It’s still early, but the Hawks have looked good so far this season. With a 105-98 victory over the Nets last night, Atlanta moved to 3-0 and is one of the five undefeated teams in the league– the others being the Heat, Pacers, Thunder and Blazers. Check out the highlights here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgoquTn1HI
According to a report by ESPN.com, the Hawks are also one of the teams interested in the Magic big man:
“Sources told ESPN.com that the aforementioned Hawks, meanwhile, engaged Orlando in trade talks for Howard earlier this month with an offer believed to be headlined by $124 million guard Joe Johnson and swingman Josh Smith. You have to figure that the Magic, though, would insist on Al Horford if such discussions ever got serious.”
However, it appears that Howard has little desire to play in his hometown, due in large part to the team’s disorganized ownership situation.
Atlanta started off the 2011-2012 season with a resounding victory over the Nets, with strong contributions from newcomers Vladimir Radmanovic, Tracy McGrady and Jannero Pargo off the bench. Radmanovic, the recently acquired forward, led the team with 17 points and five assists in just over 27 minutes. McGrady had 12 points, two rebounds and one block, while Pargo added six points and three assists and three rebounds.
The Hawks’ starters showed a lot of energy as well, and Jeff Teague had an encouraging performance with 13 points, three assists and three rebounds in 24 minutes.
The Nets were playing without Brook Lopez, out with a stress fracture in his foot, and never led once during the game.
Next Up: The Hawks will take on the Washington Wizards in their home opener at Philips Arena tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Ahhh, it feels good to write about real games again. The Hawks open the regular season tonight against the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Nets are coming off a 90-84 win against the Wizards yesterday.
A few things to look out for in tonight’s game:
The Hawks evened their preseason record at 1-1 with a 17-point win over the Bobcats last night. Josh Smith led Atlanta with 21 points, and newcomer Vladimir Radmanovic added 11 points of his own.
According to coach Larry Drew, the team looked much better compared to Game 1 of the series on Monday night:
“The energy level was much greater tonight,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “I thought our starters did a good job picking up energy in times where we got a little lackadaisical.”
For the Bobcats, Corey Maggette led the team with 18 points and 5 rebounds. But all eyes were really on Charlotte’s two rookies, Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo. Biyombo was the 7th overall pick and got a lot of attention during the draft for the interesting path the Congolese PF/C took to make it big (great piece on his story from ESPN’s Chad Ford). However, Biyombo struggled a bit in his debut with one point, two rebounds and four turnovers in just under 16 minutes.
Walker, the number 9 pick who led the Huskies to the NCAA championships last year, had eight points, four rebounds and two assists in a little over 19 minutes.
Next up: The Hawks will kick off the regular season against the Nets next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST in New Jersey.
In keeping with their trend of adding veteran faces to the bench, the Hawks signed 7-year veteran guard Jannero Pargo yesterday according to GM Rick Sund. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Pargo didn’t appear in a game with the Bulls last season, but played in 63 during the 2009-10 season. He averaged 5.5 points-per-game and 13.2 minutes-per-game.
Pargo joins Tracy McGrady and Vladimir Radmanovic as off-season veteran additions. Combined, the three have 32 years of experience under their belts (15 for McGrady, 10 for Radmanovic and 7 for Pargo)… aaand 49 average minutes-per-game in their last full regular seasons (23 for McGrady, 16 for Radmanovic and 13 for Pargo).
The Hawks will take on the Bobcats tomorrow night in a rematch of Monday night’s preseason 79-77 loss.
The Hawks will take on the Bobcats tonight in Charlotte for the first game of the preseason. The last time the two teams met was the last game of the 2010-2011 regular season in which the Bobcats defeated the Hawks, 96-85.
Recent draft pick, Bismack Biyombo, has freed himself from his contract with Spanish team Fuenlabrada by agreeing to pay a buyout clause and joined the the Bobcats. Coach Paul Silas said the Congolese forward would not play tonight because he hasn’t had a chance to practice with the team, but he should be in for the game this Thursday against the Hawks at Philips Arena.
The Hawks’ probable starting lineup includes: Marvin Williams (F), Josh Smith (F), Joe Johnson (G), Jeff Teague (G) and Al Horford (F/C).
For the Bobcats, likely starters include: Derrick Brown (F), Tyrus Thomas (F), Boris Diaw (C), Gerald Henderson (G), and D.J. Agustin (G).
The game will be on NBA TV and begins at 7 PM EST.
Former Hawks free agent and sixth man, Jamal Crawford, has officially signed a deal with the Portland Trailblazers. The contract is reportedly for 2 years and $10 million.
Crawford is a Seattle native and had been a top free agent in the market. He reported his decision via Twitter on Thursday:
Rip city!!!
— Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) December 15, 2011
He also gave a shootout to the Knicks and Kings, whom he received offers from:
Special s/o to The Kings, And Ny..talked to both front offices, BOTH first class!!!!!!!!
— Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) December 15, 2011
The Indiana Pacers offered Hawks free agent Jamal Crawford a two-year, $10 million deal according to reports on Tuesday. However, later reports that same day indicated that Crawford had declined the Pacers’ offer. Other teams interested in the Hawks’ guard include the Timberwolves, Knicks, Kings and Blazers.
