Finnfan72

Hello people! Looks like the Hawks team is truly ready to make an impact this season. The Orlando win was very promising indeed. I just wish that my man Hanno Mottola was still part of that exciting team... Well, he isn't doing that bad here in Europe. On thursday he debuted in the Euroleague where the best teams of Europe play each other, and his start was stunning. Here's the game recap from euroleague.net: ----------------------------------------------------------- TAU CERAMICA BASKONIA vs. MACCABI TEL AVIV 85-79 It looked more like a championship final in spring than an autumn opener Thursday night in Vitoria, Spain as two huge teams shooting for it all this Euroleague season presented their credentials in a Group B showdown that was basketball at it's finest. When the dust settled, Spanish champs Tau Ceramica had rallied from 7 points down in the last 3 minutes to top visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv 85-79. The man of the night, with no doubt, was Tau forward Hanno Mottola, who finished with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. He made 1O of 13 two-pointers, 2 of 2 threes and 5 of 7 free throws, including the deep two-pointer from the wing gave Tau its first lead of the second half wit 52 seconds to go. Maccabi managed just a free throw after that as Jerome Allen and Jose Manuel Calderon sealed the victory at the foul line, where Tau made 25 of 30 attempts on the night. Oddly enough, except for being unable to stop Mottola, Maccabi had seemed in control all evening as balanced scoring Quincy Lewis outside and Nikola Vujcic inside produced consistent leads over 5 points. Maccabi just never got far enough away to resists a slump, which happened in the final minutes and resulted in Tau taking revenge for a loss on the same floor that cost the Spaniards a trip to the Final Four last season. Tau, with four new starters from last season, began by running its offense through center Rashard Griffith, but the man of the quarter for the home team would be Mottola. The Finnish forward scored 11 points in the first 7 minutes, but it only served to keep Tau close, because Maccabi was scoring from everywhere. Inside, Vujcic was holding his own on offense, while outside Lewis hit the first three-pointer of the night. Huseyin Besok inside, Tal Burstein driving, Gur Shelef from outside, Beno Udrih on layups, Marcus Goree on rebounds and finally Yoav Saffar with a three on the last possession: Maccabi was scoring in a blur. Eight different players were on the board for Maccabi by the end of 10 minutes, and the scoreboard read 23-33. An intentional foul was called on Andres Nocioni at the end of the quarter was indicative of the tension level in Fernando Buesa Arena. The second quarter saw both teams cool down for several minutes, but Maccabi still flirted with double digit leads as much of the scoring shifted to the foul line. Saffar restored the Maccabi lead to 10 points, at 33-43, before Tau reacted again at the close of the quarter. This time a Griffith hook shot started his team back, while Mottola picked up from there sandwiching two baskets around three free throws from Sergi Vidal to pull Tau within 42-46 at the break. Mottola led all scorers with 15 points, while Maccabi's scoring was more distributed as Lewis was on 9 and Saffar 7 to lead the visitors. Vujcic, with 6 points right after halftime, helped Maccabi reestablish bigger leads quickly, with the score hitting 49-59 midway through the third quarter even after a three-point play by Calderon of Tau. Now, however, Mottola decided to take his game outside, where he drilled back-to-back three-pointers. The next possession, he faked in the corner and took it to the hoop. That fast, Tau was back within 57-61. Then another newcomer, Leandro Palladino, raised up for his own triple from the corner to hold the line for Tau at 60-63 going into the final period. But if Mottola was unstoppable for Tau, Vujcic and Lewis were close to it for Maccabi. With an inside layup from the first and three-pointer from the second, Maccabi was back to a good-size lead at 64-71 early in the fourth quarter. This time, Nocioni helped Tau recoup, with his own three, which Mottola followed with anothe basket. Still, as Beno Udrih fed Vujcic for an easy layup, Maccabi led 70-77 going into the final 3 minutes. Nocioni made one nifty fastbreak basket and then another off a steal by Luis Scola to erase the deficit and pull Tau to within 77-78. Under a minute was left, Maccabi was struggling to hit anything, and Mottola stepped out again and splashed in another shot. It seemed to demoralize Maccabi to lose the lead so late. Udrih went to the line with 11 seconds left, but missed the first of 2 free throws, letting Tau finish it with free throws. ----------------------------------------------------------- Hanno was also selected the MVP of the week 1 of Euroleague. I hope he keeps up the same pace and returns to NBA again for next season - preferably in Hawks uniform Good luck for the Hawks this season. I have a feeling they'll go deep in the playoffs. Finnfan72

Should've known this beforehand. The spanish were again too fast to announce the deal. According To Hanno's brother Matias, who usually represents Hanno in media, there have been negotiations with Tau, but nothing has been signed yet. Hanno himself has stated that he wants to play in a team and league where he can continue his development. He has also said that Atlanta would still be his number one option.

Hiya people! Looks like there's no need to worry about Hanno playing in Hawks uni next year. Here's what telebasket.com reported yesterday: Mottola inks with Tau (Jul 20) - Finnish National Team forward Hanno Mottola who has played last season with Atlanta Hawks, averaging 4.6 ppg. and 2.9 rpg. has signed a two-year contract with the Spanish Champions of Tau Ceramica Vitoria. Hanno has spent his college career at University of Utah and has been selected as second round pick (#40) by Atlanta in the 2000 NBA draft. Of course, I'm disappointed that my countryman leaves the Hawks, but I will still continue to root for the most exciting young team in the NBA From Finland with a Grain of Salt

Oops, I forgot one important thing in my first post: Hello, everyone! I've been reading your great board over a year now and I must say it's the best Hawks board I have come across. Honorable mention goes to RealGM Hawks board which isn't quite as lively as this board when it comes to discussions, but Jaywalker's great articles are prolly the best Hawks coverage you can find anywhere. People here seem intelligent and they know their game of basketball. I look forward to more heated discussions, Diesel's sometimes great and sometimes awful trades, and most of all info about the Hawks. Good job admins! From Finland with a grain of salt

Seems like you don't like Hanno much and there's nothing wrong about it. We all have the right to form our own opinions. BUT saying he's just a 3ppg/2rpg scrub is hardly fair! Last season (2001-02) he averaged 4.8 pts and 3.3 rebs in 16.7 minutes. I admit those numbers are nothing to get excited about but they're not that bad either considering how many 3 or 4 minute games he had. To add some perspective let's see his numbers in the games where he got some decent playing time: When Hanno played 20 minutes or more (in 28 games) he averaged 8.3 pts and 5.4 rebs. Not bad, in my opinion. When he was given 30 or more minutes (in 9 games) he scored 10.9 pts and grabbed 7.2 rebounds. The numbers are quite decent for a second year player who costs the team only about half a million dollars, don't you think? In any case, I think he's far from a 3ppg/2rpg scrub. From Finland with a grain of salt