Wizards-Hawks Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 28 2011 12:49AM

The Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards each made headlines after their first game of the season, but for much different reasons.

After a dominating victory, Atlanta opens its home schedule Wednesday night looking for its seventh consecutive win at Philips Arena over the drama-plagued Wizards.

The Hawks (1-0) wasted little time in proving they plan to contend in the Eastern Conference, crushing New Jersey 106-70 in their opener Tuesday.

Vladimir Radmanovic led six players in double figures with 17 points as Atlanta led 28-11 after the first quarter and never trailed.

"I'm really pleased with the team effort," coach Larry Drew said. "Having six guys in doubles is a great sign of playing like a team. We've been preaching since camp that we have to play together."

Tracy McGrady scored 12 points in his first game for the Hawks, who began a stretch of nine games in 12 days due to the lockout-shortened 66-game season.

"This was big," McGrady said. "We wanted to start out the season the right way, especially with the amount of games we have (coming up)."

Atlanta hasn't given up fewer points in a regular season game since a 76-65 win at Cleveland on May 2, 1999.

"We can cause some problems for teams defensively," said Al Horford, who had eight points. "We have that ability to disrupt people. Josh (Smith) is so quick and Marvin (Williams) and I are so long. Guys can go flying around the floor defending shots."

Washington also built a large lead against the Nets, but couldn't hold it. The Wizards blew a 21-point cushion in Monday's 90-84 loss in their opener.

Following the game, Andray Blatche voiced his displeasure with how he was utilized after shooting 5 for 13 and scoring only 11 points.

"You can't keep having me pick-and-pop and shooting jump shots. Give me the ball in the paint. That's where I'm most effective at," Blatche said. "I've been saying that since training camp: I need the ball in the paint. I don't want to be the pick-and-pop guy that I used to be. It's not working for me."

Coach Flip Saunders said he wants Blatche to talk to him about his role, but he's not forcing anything upon him.

"He also has to understand that just because you get (the ball) at 17 feet, you don't have to shoot it either," Saunders said. "I'm not twisting his arm to do that."

Regardless of where Blatche or anyone else is shooting from, second-year guard John Wall just wants to make sure Washington is passing the ball and not settling for the 1-on-1 situations it did against the Nets.

"We have nobody on our team that's THAT great," Wall said.

The Wizards (0-1) must quickly get over their petty problems and focus on an Atlanta team they haven't had much success against in recent years.

Washington's lone victory in the series since January 2008 came in the most recent meeting, when it earned a 115-83 win April 9 at home behind a game-high 23 points from Blatche and 19 from Wall.

The Hawks had won the previous 12 meetings, holding the Wizards to fewer than 100 points in each contest. Atlanta has won six straight in the series at home by an average of 12.0 points, outrebounding Washington by 8.9 per game.

McGrady's 24.5-point career average against the Wizards is his highest against any team.

Johnson has 18, Hawks drop Wizards, 101-83

By CHARLES ODUM
Posted Dec 28 2011 11:13PM

ATLANTA (AP) Through two games, the Atlanta Hawks have not trailed, they've displayed impressive scoring balance and they've won in back-to-back days by a combined margin of 54 points.

If the Hawks want to make their coach happy, they can add better shutdown defense to the mix.

Joe Johnson led six players in double figures with 18 points and the Hawks beat the Washington Wizards 101-83 on Wednesday night.

The win in the Hawks' home opener came one day after a runaway 106-70 win at New Jersey.

"They've got so much energy," said Washington's John Wall. "All they did was attack, attack, attack. They were just making their shots."

The Hawks scored the first 11 points, made their first five 3-pointers and kept the lead in double figures for all but the first 2 minutes of the second half.

The Hawks have made it to the second round of three straight Eastern Conference playoffs. Coach Larry Drew knows his team isn't being mentioned with Miami, Chicago and Boston as the teams to watch in the conference this season.

"We're hoping we can become a team that's mentioned with some of the other teams," Drew said.

Drew said his team must keep working on defense to put teams away late in games.

"There were parts of the game tonight where we lacked defensive intensity," Drew said. "I thought we had opportunities to really put that team away. ... I didn't feel we had a total grip of the game even when we got up by 20."

The Hawks have had six players score in double figures in each of their two wins. Tracy McGrady, an offseason addition, had 11 points off the bench to join Atlanta's five starters in double figures.

"We've got some guys capable of scoring and we're doing a great job of sharing the ball," McGrady said. "That being said, we want to be known as a great defensive team."

Marvin Williams, playing with more confidence following offseason back surgery, scored 17 points and had eight rebounds. Josh Smith had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Al Horford added another double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.

Additions to the Hawks' roster include McGrady, Jannero Pargo, Willie Green and Jerry Stackhouse, who did not play.

"We're a team that's trying to learn on the fly," McGrady said. "We didn't have that long of a preseason, but it seems like it's working pretty well for us."

Nick Young had 21 points and Wall added 20 for Washington, which has lost its first two games. JaVale McGee had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards.

"We're searching," said Washington coach Flip Saunders. "Our main group is not performing well together at this time.

"We did some positive things but you can't get off to this kind of a start."

Washington's Andray Blatche, who complained after the Wizards' season-opening loss to New Jersey that he needed the ball more often in the paint, had only four points while shooting 2 of 13.

Overall, the Wizards made 30 of 77 shots (39 percent).

"We've just got to find some chemistry," Wall said. "We do it in practice but practice doesn't count."

The Hawks led 85-64 after three quarters before missing their first 11 shots from the field in the final period to allow Washington to cut into the lead.

Johnson's third 3-pointer gave Atlanta a 19-4 lead. Jeff Teague left the game with two fouls with about 6 minutes left in the opening quarter, and Wall immediately started a hot scoring streak against Hawks backup point guard Jannero Pargo.

Wall and Young combined for 18 straight points for the Wizards, who cut Atlanta's lead to 35-33 early in the second period. The Hawks closed the half with a 20-9 run for a 55-42 halftime lead.

NOTES: Shaquille O'Neal, now working as an analyst for the Atlanta-based TNT's NBA telecasts, had a front-row seat. ... Wizards G-F Maurice Evans did not dress after having his knee drained. ... Wizards rookie F Jan Vesely did not travel with the team to Atlanta. Vesely, already out with a sore right hip, has the flu. ... The Hawks took a 45-32 advantage in rebounds.

Notebook: Hawks 101, Wizards 83

By Matt Winkeljohn, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday December 28, 2011 11:39PM

THE FACTS: The Hawks made five of their first six shots and Washington missed 10 of its first 11 to set a tone and Joe Johnson scored 18 points and Marvin Williams added 17 to lead Atlanta to its second straight wire-to-wire win as the host Hawks trounced the Wizards 101-83.

Reserve guard Nick Young led Washington (0-2) with 21 points, but made just one of his last seven shots. John Wall scored 20 points, but he made 6-for-15, forward Andray Blatche hit just 2-for-13 and former Hawk Jordan Crawford missed all six of his shots.

Atlanta (2-0) dominated on the boards, where Josh Smith and Al Horford each grabbed 10 to help the Hawks build a 45-32 edge.

QUOTABLE: "There were parts of the game where we lacked defensive intensity. I win is a win; they're not all going to be pretty."
-- Hawks coach Larry Drew.

THE STAT: 35.7 percent. The Wizards did not often enough take advantage of scoring opportunities in the paint. Although they were outscored by a modest 36-30 margin there, the Wizards made just 15-for-42 shots from within the lane (35.7 percent) while the Hawks made 18-for-28 (64.3 percent) on the other end.

TURNING POINT: After trailing 19-4 in the first quarter and 55-42 at halftime, the Wizards cut the Atlanta lead to 57-49 early in the second half before their hopes faded over the next six minutes. Crawford and JaVale McGee missed point-blank shots and Washington turned the ball over three times in that span while while the Hawks went on a 17-6 spurt. Atlanta's lead never fell below 13 points after that.

QUOTABLE II: "We're searching for that main group because we're not playing well together."
-- Washington coach Flip Saunders.

HOT: Before scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds Wednesday night, Williams scored 14 points with nine rebounds in just 22 minutes in Tuesday's season opener at New Jersey. He had back surgery in June to relieve a problem that's been bother him for a couple seasons. Williams leads the Hawks so far with an average of 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and an average of 28.7 points per 48 minutes. He's also averaging 15.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.7 steals per 48, and has made 4-for-7 3-pointers. . . . Horford has not turned the ball over in two games. . . . Young, who replaced ineffective starting shooting guard Crawford for 15 straight minutes in the first half, made his first five shots and after scoring 16 points in 17 minutes in Washington's season-opening loss to New Jersey, he leads the Wizards with 18.5 points per game. . . . McGee had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and is averaging 13 and nine.

NOT: Blatche missed all seven of his shots in the first half, and is shooting 26.9 percent (7-for-18) through two games. . . . Wall is shooting 32.1 percent (9-for-28), and is averaging five turnovers per game for Washington. He had six Wednesday. . . .

QUOTABLE III: " I've got my body in better shape, and I feel better. I was never going to make excuses, but my back was bothering me the last two or three years. I had a discectomy [June 8]. Basically, I had a disk pressing up against a nerve and it was making my leg numb. A lot of times I would be out there, and my leg would just start tingling. Man, [the NBA lockout] was a blessing for me. A lot of other guys wouldn't say that, but having that much time to get healthy really helped."
-- Marvin Williams.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Recently retired NBA center Shaquille O'Neal was at the game. . . . Atlanta Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes and his wife were in attendance.

ROOKIE WATCH: Washington forward Chris Singleton, who grew up in metro Atlanta, made 3-for-4 and scored seven points with four rebounds and two steals off the bench. Saunders said Singleton has earned additional playing time for his ability to play multiple positions and because he's so active. . . . Wizards guard Shelvin Mack missed all five of his shots, and has missed all seven in two games.

NOTABLE: Hawks coach Larry Drew gave his team Thursday off as a reward to winning back-to-back games in as many nights without trailing. Atlanta has not trailed this season after winning 107-70 Tuesday at New Jersey.

UP NEXT: For the Wizards, Friday @ Bucks, Sunday vs. Celtics, Monday @ Celtics. For the Hawks, Friday vs. Nets, Saturday @ Rockets, Monday @ Heat.

• Wizards: Evans, Vesely
• Hawks: Hinrich, Sloan

• Wizards: --
• Hawks: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #12 Violet Palmer, #29 Mark Lindsay
• Attendance: 17750
• Duration: 2:14