Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.
Your ratings and commentary, dear reader, are welcomed in the comments to this post.
Boxscore
Players
Jeff Teague: A somewhat uneven performance but let's bear in mind that was just the fourth time in his career that Teague played 28 or more minutes in a regular season game. John Wall certainly did not have his way with him. 6/10
Joe Johnson: At his best when passing or catching-and-shooting, the first unit's ball and player movement gave him ample opportunities to play to his strengths. Inability to keep opposing ball-handlers in front of him may be a problem when the opposing ball-handler isn't Jordan Crawford. 6/10
Marvin Williams: 17 points on 8 shots and he joined Smith and Horford in forming a three-man rebounding wall. Couldn't have wished for a better, more impressive start to the season. 8/10
Josh Smith: 2-10 on jump shots through two games, but passing, defending, rebounding, and making 80% of the good shots you take can make up for a highly visible ill. 7/10
Al Horford: Showing no signs of making the leap in usage that's necessary for him to become a franchise player, though he did step up to make two baskets in the paint in the final four minutes to put the nail in the coffin. The rest of his game remains as exquisite as ever. 7/10
Tracy McGrady: Looked very nice playing with the starters and played a role in dominating the defensive glass. If Marvin Williams and McGrady keep playing like this, Larry Drew will have a pleasant dilemma. 6/10
Zaza Pachulia: No idea how much his sore shoulder limited him. Got to the line and was active but only two rebounds and no hard fouls made for a less than vintage performance. 4/10
Vladimir Radmanovic: Moves well without the ball, makes open shots, and tries on the defensive glass. Nice qualities to have in the ninth man in your rotation. 4/10
Jannero Pargo: He will have to make some open shots because he does nothing else to contribute. Despite good effort, his size really inhibits his effectiveness on the defensive end. 2/10
Willie Green: Bad offense, bad defense, bad player. 1/10
Ivan Johnson: Pargo and Green kept the ball from him during the two minutes he played. No rating.
The head coach
Another double-digit win notable for an appreciation of what Jeff Teague brings to the team. Saw the first intimations of understanding and reacting to the lack of backcourt depth with Teague playing the entire third quarter and both Marvin and McGrady getting some time at the 2. Flip Saunders didn't really go for it while the Hawks struggled to score for much of the fourth quarter. There will be more challenging games but I don't see how one could hold that against Larry Drew when evaluating his performance tonight. 8/10
A thought regarding the opposition
If Chris Singleton can make open shots, then the Wizards will have a very nice rotation player. Which will be desperately needed if Andray Blatche and Jordan Crawford aren't making shots.
7 comments:
Hawks really took the Wiz to school. Andray has been playing like sh1t. Crawford should not have started.
i like this new ranking feature!
keep it up Bret! love these player ratings.
great hawks game once again. our bench didnt score much but still held it down. when we get captain kirk back we will be a dangerous team!
Yes, enjoying the rankings.
I'll definitely begrudge Josh a few long two point jumpshots in a game when he's 5-7 on free throws. That at least demonstrates some amount of activity around the basket, and a worthwhile use of his shooting stroke.
Everyone not named Pargo shot an excellent percentage from three tonight. They took their shots in rhythm and got good, open looks.
LD continues to use Pargo and Green simultaneously, which is frightening, but at least tonight he showed some more creative line-ups. At one point he had on the floor: Teague, Marvin, Radmanovic, Josh, and Zaza. Of course, that looks like something he might have done in garbage time last year, while Teague, Marv, and Zaza were all in the doghouse at times, but this was in the second quarter. It was a nice way to add size without losing too much on defense. I'm not entirely sure how effective it was, but I do recall this grouping being on the floor during a Wizards press that resulted in Zaza kicking the ball over to Josh Smith, who drove in for the dunk.
Love the rating system. I struggle to remember when Marvin has had two consecutive performances this solid. Rebounding, making open shots, driving to the basic, and playing above average D. These are not things you normally associate with Mr. Williams. Makes you wonder how long he had that back problem and why it was not taken care of sooner.
to make a leap in usage tweener Horford has to be assisted more or learn how to score individually. Not happening,
good ranking system and comments!
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