

1. I thought we were the Suns for a minute with those 7 electrifying fast break points
2. Dixon still sucks
3. Why does this team go away with what is working.
4. Aldridge NEEDS plays run for him both up top and down low
5. Nice to see Webster come out shooting 
6. Joel only played 9 minutes? 
7. Aldridge IS THE BEST center on the roster right now. Inexperienced yes, but better than the others
8. I thought Ime was supposed to be a good defender? He's better at shooting the 3 right now
9. Sergio is what the Blazers thought Telfair would be. He's not only exciting, he's productive
10. Magloire is getting better, but he's still hard to watch


Things the Hawks announcers said

1. Portland had smart fans
2. used to be a tough place to play
3. First win for Atlanta in Portland since Dec. 15, 1997
4. Gushed over Aldridge both on offense and defense
5. Wondered why the team went away from Randolph and Webster
6. Thought Jack and Rodriguez were both good young PG's
7. Said Hawks and Blazers fans should be excited where their teams are headed


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

i liked Ime taking the charge in the 3rd....Joe Johnson is a machine though.


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## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

piri said:


> I would really love to see sergio starting, but IMO the key isn't start or not start, but the minutes he takes. Today he takes 25 minutes, and when he plays so much minutes he rounds the double-double, and he scores the same than Jack with a half of their throws.
> 
> Just let him play 25 mpg, it doesn't matter if he starts or not


Ah but as others have said, it seems to make a big difference to Webster to have Sergio on the floor with him. On some level I certainly agree with you and I _do_ think it's still worth trying to get guys who seem to play well together on the court together.


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## BlazerFanFoLife (Jul 17, 2003)

Outlaw makes boneheaded plays. He should never be in the game at the end. For some weird reason outlaw seemed to think that the game was on his sholders and kept shooting at the end of the 4th, made 2 in a row and then when the blazers needed a 3 and martell was wide open after having a play run for him outlaw instead drove down and took a ill advised shot. Why did joel play so little, out of shape? still hurting down low?


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

Zach was sooooo pissed at the end of the game about not getting the ball..u could just tell


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## mook (Dec 31, 2002)

BlazerFanFoLife said:


> Outlaw makes boneheaded plays. He should never be in the game at the end. For some weird reason outlaw seemed to think that the game was on his sholders and kept shooting at the end of the 4th, made 2 in a row and then when the blazers needed a 3 and martell was wide open after having a play run for him outlaw instead drove down and took a ill advised shot. Why did joel play so little, out of shape? still hurting down low?


for most of Outlaw's career the big knock on him is doing too little. I actually like seeing him take shots, even when some of them are out of the offense. his biggest problem has been a lack of confidence, and he's finally starting to show a little. 

I'm guessing that they're using Przybilla like Sabonis, starting him because he's stretched out and warmed up, but only giving him as many minutes as he can handle. the only reason I can see Nate leaving him on the bench is because he's just not ready to play big minutes yet.


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## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

The Blazers suck!


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## BBert (Dec 30, 2004)

I agree with mook. Even if Outlaw had been more successful at the end, or given the ball up to Martell, the Blazers probably still lose. In the mean time, a player has to at least attempt to make plays in order to improve his game, and in order to learn how to make plays, and in order to learn what plays to make and what plays not to make. I'm glad to see Outlaw play with more aggression. Only by putting himself in a position to succeed or fail will he improve. Hopefully someone will sit down with him and look at tape and talk over what went right, what went wrong, what he should have done, and why.


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## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

Thinking about the games so far this season I am left wondering one thing: Is the Blazers defensive scheme too complex for the young guys right now? I am consistently noticing that the Blazers are doubling in the wrong areas, or doubling a guy that doesn't need doubled, which is really the problem that puts them behind in the rotation and gets them burned. They are also constantly getting switched into bad situations where you have a PG guarding a forward in the block, and at the same time, a forward guarding a point guard on the perimeter. 

Perhaps until they see it working in practice, they should just try some straight up man to man with some zone thrown in, with the good old principal of funneling the little guys to the big guys and not giving up any outside shots. You get beat? Let the bigs bail you out or collect a foul. Just make sure you get beat in the right direction. 



Now as for Rodriguez. He is playing great. As usual needs to get a little more shooting into his game, but this guy can find guys for easy buckets, if we could just get some guys that would hit open shots it would be nice. I was reading the other day that the team that leads after the 1st quarter wins the game 64% of the time. Maybe they should try to at least get him into the game a little bit earlier, at least until Roy gets back.


Last night at the beginning of the game, Zbo's body language was really bad. I am not sure if he was just not into it, was sick or what, but to put it lightly, the effort he was putting into the game wasn't at an acceptable level. He played better later, but that first quarter set the tone for the game, and effected how the whole team played for the night.


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## mook (Dec 31, 2002)

> Last night at the beginning of the game, Zbo's body language was really bad. I am not sure if he was just not into it, was sick or what, but to put it lightly, the effort he was putting into the game wasn't at an acceptable level. He played better later, but that first quarter set the tone for the game, and effected how the whole team played for the night.


I've noticed that too. he generally stinks up the place in the first quarter of many games. he's a pretty emotional guy. I wonder if the losing is getting him down, but once he gets his competitive juices going it picks up his game.


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## Xericx (Oct 29, 2004)

I think its just a matter of warming up and getting into the flow of the game......in the 4th, he was super agressive....aksing for the rock and moving around to get it.


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