#InBrotherhood
heat, heat, heat, Magic, Magic, Magic, heat, heat, heat, heat, Hawks, heat. The NBA’s Southeast Division banner has escaped the Sunshine State just one time since its 2004 inception. But meeting tonight, both the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards (8:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, CSN Mid-Atlantic in DC) are eager to double that number of instances. That’s especially true of the visitors to the Highlight Factory.
As you’ve read here plenty of times before, Washington (25-20) has gone the longest of any NBA franchise without being able to say they’ve ended their regular season at the tippy-top of their division. Their last team banner of any kind was raised after the 1978-79 season, when the then-Bullets, defending league champs, were shot from the Central to the Atlantic Division and went 54-28.
Somewhere along the way, having been treated to Moses Malone, Bernard King, Chris Webber, Rod Strickland, Michael Jordan, Gil Arenas and, now, four-time All-Star John Wall, Wizards fans would like to at least have something rafter-worthy to put on display.
Things weren’t looking too hot in The District when this season started. The Hawks and Wizards each gained their first wins of the season from one another, Atlanta prevailing 114-99 at home in the season opener, Washington eight days later coming out on top in a wayward-shooting 95-92 affair at the Verizon Center.
But the Wizards, under the watchful eye of new head coach Scott Brooks, could only win two of their first ten games. Wall was limited by a minutes restriction after off-season double knee surgery, while Beal missed a few November games, causing fans to question the sagacity of giving Wall’s oft-injured sidekick a five-year max deal last summer.
“The Wizards are Dead, and Ernie Grunfeld Has Killed Them,” screeched the pall-bearing Deadspin back in December, when Wall’s career-high 52 points were not enough to keep his team from losing at home to Orlando and dropping to 7-13 on the year (12th in the East).
Yet both stars returned and are, to hear them tell it, in a good condition as ever. They also got a long-awaited boost from fourth-year forward Otto Porter, whose career breakout comes complete with an NBA-best 45.6 3FG%.
These days, not much more is asked of Porter when he gets the ball on offense, besides shoot it through the net. Otto’s 6.2 TO% ranks sixth-lowest in the league, his 58.6 2FG% ranks 9th, and his 64.2 true shooting percentage ranks second in the East, behind Bebe Nogueira’s 69.9% and just ahead of dunk-master Dwight Howard’s 63.6% (4th in NBA).
After years of failed development by Wizard draft picks and prospects, Porter has all of D.C. feeling like the cherry blossoms are out early. By most accounts, Wall (career-highs of 23.1 PPG, 82.4 FT%, 49.8 2FG%; NBA-high 2.2 SPG) is enjoying a career year. So, for that matter, is Beal (career-highs of 21.9 PPG, 2.7 3FGs per game, 3.6 APG, 81.6 FT%), shaking out of a recent shooting slump with 31 points to help beat the Celtics on Tuesday.
Fellow starters Markieff Morris (January: 4 double-doubles, 16.6 PPG, 48.8 FG%, 37.0 3FG%) and Marcin Gortat (8 double-doubles in last 15 games; 11.4 RPG, 9th in NBA) have been rejuvenated. Now the Wizards sit just 1.5 games behind Atlanta, and would love to overtake the Hawks (27-19) in the division and conference standings before the All-Star Break arrives.
“The opera ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings.” That was the rallying cry for the middle-of-the-pack Bullets during their 1978 run to the NBA Championship, granting the District their first pro sports title in 36 years. It could just as well have been articulated by Bob Rathbun in the minutes before Atlanta’s improbable 119-114 comeback win in the Windysfunctional City.
The closing moments of Wednesday’s contest was much like the climaxing tropes of action flicks, where miraculously triumphant heroes coolly drift away from the scene, unflinching as the carnage left behind explodes into the sky.
Jimmy Butler said, quite reductively, “When you win, there’s no problem,” in the aftermath of the nuclear Bulls’ team meeting today. By contrast, credit should go out to Brooks and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, and both of their teams’ veteran players, for finding ways to hold steady through the downturns in the season, even after the occasional disappointing performances and finishes pop up.
At least in the Hawks’ case, any misgivings uttered to the media, social or otherwise, about players have been thoroughly aired out in the locker room and are understood to be applied collectively and inclusively. There is plenty of “we”, and not much “they”, when things aren’t going as planned.
While the Wizards had to collapse and tank for a couple seasons just to get their hands on a four-time All-Star, the Hawks simply needed a general manager willing to find Paul Millsap’s doorbell. Atlanta’s stalwart power forward brings not only the production on the floor (career-best 18.0 PPG and 3.8 APG), but the ideal demeanor and candor off it.
Want to know his personal gripes about Dwight, or Al Horford, or Kent Bazemore, or Dennis Schröder? You’ll never find them on Snapchat. “He’s still Paul,” Budenholzer told the AJC pregame when asked about his leadership, “It’s all relative. But I would say he’s significantly more vocal.”
Wall and Beal, meanwhile, have patched up their behind-the-scenes beefs, and are even back to crowing about Best Backcourts in the East again. With their starting unit rock-solid, all the Wizards need, now, is some sense of a pulse from the reserves.
Washington’s bench remains the second-worst in the league (-6.9 Net Rating), ahead only of Bitterdelphia’s. Wizard reserves turn the ball over a ton (15.6 TO%, 3rd-highest in NBA), while they struggle on the glass (74.7 D-Reb%, 24th in NBA, improving only as Brooks uses Morris at the 5-spot in the second unit) and from outside (33.3 3FG%, 25th in NBA).
While Atlanta has just two starters averaging over 30 minutes per game (Schröder barely over that line at 30.7 MPG), the Wizards rely on all five starters (Morris the lowest, with 31.9 MPG), to long-haul it every night. That includes 32-year-old Gortat at 34.8 MPG, the second-highest per-game stint among non-All-Stars above age 30 (Dwight’s 29.4 minutes rank 14th).
Brooks would love to rely more upon Marcus Thornton and Jason Smith, but they’re unsteady, or on youngsters Kelly Oubre (5-for-9 3FGs in past two games) and Tomas Satoransky, but they’re not quite ready.
Hawks fans rightfully grumble about the perpetual unavailability of Tiago Splitter, or the under-utility of Mike Scott and the rookie wings. Yet you, reading this, have logged only 14 fewer NBA minutes than Ian Mahinmi, Washington’s four-year, $64 million free agent prize. Mahinmi got into one game back in November before going back on the shelf with knee soreness. (Double-checks… yes, Grunfeld is still punching in). Despite all of that, there is one backup guard from last season the Wizards are likely to never ask back.
“I Was The Leading Scorer of The Bench (40) Games and The Best 3PT Shooter On The Washington Wizards And The Contracts My Fellow 2nd Unit Members Received…” Such began the Facebook post of one Gary Neal this past July, as he and other free agents were scoping out new deals with NBA teams, before rattling off annual-value offers he felt he deserved, too.
Neal (9.8 PPG, 41 3FG% in WAS) seemed to have built up an adversarial relationship with several Wizards, past and present. CSN Mid-Atlantic cited “selfish” accusations directed his way, from players and coaches alike, for allegedly stat-padding at the expense of the team. One unnamed Wizard felt, “I should have punched him out,” after feeling shown up by Neal during the season, while another responded, when asked about the Facebook post: “Terrible teammate. All about himself.”
Neal, coincidentally, is on day #10 of his 10-day contract with a Hawks team (62.5 assist%, 6th in NBA) that is very rarely all about themselves. It’s tough to glean from 18 minutes of action (0-for-7 FGs, 4-for-4 FTs in two games) whether he’ll gain another 10-day stay, or if the Hawks will look another way (Lamar Patterson, anyone?).
Perhaps Neal has improved his teammate persona, or maybe the Hawks just want to deny Cleveland access to another “playmaker” for a couple more weeks. In any case, Neal’s presence tonight is likely to engender some animosity. Along the Wizard sideline, the reception could get cold like Minnesota.
Perhaps inspired by tonight’s halftime performer, Hawks wings Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore will hope to help Dennis Schröder (team-high 24 points and 9 dimes @ CHI on Wednesday) get Wall repeatedly stuck in a bubblegum trap. Neutralizing Wall’s impact not only involves forcing the ball to other Wizards to make plays, but keeping maybe the speediest All-Star baller alive from piling up points in transition (5.8 fastbreak PPG, 5th in NBA).
Whether it’s in transition or in the halfcourt, Atlanta defenders cannot afford to get stagnant. Without proper rotations while double-teamng the ballhandler, outlets to Beal, Morris, and Porter could have the Hawks playing from behind once again, as was the case here versus the Clippers and in Chicago.
If the Hawks’ starting guards and wings prove up to the task, and if Howard and Millsap can give Morris and Gortat fits around the rim, then it will be up to Atlanta’s deeper bench to be the difference-maker in tonight’s game.
Junior Hardaway kicked off his 2016-17 campaign with 21 points to topple the Wizards back on October 27, and it would be good to get him going early and often, after recent subpar offensive performances at Philips (last 4 home games: 7.5 PPG, combined 13-for-37 FGs, 3-for-17 on 3FGs). An early spark could be critical for a Hawks team that has enjoyed a first-quarter lead just once in its last ten home games (before last Saturday versus Chicago, go back to December 7 versus Miami).
Hardaway want 6-for-11 in Chicago, subbing for Sefolosha and making key plays during the Hawks’ 41-point fourth-quarter flourish. Offensively, the Hawks could use more than Wednesday’s combined 3-for-11 shooting from reserves Malcolm Delaney, Kris Humphries and Junior Dunleavy. Even against Washington’s shaky subs, Coach Bud is unlikely to deploy Scott or the rooks unless he has a decent lead, so Kris and the Force MD’s will need to hold serve if they want to help keep the starters rested. Mike Muscala (ankle) remains questionable.
Atlanta’s 13-9 home record is the worst among the Top 7 teams in the Eastern Conference; Washington’s 6-14 away-game mark is the worst among the East’s Top 14. Whichever of these two teams turn those records around, starting tonight and continuing through the balance of the season, is likely to be the standard-bearer in the Southeast Division moving forward.
Sorry, Florida. I know you want this title for life…
Let’s Go Hawks!
~lw3
