“Wow, kids, look how high Al Jefferson is!”
Can the Atlanta Hawks cool off the hottest team in the East? To close the homestand on a decent note, they’ll have to fumigate the Charlotte Hornets (3:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast in ATL, Fox Sports South in CHA), who have become quite the pests lately.
When the Hawks last ran into coach Steve Clifford’s not-so-merry band of bugs, on January 13, Charlotte was mired in a losing skid, including seven losses in a row that turned a promising 14-10 record into 17-20. Thanks to injuries and a drug suspension, gravity-pulling star center Al Jefferson was nowhere to be found. But a sound 23-point drubbing of the Hawks broke their fall.
Now, despite suffering another setback when defensive stalwart Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned early only to get shelved for the season, for good this time, with another shoulder injury, the Hornets are flying high again. Their 8-2 mark since January 31 has been the best in the conference, and it includes a split of games against the top-seeded Cavaliers.
Clifford has remade Charlotte’s offense from one that hovers around the mid-range, and dumps into Jefferson in the post, to one that’s much more comfortable hoisting shots from 3-point territory. Last season’s edition of the Hornets ranked 24th in three-point attempts, and dead-last in making them. This season, they’re 3rd in the NBA for threes attempted. And while they’re not the best at hitting them (35.3 team 3FG%, 14th in NBA), at least they’re doing better than division-rival Atlanta (34.3 team 3FG%, 21st in NBA; 23.9 3FG% last three games).
The most notable difference is in Charlotte’s leading scorer. Kemba Walker (career-high 20.7 PPG) is enjoying the best of his five NBA seasons, thanks to career-best shooting beyond the arc (37.3 3FG%, up from a career-low 30.4% last season) and at the charity stripe (5.2 FTAs/game, 84.9 FT%).
Walker’s got help in the passing game. The team’s leading assist maker also happens to be the team’s top defensive rebounder. Jack-of-all-trades Nicolas Batum (career-highs 14.5 PPG and 5.6 APG, 10 assists vs. ATL on Jan. 13) handles his point-forward niche with aplomb, serving also as the third-leading three-point maker on the team, behind Walker and ex-Hawk power forward Marvin Williams.
Finding his comfort zone back in Carolina, Marvin is no longer just wingin’ it. His 69.6 February TS% ranks just behind Stephen Curry’s 71.6%. He provided maybe his best game this season with 26 points (5-for-9 3FGs) and 13 rebounds, setting the stage for Walker’s last-minute heroics as the Hornets outlasted the Pacers in Indy on Friday night. He’s also 10-for-18 from Uptown in three games against the Hawks this season.
Batum has struggled lately as the Hornets are striving to work Trade Deadline acquisition Courtney Lee into the mix. But his integral presence as a passer and perimeter defender keeps guards Jeremy Lin (15.9 points per-36, best since Linsanity season) and Troy Daniels (50.7 3FG%) from coming into games trying to be something they’re not.
It’s a similar deal for big men like rookie Frank Kaminsky, who would be pressed into more defensive-rebounding duties on teams without a player like Batum. The team approach to defensive rebounding works well in Charlotte, whose lead assistant happens to be Patrick Ewing. They rank 1st in defensive rebounding percentage (79.7%) for the third consecutive season, even with the prolonged absences of Jefferson.
Coming off of meniscus surgery, Big Al is, for now, a sixth-man. The former All-Star center comes off the bench in favor of Cody Zeller (19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks vs. ATL on Jan. 13), who has emerged as a plus-defender ever since getting tossed into the starting lineup back in December. The third-year center’s offense has improved by similar measure (career-high 9.2 PPG, 52.4 2FG%).
Today’s matinee concludes a successful six-game road trip for Charlotte, who hasn’t played back at the Cable Box since February 8. This is the one chance the Hawks will have to trip up the momentum for the playoff-hungry Hornets, who are about to enjoy a very favorable schedule as the calendar turns. While the Hawks head west, up next for Charlotte is a home game at Charlotte and a road game in Philly. After that are seven straight games back home against mostly mediocre opponents.
If the Hawks are rocking white this Sunday, it’s not in recognition of the OscarsTM tonight. Yet it’s likely fans will be able to get home well in advance of the celebrities hitting the red carpet. Both the Hawks and Hornets rank at the bottom of the league in personal fouls drawn this month. The team that forces tougher shots and produces points in transition (by way of defensive rebounds, in Charlotte’s case, or steals and blocks, in Atlanta’s) will have the upper hand. For the month of February, the Hawks rank second in the league for per-game D-Rebs, 3rd for steals, and 3rd for blocked shots, while committing the fourth-fewest fouls.
Al Horford was a dud in the January 13 loss in Charlotte, but has nailed 18 of his last 31 shots this past week while blocking nine shots and snaring 21 rebounds in the past two games. He’ll have a chance to make amends by pushing the pace on Zeller and Jefferson. Mike Muscala will have his hands full at times with Jefferson, as was the case against Chicago’s Pau Gasol on Friday, but must also make the effort to beat his man down the court. Charlotte backup big Spencer Hawes is out with a sore lower back, so expect a busy day from Kaminsky whenever Williams needs a breather.
Hawks reserve wing Thabo Sefolosha played a solid role in chasing Bulls guards off the perimeter on Friday and sparking the Hawks’ fast break. Offensively, he and Kent Bazemore (1-for-8 3FGs, 0 assists vs. CHI) have to keep shooting practice to practice, and look to keep the ball moving for better shot options. Defensively, they’ve got to deny passes into Batum early in the shot clock.
The Hawks’ guards need to minimize dribble penetration by Walker and Lin, and make judicious use of double-teams along the sidelines and baselines, forcing Charlotte’s guards into doing the thing they’d rather not do: pass the ball (21.0 guard assists per 100 possessions, 24th in NBA).
Let’s Go Hawks!
~lw3
