“For better horsepower than you’ll find in any Kia…”
Before heading to LA for tonight’s game with the Clippers (10:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL; PRIME TICKET in LA), I sure hope the Atlanta Hawks sent the NBA schedule makers a Valentine’s Day gift.
Heading into the All-Star Break, our Hawks have lived a fairly charmed existence this season. Atlanta has played the fewest games against currently-winning NBA teams (17 of them; they’re 8-9) among any NBA teams. Only the Pacers (7-10) and Spurs (13-6) have played nearly as few. By comparison, the sad-sack Nets and Suns have 27 such games under their belts; the Magic and Lakers, 26.
If you recall, it wasn’t long ago that Atlanta could boast one of the best records versus plus-.500 squads. That was back in December, when the Knicks, Bucks, and Bulls each had dalliances with winning records. They’ve all since fallen off, and the chasm between winning and losing teams has widened.
It is cool that the Hawks (32-23) are on the winning side, defying many professional prognostications thus far. But that foundation was built on the backs of victories, many by the skin of their beaks, against some bad and dysfunctional outfits. Since their New Year’s Day thriller against the Spurs, Atlanta has one solitary game against a winning NBA team – their Groundhog Day comeback thriller in Houston – out of 14 games in their win column.
The only other games versus winning clubs since January 1 included the close-shave loss to Boston, and double-digit defeats at home at the hands of the Wizards, the Jazz, and these Clippers, who coincidentally thumped the Jazz by an 88-72 score in Utah on Monday, going up by 27 points after three quarters.
There will be ample opportunity for the Hawks’ strength-of-schedule to catch up with much of the league. Beginning at the close of this month, Atlanta plays eight games versus winning teams (plus the Nets and Mavericks) over the space of 18 days. For the players, tonight’s game in LA serves as an appetizer before the main course is served, a warmup before the schedule becomes more arduous shortly after the Break.
By the way… did you notice the Clippers moved out of Los Angeles?
Technically, yes, they’re still in Tinseltown. But last summer, when they EA Sports’d their logo, Steve Ballmer’s franchise also made a subtle yet significant move to distinguish themselves from their Staples Center timeshare mates.
Go look at just about any NBA.com reference to the Clips’ hometown, their website, or social media sites. The Lakers are “Los Angeles”; the Clippers are now the abbreviated, “L.A.,” or just the stylized, “LA”. The media has generally not caught on yet. But the Randy Newmans of the world are actively being forced to take sides.
The 115-105 win in Atlanta back on January 23 was the one good blip in a general downturn for the Clippers that began when Chris Paul had thumb surgery the week before. Doc Rivers’ club went 2-7 over a stretch of nine games, the Hawks and Suns being the sole wins, the win in ATL preceding an 11-point loss in Embiid-less, Okafor-less Philly the next night, and a 46-point drubbing in Golden State after three days’ rest.
All of that was before the Clippers rattled off three straight road victories. Blake Griffin returned from a month-long absence, after an arthroscopic procedure on his knee, to play the night after LA’s win in Atlanta. The reigning Western Conference Player of the Week has been especially stellar in his past six games (26.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.6 TOs/game, 53.4 FG%), re-asserting himself as his team’s best playmaker in the absence of Paul.
The win streak must come as a relief for coach Doc Rivers and company, but the Clippers still find themselves in a precarious spot in the standings. Already 5.0 games behind 3-seed Houston, LA sits just a half-game in front of 5th-seeded Utah and a full-game ahead of 6th-seeded Memphis for the final first-round homecourt spot in the West.
The Clips don’t want to create a deeper hole for CP3 to have to help them escape, once he returns in March. So a win tonight holds importance for the home team, and not just for the sake of sustaining momentum or heading into the break among the West’s Top-4. Without a victory tonight, they would go over a full calendar month without securing a win at Staples.
The Hawks’ starters have been listless of late when it comes to securing defensive boards, posting a 71.4 D-Reb% this month (28th in NBA) that would make Al Horford proud, while allowing opponents to score 17.3 second-chance points per-48 (2nd-most in NBA). Even without a sturdy center on the floor, Portland’s Mo Harkless and Ed Davis got their hands on six offensive rebounds apiece on Monday, helping the Blazers produce 19 second-chance points to keep themselves in the game until overtime.
Would-be starter Thabo Sefolosha ranks third on the team in per-game defensive rebounds (3.5) and likely will continue to sit out to rehab a groin injury. Kent Bazemore (2.6 defensive RPG, 0.2 more than Dennis Schröder) slid into the 3-spot but had not been helping much in this area.
But after totaling seven defensive boards in his first five February games, Bazemore has picked up the slack, corralling at least five D-Rebs in consecutive games for the first time since April of last season. He needs to continue mixing it up inside to help relieve the already overtaxed Dwight Howard and Paul Millsap. Including the one-point loss in Sacramento, Atlanta is 7-1 on the season when Baze grabs at least five defensive rebounds, 11-5 with no losses since December 21 when he manages to grab at least four.
The Hawks’ undermanned and unsteady bench unit has been particularly poor this month, especially on the offensive end. Only the benches of the Pelicans, Nets, and Magic have posted a worse February offensive efficiency than Atlanta’s (99.2 bench O-Rating, 27th in NBA). Five reserves were a collective 4-for-16 shooting the rock with zero assists during Atlanta’s overtime win in Portland, outplayed by Blazers sub Al-Farouq Aminu alone (4-for-9 3FGs and two dimes) on Monday night.
The shifting of Tim Hardaway, Jr. into a starting role, and increased spot-duties for Taurean Prince and DeAndre’ Bembry during Sefolosha’s absence, are contributing factors. But what has also been problematic are the struggles of Malcolm Delaney (34.4 FG%, 2.1 APG in past 15 games) in sparking ball movement when he’s in the game on Schröder’s behalf. Mike Muscala’s ability to make shots around the rim, and on the perimeter (45.8 FG% since Jan. 1, 52.8 FG% before; 3-for-11 February 3FGs) has tailed off.
Be it through more effective pick-and-pop or screen-roll action, the Mike-and-Malcolm tandem must work with each other to open up the offense for themselves and their unit mates. The Hawks’ bench similarly tallied just 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting in Atlanta against the Clippers, and one can bet former Hawks Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford (19 points on 9-for-20 FGs, 4 assists vs. ATL on Jan. 23) has no plans to be merciful this evening.
LA’s All-Star center DeAndre Jordan hardly had to lift the ball above his shoulders when the Clippers prevailed in Atlanta last month. He attempted only one field goal in 35 minutes, but dished out four assists and grabbed three offensive rebounds. While Jordan was able to park himself under the defensive basket, the Clippers’ small-ball rotation did the heavy lifting on offense.
Austin Rivers made it such that no one was missing CP3 in Atlanta. Playing at turns alongside Raymond Felton, J.J. Redick (41.6 3FG%), and Crawford, Rivers was able to set up the offense but also spring free for quite a bit of his own (team-highs of 27 points and 6 assists vs. ATL; 5-for-10 3FGs).
Griffin’s return alleviates the Clipper backcourt of some decision-making, especially early in the shot clock. But their Atlanta backcourt counterparts must thwart dribble penetration that severely contracts the defense and allows LA to shoot 58.3 3FG%, as was the case last month.
While Griffin gets Millsap’s undivided attention, and as Howard strives to keep Jordan off the glass without fouling, Felton, Rivers, and Crawford will put a lot of offensive pressure on Schröder, Hardaway, and Delaney, until the latter trio figures it out. Proper rotation and communication along the perimeter should help the Hawks better deflect kickouts and contest LA’s jump-shooters.
The Hawks starters, including Sefolosha, had a rough time shooting the ball against the Clippers last month. But all five finished in double-figures, led by Bazemore’s 25 points, and could have done more with a little help from the bench.
Atlanta began narrowing the double-digit deficit in the third quarter (19-for-33 second half 2FGs; 9-for-26 in the first half) by abandoning the three-point shot and attacking and dishing from the Clippers’ interior. There is little resistance, in kind, on drives by the Clipper backcourt, forcing shifts from Jordan and Luc Mbah a Moute away from their man to compensate. More assertive and decisive action by Schröder and Hardaway at the outset of the game may force LA’s bigs into early foul trouble, forcing Doc to turn to his more defensively-deficient options like Marreese Speights and Brandon Bass.
Even without Chris Paul, the Clippers are a tough opponent to face when wrapping-up the pre-All-Star-Break schedule. But today’s game should help the Hawks get acquainted with the tougher opponents that await at the end of this month. After some turbulent games lately, here’s hoping for some smoother sailing tonight.
Let’s Go Hawks!
~lw3
