ATL Hawks vs. NJ Nets: Reactions & Recaps From Around The Web

Here are some excerpts of what bloggers and writers wrote on their recaps after the Atlanta Hawks vs. New Jersey Nets game last night.

Jason Walker from Peachtree Hoops talked about Zaza Pachulia’s and Vladimir Radmanovic’s contributions and also cleverly came up with a nickname: 

"Vladiza Radchulia was a big reason the Hawks never had to rely on the starters to pull away and stay away in this game. Radchulia combined for a 10-17, 30 point, 14 rebound effort. The Vladimir Radmanovich part of the that equation hit some early threes, and played an energetic, mistake free game, leading the Hawks with (17) points.He also had (5) assists and (4) steals, also team leads. Zaza Pachulia did his part, getting a double-double with (13) points and (11) rebounds, (8) of which were offensive. The Nets had no bigs that could go with either the first or second team of Hawks bigs, saying a lot about how Brook Lopez not being there impacts this team."

Kris Willis of Peachtree Hoops had high praises on how well the Hawks offense played:

"What is not to like about a balanced scoring attack where no player takes more than 11 shots? Marvin Williams ended up 3-9 from the field but looked solid and most importantly confident. Williams finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. Jeff Teague hit 5-7 attempts including 3-4 from three point range while finishing with 13 points and three assists. There were stretches in the game where things got a little ragged but that is to be expected with the shortened training camp. The most important thing for the Hawks was that the ball movement and player movement (23 assists on 38 made baskets) was there and they could essentially get any shot they wanted against the Nets."

Bret LaGree of Hoopinion graded every Hawks player’s performance on a scale of 1-10. Here’s what he said about Marvin Williams: 

"Marvin Williams: Aggressive offensively and his seven trips to the foul line more than made up for poor shooting. Nine rebounds (four offensive) demonstrate his most direct path toward providing consistent value for money. 7/10"

Michael Cunningham of the AJC talked about how great the Hawks bench played and got some good quotes from the players about it: 

"The reserves scored 55 of 106 points and collected 27 of 51 rebounds. More importantly, the Hawks extended their lead even as the reserves kept checking in. None of the starters played more than 26 minutes.“Man, I tip my hat to those guys,” Josh Smith said. “This is probably the deepest bench we’ve had in a long time, where [starters] are coming off and the bench is keeping the same intensity and energy as the starters, if not more. If we have this on a consistent basis I think we are going to be a pretty good team.”There’s no one on the bench you can expect will regularly have the kind of scoring impact asJamal Crawford. But maybe there are enough pieces that can do a little bit of everything to cobble together an effective unit. “It’s a little different look,” Al Horford said. “We don’t have that explosive scorer like Jamal but we are doing it as a unit.”"

Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York talked about how bad the game was for the New Jersey Nets: 

"Here’s just how bad it was for the Nets:• They had as many fouls (22) as they made shots (22).• They had twice as many turnovers (18) as they had assists (nine).• They shot 22.5 percent in the first quarter and scored 11 points.• They never led, and trailed by as many as 39 points.The Nets’ PR staff was generous to the media in giving out these two tidbits:• The Nets lost by 36. Their largest margin of defeat last season was 32 points on Jan. 28 at Indiana.• The Nets scored 30 points in the first half. Their season-low for points in the first half of any game all of last season was 31 at Atlanta on March 26."

Chris Hooker of Nets Are Scorching talked about Marshon Brook’s play: 

"It’s tough to talk about bright spots after a game like this, but the rookie played some pretty good basketball tonight. A valiant effort from him. Brooks displayed a great jump shot from all over the court and in traffic. One thing you have to give MarShon credit for was his inability to become intimidated on the court. He played confidentially. Not every one of his shots went in, but it’s pretty clear that Avery likes what Brooks brings and his field goal percentage is only going to get better from here. This could be a fun guy to watch in the coming months."

The Atlanta Hawks’ next game comes tonight at 7:30 vs. the Washington Wizards. This will be the home opener for the Hawks.