C’mon, Don’t Treat People’s Donkeys Like That, Evan!
Fever dreams? Or nightmares? These days, Atlanta Hawks fans are seemingly left with no other options.
Here come the Hawks, back in the Highlight Factory after a triumphant, double-digit, come-from-behind mad dash to the finish line on the road. Atlanta got a huge, confidence-boosting shot from Tim Hardaway, Jr. (an electrifying career-high 33 points @ HOU on Thursday, 23 in the 4th) to seal the deal and right a listing ship.
Surely, with a hyped-up home crowd in the stands, they’ll make quick work out of the slip-sliding Orlando Magic (7:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Fox Sports Florida in ORL), right? Well, if you’ll remember, that was the grand plan back in December, too.
Rewarded with three days off after a big win in Milwaukee was secured by a Hardaway triple, the Hawks waltzed onto their Philips Arena floor on December 9, and could only look on as four Magicians (Serge Ibaka and Evan Fournier; Elfrid Payton and Jodie Meeks off the bench) pulled 20-plus points out of their hats in a 131-120 Orlando win.
The 131-point tally by Frank Vogel’s new club was the most run up on the Hawks by any opponent in regulation this season, or in any game since March 2008, when Stephen Jackson was literally lighting it up while playing for Nellie’s visiting Golden State Warriors.
In December’s fateful meeting, Magic field goals were scored at a season-high 58.6 percent clip (highest by an ATL foe since January 2008; worst at home since March 2005; incl. 15-for-34 ORL 3FGs), and buttressed with a sterling 4-to-1 assist/turnover ratio (36 assists; Orlando piled up 37 of ‘em almost exactly a year ago to sweep a home-and-home).
For their part, Atlanta hit over half of their shots, and missed just two of their 21 free throws. They got 4-for-5 three-point shooting from Kyle Korver, double-doubles from Dwight Howard and Dennis Schroder, nearly a third one from Paul Millsap, while fans had the oft-desired TNT combo (Tim ‘n Thabo) in the starting lineup. Yet the reserves’ inability to help the starters make stops resulted in the Hawks inhaling Orlando’s fumes at the ends of each half.
The lesson seems to be, do not go into games feeling too smug on the heels of a notable victory. But the Hawks haven’t proven that they get the gist just yet. Days after that disappointing defeat to the Magic, Atlanta avenged a recent lousy loss in Toronto, then returned home the next day just to lose to division-rival Charlotte.
An encouraging win in OKC was followed two days later by a dispiriting home loss to Minnesota. Big plays to earn the W in New York, then a big 23-point letdown two nights later in Detroit. Huge late-game comeback in Chicago; huge 26-point setback two nights later against the Wizards. 4 OT thriller at home against the Knicks; 23-point killer three days later in Miami.
Despite a winning record, inconsistency and instability have been the pattern for these Hawks (29-21) for a while. It has to be maddening, not only for the players, the staff, and the fans, but the opponents, too. The teams that “got got” by Atlanta’s comeback kids during games (Bucks, Bulls, Rockets, etc.) are actively re-assessing their lot in life. For others, trouncing the Hawks seems to feel like you might have earned the Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Toronto’s high-octane offense torches Atlanta by 44 points; they’ve petered out a dull 16-15 record since. Detroit dusts off the Hawks by 36, then go 9-13 before beating them again, this time by 23 before losing three of their next four. Since beating the Hawks soundly on the road, the Pelicans have gone just 14-21; the Lakers rose to 9-9 with a big win at Staples, before going 8-27 the rest of the way.
And what good did that monumental December win in ATL do for Vogel’s crew? 11-15 wasn’t terribly far out of the playoff picture, certainly enough to hang around with a little momentum. But that momentum never materialized.
When the Hawks left Amway Center on January 4, Atlanta’s payback 111-92 win (no Magic scorers above 15 points this time) dropped Orlando to a water-treading 5-6 since the previous matchup. The Magic’s ship has been taking in that water ever since, winners in just four of their last 15. Even after outlasting those crumbling Raptors at home last night, Orlando (20-32) sits just a half-game from 14th place in the East.
“False sense of hope. I admit, I was fooled. Thought this team would be way better than it is.” That’s a sample of David Baumann’s tweeted opinions in the past few days. Baumann was sort of the “Jerome Jurenovich” host for the Magic for years. But these days, he gets to speak his mind, and he doesn’t hold his tongue. “…the last four seasons (the Magic) were expected to be bad. This year, (with) $ avail to blow, had a chance to finally be decent.”
Baumann goes on with his e-lamentations, echoing much of the Magic fanbase sentiment that, even with Orlando just 4.0 games behind the 8-seed, declining to strike while the playoff iron was hot has left their team well behind the 8-ball. “By failing to make a deal by the end of December, (GM Rob Hennigan) essentially waved the white flag on this year… there's not a single player that any casual NBA fan would pay to go see play in person. (Although) the kids love (Aaron) Gordon (because) of dunks.”
Such biting commentary would smart Hennigan, except his ears are too sore to notice, what with all the phones ringing in his office these days. The glut of bigs he acquired over the summer has not helped the crowded-out Gordon (42.6 FG%, 29.3 3FG%, 63.1 FT%, 4.6 RPG) advance his game at all. Vogel’s shifting to accommodate Hennigan’s maneuvers also have continued to frustrate Nikola Vucevic (14.1 PPG and 47.5 FG%, down from 18.2 and 51.0 FG% last year; DNP vs. ATL on Dec. 13), who has seen his playing time plummet from prior seasons.
Now, Hennigan’s pining for a deal to come along that might help him cover up his free agent miscalculations (Ibaka, Bismack Biyombo, Jeff Green). The right deal(s) could perhaps re-energize a fanbase frustrated about a team that’s bound to miss their fifth-straight postseason since Dwight departed for La-La Land in 2012, a team that’s on pace to be worse than the 35-47 outfit that Scott Skiles quit on, a squad that is just 9-16 at Amway after last night’s win. And here you thought the Hawks (14-10) struggle at home.
Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder is due for a bounceback effort, after underwhelming outings for most of the past week (last 4 games: 32.2 FG%, 14.3 3FG%, 1.8 RPG, one steal total, 6.3 APG puffed up by 15 dimes in four overtimes vs. NYK).
With John Wall and Kemba Walker bound for the Big Easy soon, Schroder is left to prove he can dominate matchups with the lower plankton of the division and conference. Doing so requires a commanding fullcourt performance from the jump against Payton (6.0 APG, 2.1 TOs/G, 28.4 3FG%; 3-for-3 3FGs, 14 assists and 2 TOs vs. ATL on Dec. 13). That is essential if the Hawks intend to shake off their own customary first-quarter cobwebs (NBA-worst 16.9 first-quarter TO%).
One member of the Magic quartet that lit up the Hawks in December didn’t make a return trip. ATLien Meeks (team-high 40.4 3FG%) is repairing sprained thumb ligaments and remains out indefinitely. He joins fellow shooting guard C.J Wilcox (knee) on the shelf. Against Orlando’s depleted backcourt, things are lined up for Thursday night’s superhero, Hardaway (1-for-6 3FGs vs. ORL on Dec. 13), to escape his own phone booth at home (last 6 games at Philips: 22-for-68 FGs, 5-for-30 3FGs).
Elevated to a starting role with Thabo Sefolosha (groin) still questionable to play, THJ extended his shooting woes at the Highlight Factory with 15 missed shots, including nine missed threes, in the 4-OT affair with New York last Sunday. He did manage to reach 19 points with the help of 9-for-12 FT shooting, and added 8 assists and just one TO to the mix. But his and Schroder’s missed freebies sure could have come in handy when Atlanta needed to keep Carmelo’s Knicks calm in the clutch.
In his penultimate performance as a Hawk, Korver could hardly buy a bucket in Orlando. But in that January 4 game, he dished out 7 assists, matching Schroder and keying an all-around bench effort that was much improved from the team’s prior game against the Magic. Atlanta reserves Mike Muscala, Hardaway, and Malcolm Delaney combined for 13-for-19 shooting from the field (5-for-7 3FGs).
Sefolosha’s injury has forced Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer to turn to his rookies, and DeAndre’ Bembry (5-for-6 FGs) sure put the accent on the Hawks’ table-turning 113-108 win in Houston. Bembry forced tough shots out of James Harden in the fourth quarter and snuck in for unguarded scores around the hoop. Kent Bazemore also played a role in helping deny Harden the ball at critical junctures of Thursday’s comeback.
Bembry (43 minutes in past two games) and fellow rookie Taurean Prince may continue to see upticks in floortime if they continue to produce on the defensive end. With or without Sefolosha, Bazemore and the Hawks’ wings will need to remain active to cool down Fournier (16.7 PPG; 10-for-11 2FGs vs. ATL on Dec. 13), the Magic’s leading scorer.
Orlando managed just 9-for-28 shooting from the perimeter against the Hawks last month, unable to keep up with the marksmanship by Bazemore (3-for-3 3FGs) and Atlanta (10-for-19 team 3FGs). Vogel will resort to using Green, Gordon, and Ibaka around the arc to pry Millsap and the Hawks’ defensive bigs out of the paint. It’s hoped that doing so will free up Payton and Fournier on drives, and Vucevic for post-up opportunities.
However, Howard did a solid job staying at home on his defensive assignments, contesting without fouling, while also beating his man down the court to open up the Atlanta offense with superior shot opportunities in the paint. More of the same from the former Magic man would help the Hawks keep their distance tonight.
For the Hawks, building from a big road win and taking care of business in front of the home crowd will help their fans sleep a little easier tonight. With a long night awaiting us on Sunday, we Atlanta fans sure could use the help.
Rise Up! And Let’s Go Hawks!
~lw3
