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lethalweapon3

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lethalweapon3 last won the day on March 20 2022

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  1. The Hawks are taking their sweet time before submitting their Boo-Boo Report. They technically have until 4 PM EST, but we'll see if it populates as of 3:30. The Lakers do get off until Friday, and they'll stay in Tinseltown for the Sixers and the Whoiburton Pacers through the weekend. Their bigger challenges begin on Tuesday, when Milwaukee kicks off a six-game road swing for a Laker club that is just 12-20 in away games, and will have just three home games left, all in April (vs. CLE, MIN, GSW), when this weekend concludes. Los Angeles' last non-STAPLES road Dub came on Valentine's Day in Utah, the last one versus an above-.500 team back on February 3. Far for a Hawks fan to tell it, but 'tis not an ideal scenario for a probable 9/10 seed. ~lw3
  2. “The Doctor will see you now.” Three cheers for Skylar Mays! March Madness Selection Show season can be a bit rough for the former senior point guard at LSU. He returned for his senior season, after the Tigers roared to the Sweet Sixteen, and was looking to lead his team to a consecutive trip to The Big Dance for the first time since 2006. Unfortunately, for them and many others, COVID 2020 happened. But Mays wouldn’t leave his hometown of Baton Rouge, LA empty handed. He earned not just an All-SEC First Team selection, but a degree in kinesiology, his 3.93 GPA and choice of major a big reason he was named that season’s Division I Academic All-America of the Year. After starting out his NBA journey with the Skyhawks and Atlanta Hawks, as a second-round draftee on a two-way contract, Mays spent most of the 2022-23 season plying his current trade in the G-League. He caught on with Portland to close out last season, then had his next two-way deal upgraded by the Blazers in November, after he filled in as an injury-replacement starter and averaged nearly nine assists over six games. Hitting the waiver wire to start this calendar year, the former LSU star now gets to don a different uniform of purple-and-gold. The future doctor went from the franchise that Dr. Jack Ramsay once made insta-champions, to the one whose late owner earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, at Bronny James’ USC, before going on to salvage Southern California’s favorite NBA team. The star-studded Clippers did nothing last night, against the visiting Atlanta Hawks, to loosen the Los Angeles Lakers’ ironclad grip on its superior basketball status around Tinseltown. The Hawks are getting hit with a Schedule Loss x SEGABABA combo in their return to STAPLES Center aka The Crypt tonight (10:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Spectrum SportsNet in That Other LA). But at least Mays’ team didn’t try to pull any shenanigans like an early start time. The Lake Show also has a pair of Questionable, in terms of injury status, superstars to tend to before propping up any NOW SHOWING signs on the marquee. Anthony Davis suffered an abrased cornea early in the Saturday Showcase home loss to Steph Curry’s Warriors. LeBron James has sat out games to deal with ankle peroneal tendinopathy, and the sense that the Lakers might use the next three off-days on top of a DNP tonight to heal up the heel of the league’s all-time scorer is palpable. AD and Bron could add to an injury sheet that includes, relative to Mays, a more-prized former Hawks draftee, Cam Reddish (out, sore ankle, seven appearances and no starts since mid-January), along with frontline mates Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood, and guard Gabe Vincent. The array of absences puts a lot more pressure on defensively deficient guards D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves (team-high 28 points @ ATL on Jan. 30, a 138-122 loss to the Hawks) to carry the day, and on Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes and another ex-Hawks rookie, Taurean Prince, to stay clear of foul trouble. Defensively, the Lakers’ general reluctance to hack opponents (league-low 15.9 personals/game) is perhaps their one saving grace. Defensive tenacity was already at a premium for Los Angeles (120.4 post-All-Star D-Rating and 56.9 post-Break opponent eFG%, each 3rd-worst in NBA, ahead of only WAS and UTA). Post-Trade Deadline waiver-wire pickup Spencer Dinwiddie has yet to make a meaningful imprint, and the organization figures that rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino, touted as a defensive specialist at Draft time, is better suited closing out the season for South Bay in the G-League. So, coach Darvin Ham, would you care for my diagnosis? It seems you’re not getting enough Mays in your rotation diet. Losers of two straight and four of this month’s past seven games, the Lakers will need an infusion of something, and fast, after the loss to current 9-seed Golden State shifted Los Angeles in the NBA West to #10. Because the hottest team in that conference is nipping at their heels. As last night’s resounding 110-93 victory over the Clippers stiffened the Hawks’ arm against the NBA East’s 11-seed (30-37 for ATL, 4.5 games ahead of BRK), the Houston Rockets have won five straight games, now even closer to making the season finale for the Lakers (36-32, 3.5 games ahead of HOU) more abrupt than most anyone planned. Keeping James Harden and the Clippers’ big three reasonably inefficient and off-balance for long stretches in both halves, while catching them all flat-footed in transition repeatedly, coach Quin Snyder’s Hawks were able to rest his most prominent starters for the final 5-to-7 minutes of last night’s game. Jalen Johnson (11 D-Rebs and 3 steals @ LAC) and Dejounte Murray continuing to press for defensive stops and offensive paint pressure early in tonight’s contest, the latter opening up good perimeter looks for Bogi Bogdanovic, Wesley Matthews, and De’Andre Hunter, will be a determining factor as to whether Ham turns to Mays for a vital mid-game house call or, otherwise, for just another garbage-time fun run. How will this Hawks fan be faring by the time Ham’s crucial decision needs to be made? ***Yawn*** Probably not amazzzzing well for this East Coaster. I get it that kinesiology is your thing, Skylar. But, is there a somnologist in the house? Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3
  3. The Bearded One missing Thursday's game at Chicago due to his strained shoulder, as The Athletic's Law Murray noted, snapped a string of 59 consecutive appearances, Harden's longest run since 2017. Kawhi has recovered after leaving last Tuesday's loss at Minnesota due to back spasms, while center Ivica Zubac is back after missing a pair of games last week due to illness. Norman Powell (contused leg), along with Harden, is Questionable for today. Bogi (missed UTA game due to illness) is off the Boo-Boo Report and is Available. Speaking of San Diego, the Clippers plan to keep it classy by moving their G-League side to suburban Oceanside and renaming themselves the San Diego Clippers. No more "Agua Caliente," and I never knew where Ontario, CA was anyway. ~lw3
  4. “Soon to be known as, ‘The House That Lamar Odom Built!’” The Kandi Man couldn’t. The prized rookie, a first-overall pick, was already out of commission, after getting injured the night before in Inglewood, California versus Shaq and Kobe. Also DNP’d due to injury was the franchise face – a second-year player. So it wasn’t a huge surprise when the Atlanta Hawks sailed into The Pond in Anaheim and drowned the LA Clippers in a vat of stifling defense. Atlanta only hit two of seven three-point tries that February evening, took just three more free throws than the hosts, and allowed five more O-Rebs. The Hawks also managed to score just 103 points. Yet they still vice-gripped the Clipper offense into a paltry, even for the time, 74 points. The 29-point-loss was LA’s worst, to that point, of the season. The good news, thanks to the NBA Lockout, was that the delayed 1998-99 season was still young, just 12 games in. Then again, maybe that wasn’t such good news, as this 12th consecutive loss dropped the Clips to 0-12 before a crowd of under 12,000 spectators. Perhaps the lack of attendees paying to watch was a good thing. Then again… “We can’t point to injuries. We have to suck it up and step up,” blurted Clippers head coach Chris Ford to the LA Times. “You have to have a passion for the game and hate to lose.” Previously, the 1988-89 inaugural Miami heat had set the NBA record for consecutive in-season futility, at 17 games, one above the sad-sack Clipper franchise mark of 16 that kicked off 1994-95. The ’99 Clips would go on to tie Miami’s all-time ignominy, with yet another loss at the Lakers’ Forum in Inglewood. It took all they could muster, back home in front of under 8,000 “fans” at Los Angeles’ staid Memorial Sports Coliseum, to keep Vlade Divac’s sad-sack Sacramento from helping them have the losing-streak record all to themselves. In between the 16-game and the 17-game skids, owner Donald Sterling was doing all he could to pressure Los Angelenos into investing in a new basketball palace, for the franchise he brought north from San Diego. The Lakers, and UCLA, moved out of the Memorial Sports Arena way back in the mid-1960s. The Lakers were doing more than just fine in their next residence, at The Forum over by LAX in Inglewood. Comparatively, winning Danny Manning and Danny Ferry in the 1980s Lotteries didn’t improve the Clippers’ fortunes, or turnstile activity, in the 1990s. Neither would dishing off Manning to Atlanta in 1994 for a rental of All-Star legend Dominique Wilkins. Maybe the arena, Sterling thought, was The Problem. The NHL’s new Mighty Ducks of Anaheim had a lovely new indoor venue, The Pond, and Sterling threatened to make a splash by moving his club to The OC in the outer ‘burbs, as co-tenants with the Ducks, before abruptly changing his mind. The LA Kings’ new hockey owners demanded a new arena to pry themselves of the Lakers’ shadow in Inglewood. After contentious affairs, the city obliged, with a new stadium to be built a couple miles north on Figueroa Street from the Clippers’ old Memorial arena. Sterling needed a state-of-the-art arena, too, to make his club look state-of-the-art. But after moving out of San Diego, was he willing to risk his team having to become the Musty Clippers of Anaheim? Eventually, he worked a deal to join the Kings in the forthcoming STAPLES Center. LA! Check. Downtown! Check. Only problem? The Lakers would be heading there, too. The good news was the Clippers’ attendance, 29th out of 29 teams, immediately doubled in the first season at STAPLES. The bad news was the old attendance value was so low, the Clips only moved up one spot, to 28th in the league. At least they had Clipper Darrell still toughing it out, through thick and thin. One quarter century, and a couple weeks, after Deke and Mookie and Smitty made quick work of Lorenzen Wright and friends, Hawks-Clippers games at STAPLES (Crypto.com, if you’re nasty… 9:30 PM Eastern, no, really on Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL this time, KTLA, NBATV everywhere else) come to an end tonight. A LOT has changed for the Clippers in that time. Then again… Up in the rafters, there’s the Kings, with two Stanley Cup-winning banners. Look behind the curtain during Clipper games, and there are the six NBA Championship banners, to tack onto what was the Lakers’ first 11, pre-STAPLES. There are three more title banners, for the WNBA’s Sparks. The Clippers? Well, they’re working on it. Give ‘em a minute, jeez! Nique, for his cup of tea, was inducted into the Clippers’ Hall of Fame in 2006, joining Moses Malone (???), Bob McAdoo and Bill Walton. But no Clipper jersey numbers, aside from Bill Russell’s #6, hang from those rafters in an honorary manner. There will be some future candidates on the floor today, although James Harden (questionable, strained shoulder) may be unable to join Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the court. Key members of the Clippers 2010s era, that brought the franchise hype and relevance as Kobe moved into retirement, will have their unis hoisted one day in Steve Ballmer’s new palace. But the current Clippers caretaker has designs on bringing another rafters ornament with him to open up Inglewood’s new Intuit Dome next fall. Walking out of STAPLES this summer with a trophy the Hawks’ opponents tomorrow have coveted since winning one in the Bubble in 2020 would have Ballmer’s cardiologist on-call for months on end. To do that, of course, will require the upright and productive contributions of Messrs. George, Harden and Leonard at playoff time. Getting Russell Westbrook (Out, fractured hand) back in time is mission-critical as well, though Bones Hyland (career-high 11 assists plus 4 steals @ CHI on March 14) is doing the best he can after finally getting minutes from coach Ty Lue. The chances will heighten even more if the Clips (42-24) can sneak up on either of OKC or Minnesota to secure a Top-3 seed in the Western Conference. As they did, with Harden and Westbrook in tow, in piling up the points on February 5 in Atlanta during their thrilling 149-144 win, the Clippers have feasted mostly on sub-mediocre teams of late, defeating the Bulls twice over the past eight days. Pairs of games versus Portland and short-staffed Philadelphia, ought to help pad the win tally into the 50s, something that has alluded LA since 2017. But splitting the past ten games, including Friday’s 112-104 loss at New Orleans and an 18-point loss at STAPLES versus Minnesota, won’t help achieve the Prime Objective, of walking out of this building as NBA champs. Atlanta (29-37, three straight Ls) could be a pesky stumbling block for the Clips tonight. But that is only if coach Quin Snyder, taking a flyer from Ford, implores his injury-laden troopers to suck it up and step up. Back when they had Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey all starting, the Hawks forced Harden into going Super Saiyan in the clutch to eke out the victory. Atlanta could have hung on for the win with a stronger performance from Jalen Johnson (3-for-14 FGs, team-high 7 rebounds, 5 assists vs. LAC on Feb. 5), whose defensive rebounding and persistent rim pressure in his second game back from an ankle sprain (4-for-15 2FGs, but 26 points in Friday’s 124-122 loss @ UTA) will be key to the Hawks keeping pace for four quarters tonight. Perhaps the Clippers will finally break through at this season’s end, giving Clipper Darrell a reason to lead with his chin when he takes his seat along The Wall of superfans-only at the new arena next fall. Then again… Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3
  5. It takes quite a bit of room to bring Kenneth Lofton into a room. Yet the Jazz used some of their room exception to sign Lofton to a multi-year contract this week. Utah still had enough room (exception) to hand former New Balance intern Darius Bazley a similar contract. Ah, depth. Both are presently on G-League assignment, however. It is no longer Otto Porter that you are looking for, as the NBA vet retired upon getting waived by the Jazz post-trade. Once the Jazz are eliminated-eliminated from the Western Conference Play-In chase, don't be surprised if GM/PBO Danny Ainge gives his old Celtics buddy Isaiah Thomas an end-of-season call-up. IT has been THAT on the Salt Lake City Stars, getting back to his old 30-point scoring self on a nightly basis in the G-League after the 35-year-old inked a deal this month. "I just love this (Dellavedova) too much," said Thomas of his hot pursuit for an NBA roster spot. C'mon you bump-on-a-log GMs out there. Didn't SLAM Mag tell you in their Playoff Preview? "It's Time"! Jalen and Bogi remain Questionable, an encouraging sign in Jalen's case, as of the 5:30 PM Boo-Boo Report update. Taylor Hendricks also remains Questionable with his sprained toe, but there's some optimism that the rookie will be able to give it a go. ~lw3
  6. “Jazz fans! Please give a warm Utah welcome to tonight’s halftime entertainer…” It’s Friday night in the SLC, and that stands for Schedule Loss City! It’s true that the Utah Jazz have only wins, here at Delta Center, versus the Spurs and the Wizards under their belt over the past 37 days. It’s true that the Jazz, like the road-tripping Atlanta Hawks, remain without their franchise player, Lauri Markkanen (contused quad) in their case, while guards Jordan Clarkson (strained groin) and Kris Dunn (rest?) will sit this one out, and rookie starter Taylor Hendricks (sprained toe) remains questionable. It is also true that hell hath no fury like the Hawks’ schedule-maker at NBA HQ. The Jazz (28-37) lacked the offensive firepower to hang for four quarters with the NBA-leading Celtics in SLC on Tuesday, and the defensive chops to keep up with the defending champ Nuggets last Saturday. But despite two off-days preceding the visit from Boston, and a pair of off-days prior to their loss in Denver, coach Will Hardy’s club was granted two more off-days to prep for the Hawks’ arrival ahead of tonight’s game (9:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, KJZZ in SLC, I’m so terribly sorry, all you NBATV viewers out there). Jazz players and staff were able to watch the Hawks gift-wrap a 106-102 victory for Portland, on Wednesday night, then waited for Atlanta to hop a flight headed to the Wasatch Front. Much like Portland, Utah has been fairly lousy in-conference (14-23 vs. NBA West), but half of their win tally this season has come at the expense of teams like the Hawks (14-14 vs. NBA East, despite Atlanta’s 124-97 win back home on Feb. 27). Plus, the Jazz are a respectable 19-13 at home. At least the Hawks (29-36) are none the worse for wear. Bogi Bogdanovic (questionable for today, illness) trudged his way through the Blazers game despite catching a bug, and his pregame status is the same as Jalen Johnson’s (questionable, sprained ankle). As Bogi and a pedestrian De’Andre Hunter weren’t able to provide much help when Dejounte Murray cooled down (40 points vs. POR but 5-for-16 second-half FGs), the Hawks were also dislodged out of the paint with ease (21-8 second-half D-Reb advantage for POR). That’s encouraging news for John Collins, who played nearly 30 minutes versus the Celts only to be out-boarded on his own team by sixth-man Walker Kessler (8 board in under 20 minutes), along with Collin Sexton and fill-in starter Luka Samanic (seven rebounds apiece, the latter in under 15 minutes, while Collins could only muster four). JC and the Jazz will have little trouble controlling the pace, and the game, so long as Capela and the Hawks’ front line are still in a giving mood. Jazz fans have grown encouraged by the offensive spark recently displayed by rookie Keyonte George (4-for-9 on 3FGs in the loss @ ATL), albeit mostly in losing efforts. SB Nation’s Lake Hale over at SLC Dunk noted how George being miscast as a defensive swingman in guard-heavy lineups at Baylor obscured his potential as a primary playmaker. It’s easy to slip into the shadows when Sexton and/or sixth-man Jordan Clarkson are sopping up possessions. But he has since lost weight, and his shots are also rounding into form (28.3 PPG over last 3 full games, incl. 16-for-32 on 3FGs). Keyonte could stand to cut down on his turnovers and fouling, but for a rookie who lacked confidence on his shot in the early going, Jazz fans buy into George thinking he’s got it. George’s emergence is a positive sign for Hardy, who may find himself on a hot seat, anyway, if he is ultimately unable to improve upon Utah’s 37-45 record from last season. The Jazz were well past the halfway point last season at 27-26 before the wheels fell off, and the 6-17 stretch they’re currently on after starting out at 22-20 has been dispiriting, even in a state not all that fond about certain spirits. As for Hardy’s head-coaching predecessor, now manning the visitors’ end of the sideline, in his first visit to the Beehive State since abdicating the Jazz post? Whatever temperature the seat beneath Quin Snyder’s tuchus in Atlanta, know that it comes with a handy-dandy ejector button. “I strongly feel they need a new voice to continue to evolve.” That’s what Snyder told the Utah media when he showed himself the door after 8 NBA seasons. The eighth season started strong, with a 26-9 start through the end of December, just about as stout his seventh year at the helm, when the Jazz’s 52-20 mark was the NBA’s best. But a quick stumble and recovery to land just short of 50 wins, then a six-game ouster in the opening playoff round at the hands of Jalen Brunson and Luka Doncic, as new ownership and management looked on, had Snyder realizing he’s no tuna, waiting around just for the opportunity to get canned. Sorry, Charlie. Things weren’t so different in Columbia, Missouri, back in 2006. Snyder, in his seventh season as a college head coach, assembled his struggling Mizzou Tigers team before practice on a Thursday in early February, assuring them he hadn’t been asked to resign and had no designs on doing so. The sun didn’t go down the next Friday when Coach Quin told his team he planned on catching the next train smoking out of town. Recruiting slip-ups, and increasing competition within the Big 12 conference, were certainly factors hastening his exit. Ultimately, the thought swimming around in Coach Quin’s mind, that the ever-circulating speculation would be too burdensome on his players, including ex-Hawk and Big 12 scoring leader Thomas Gardner, won over. It is notable that the programs Snyder has left behind haven’t fared much better in the ensuing years. Mizzou peaked under Mike Anderson in 2009, winning the Big 12 tourney and reaching the Elite Eight. But they have generally been first- and second-round fodder at best in the half-decade that followed, whether in the Big 12 or the SEC, getting bounced by #15 seeds twice, including last season. While not pleased with the on-court results, Hawks HQ is certainly pleased to have Snyder around. Once a hot commodity in Durham and Los Angeles, Coach Quin is keeping owner Tony Ressler’s dime-dropping cash cow in good spirits, and his affable nature with the media after wins and tough losses alike, veers the microphones well away from management’s direction. But as the Hawks start out looking like an above-average outfit, but grow listless as the nights, versus lotto-clubs like Portland and Utah, and the seasons wear on? Suffice to say it won’t take seven-plus seasons for Snyder to hear voices once more, in his head, that a team he coaches needs a new voice. He certainly won’t wait around for that sentiment to come from a Ressler, or a Fields. Now in a big bubble of 6.0 games behind current 10-seed Golden State, Utah, the NBA club, is back in the situation where they’d be pleased to one day find their team assigned to a postseason tourney of any kind. Until then, they’ll settle for cheering on the Jazz as they scrap and claw for victories, like the game set up for them to win well before the season began. Yes, I’m onto your tricks, NBA HQ schedule-maker. You ain’t SLiCk. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3
  7. First, the big health update that matters most... three cheers to Dave Deckard, longtime writer and managing editor over at SB Nation's Blazers Edge, and his superhero kids! Best wishes to Dave on his recovery. https://www.blazersedge.com/2024/3/7/24093686/dave-deckard-managing-editor-blazers-edge-health-update-what-happened-to-portland-trail-night Far less important, Jerami Grant is Questionable on the Boo-Boo Report due to a strained hammy. Rookie Rayan Rupert (sore ankle) is also Questionable, along with a pair of Two-Ways currently on the Rip City Remix (including 2018 Georgia Mr. Basketball Ashton Hagans) . A third Two-Way, Justin Minaya (Illness) is listed as Probable. Jabari Walker (inflamed hip) joins Brogdon (elbow tendinitis) and Sharpe (ab surgery) among the Outs. Whoever makes it on the floor for the Hawks need to exploit a Portland team that's as cushy in the middle as a Voodoo Doughnut (The Magic is in The Hole!). The Blazers' 58.0 2FG% allowed, like the 49.3 2FG% when they shoot, are both league-worsts. Rookies Toumani Camara (arrived with Ayton in the POR/PHX multi-team deal) and Duop Reath help Ayton create as many extra-chances as possible to keep them in the running. In a 129-125 losing effort during last season's visit to PDX, Murray scored 40 points and added seven assists with no turnovers plus eight rebounds. Back home, DJ followed that up with 41 points (5-for-5 on threes) as Atlanta prevailed in a wire-to-wire 129-111 win. The Hawks look to extend their road-victory string to three games as this 11-day, five-game road stretch kicks off. If you count CDMX as a road game instead of a neutral site, Atlanta last won three consecutive away games back in November. Prior to that, the Hawks won four-straight away from the Farm back in January of last season. ~lw3
  8. “Ahead of today’s Trail Blazers game in Oregon, here is your @EmoryHealthcare report.” The DARP is fully underway! The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation uses the acronym for what it calls its Distressed Asset Recovery Program. I can’t confidently say that folks in Portland perceive Deandre Ayton to be a distressed asset. Yet I do imagine the IFC won’t mind the Trail Blazers sharing the abbreviation, for the NBA team’s Deandre Ayton Reclamation Project. I am being a bit unfair, as usual, to 2018’s top overall draft choice. The man can certainly rebound the ball, if not much more, having averaged double-digit retrievals in each of the seven-footer’s first six pro seasons. Much like teams that feature players capable of compiling double-digit assists with ease, their fans recognize that such singularly prolific skill used to go a long way, back in the day. Nonetheless, there has been what the cool kids these days refer to as a “low vibrational” quality to Ayton’s game, whenever he is deemed healthy enough to contribute to the on-court proceedings. Deandre will sink into the shadows of games when allowed, an easier feat when accomplished teammates the caliber of Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and/or Kevin Durant command so much attention. After observing Ayton’s shrinky-dinks in playoff rounds, versus draftmate Luka Doncic, and even further when directly opposite league MVP Nikola Jokic in last season’s semifinal ouster, his hometown Suns elected to cut bait on their asset before this season could begin, getting in on the Damian Lillard-Jrue Holiday multi-team deal this past September. The good news for Ayton is he landed in an NBA town that has grown used to top picks either not panning out, or at best being flashes in the pan before injuries took their toll. Klay’s dad and Ayton’s fellow Bahamian Mychal Thompson, 1978’s first-overall, went five picks before the Celtics gambled on an Indiana State underclassman in Larry Bird. Before going on to win titles with the Lakers, Thompson at least doubled the playing time of 1974’s top pick, 1977 champion center Bill Walton, over the course of seven solid if unspectacular seasons in Portland. Each worked out better than 1972’s first-overall, LaRue Martin, ever could. Thank goodness for (H)Akeem the Dream in Houston, since Sam Bowie getting taken first-overall, instead of second, could have looked a lot worse for Portland. Remember The Great Durant-Greg Oden Debates in the run-up to the 2007 Draft? Mm-hmm. Based on the franchise’s history, you could understand the wariness around Portland about potentially ruining Wemby with lottery “luck” last summer, and the relief when they had to settle for G-Leaguer Scoot Henderson at #3. The Blazers just seem to fare better when prospects fall to them, like Lillard, Tyrus Thomas (turned LaMarcus Aldridge) and Clyde Drexler, than when they’re tasked with not spoiling the cream of the crop. The pressure is off Ayton in Portland. Or maybe not. Particularly now that he finally seems to be in decent health, the Blazers brass is using the balance of this season, thrown off-kilter from the beginning with the season-ending injury to Robert Williams and the early-season unavailability of mainstay guard Anfernee Simons, to have coach Chauncey Billups take Deandre and get a fire burning under his… asset. There’s no need to become an eye-to-eye rival of Jokic or Doncic anytime soon. But… solid, with occasional hints of spectacular? That’s the end-of-season aim, for Ayton. He missed five games, recently, with a sprained hand. But the recent returns, amid Portland’s six-game homestand that continues with the Atlanta Hawks in town (10 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, ROOT Sports in PDX) have been encouraging. Ayton amassed a season-high of 30 points with the aid of 25 shots from the field, in last Saturday’s win over the Raptors, and his 19 rebounds tied for the most since he grabbed 23 in Toronto way back on Halloween Eve. Billups’ challenge is to encourage his biggest big to perform closer to the basket (per bball-ref, Deandre’s average shot-distance of 8.0 has widened from 7.7 last season in PHX, 7.0 and 5.5 the seasons before) and to use his physicality, such that it is, to draw fouls rather than being averse to getting whistled for them in the paint. Ayton technically is hitting freebies at a career-best 83.0 FT%, but the paltry 1.3 attempts per game makes the sample size too small to matter. Nine of his 19 FGAs, on Monday with the mighty Celtics in town, were from 10 feet or beyond, and opponents are happy to live with him taking those shots, make-or-miss. He went 11-for-19 on those shots, but if I tell you he finished with 22 points, you can figure out just how many free throws he made. He took just as many, two fewer than he did versus Toronto. He nabbed 15 rebounds, six offensive, but was otherwise a man on an island as the Celts stiff-armed his Blazers for the 121-99 win. For all that has ailed them, including injuries to Shaedon Sharpe and Malcolm Brogdon, the Blazers would be halfway decent if they could just play teams like the Hawks from the NBA East. The loss to Boston dropped Portland back to 10-11 against Eastern Conference clubs. Whereas their 8-35 mark within their own conference is the NBA’s worst, San Antonio, Washington and Detroit included. Boston, certainly is a tall order. But probably not an Atlanta team (29-35, 12-9 vs. NBA West) that, like the Blazers, is missing multiple starters, including one more with Saddiq Bey (torn ACL) now out for the season. Games versus and at Atlanta (the latter in two weeks) represent two of the Blazers’ final nine contests versus Eastern opponents. Coming off a 116-103 trouncing at the hands of the hounding Pelicans, Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray (23 points and 11 assists vs. NOP; 6.1 career APG and 47.6 3FG% vs. POR, most vs. any NBA West foe) is a sure shot to impress during his now-annual visit to the Pacific Northwest. The Hawks’ De’Andre reclamation, Mr. Hunter is likely to return to the starting unit after finally cooling down during his recent sixth-man scoring tear (12 points in each of last two games; 17.3 PPG over past 14, on 50.6/45.7/83.3 shooting splits). With four of Atlanta’s top-8 minute-loggers sidelined, Hunter (12 more D-Rebs on the season than Trae Young) will need to boost his ability to aid Clint Capela and Bruno Fernando on the defensive glass and keep Portland’s offense Weird (NBA-worsts of 49.3 team 2FG%, 23.0 team APG, and 6.5 shots blocked per game). More important than victory for Portland, though, is having Ayton learn to play as though he knows he is integral to victory on a nightly basis. Ben Niesen of The Peach Basket concurs, with Yours Truly, in his recent assessment that Deandre remains “Portland’s Most Important Trail Blazer”. With virtually all key players returning next season (and the veteran Brogdon extension-eligible), the tantalizing premise of two ying-yang centers sharing the court, with Williams eventually learning to spread the floor to create driving lanes for the crafty Henderson and Simons, will have to wait until at least next season before it bears fruit. Until such time, around the not-too-eager Beaver State, it’s all about The World According to DARP. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3
  9. Your momma named ya Trey, so you're gonna shoot Treys. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PRESENTING, FROM PEACHES AND HERB... HERB!" ~lw3
  10. I'd have tuned in and wondered why I'm stuck watching Jimmy Hanlin's Swing Clinic. Thanks, Lauren! Lemme go update that TV info. ~lw3
  11. The Hawks were the healthy and halfway-decent team when they surged past the Pels in New Orleans back on November 4, their 123-105 win (70-45 in the second half) delivering Atlanta its fourth-win in a row and bringing both clubs to 4-2 on the season. Ingram was laboring through knee tendinitis while New Orleans was unsure of Naji Marshall's, Trey Murphy's and Jose Alvarado's individual health statuses. Now the sole up-in-the-air Pelican medically is rookie Dyson Daniels (torn meniscus, out at least another week). New Orleans picked up a backup guard, in former St. Bon/Iowa State star Izaiah Brockington, for a ten-day, and he was in Birmingham with E.J. Liddell and a couple two-way guys on G-League duty. The lightly used Cody Zeller bears a face mask but is Available according to the latest available Boo-Boo Report. Nothing new on the Hawks' injury front, although Dejounte's pregame status remains Probable. Atlanta's fourth-quarter allowance of 22.9 PPG is the lowest in The Association since February 25th, as per Hawks' Game Notes. Stretch it back to the All-Star Break, and the 23.1 opponent PPG in final frames is also the lowest. Murray cleared 40 points on Friday while taking, and making, just one freebie, a franchise first. A trio of triples would have Bogi Bogdanovic surpassing Jason Terry for 5th on the Hawks' all-time made-threes list. ~lw3
  12. “Whoops! Thought that Hawks logo was like those cookie joints I see in the food court at the mall. Not even gingerbread, man!” No, but seriously, can we all take the New Orleans Pelicans seriously, now? You’ll forgive my Daylight Savings Time brevity this morning, as the two hottest-streaking teams in the NBA (no… seriously!) face off this evening in Atlanta (6 PM Eastern, CORRECTION! PEACHTREE TV / THE CW ATL and 92.9 FM in ATL, BS NO). We already know the answer when it comes to our dear one-step-forward Hawks. But I have frequently claimed, if you squint real hard at the Pelicans, you can find a Western Conference contender in there. The girth in the paint, in a good way, is there. The all-seasons bucket-getter is there. The perimeter shooters are there. The utility-knife defender is there. The water bug guard off the bench, there. Veteran health? There. The Pels (38-25, 5th in NBA West) are like a jar of Prego. It’s in there! Oh, and there’s room for leading scorer Zion Williamson to sprinkle as much parmesan on top of Old Smoky as he chooses. Okay, seriously, I meant to say spaghetti. Don’t lose that meatball! New Orleans is nestled among the top ten in rebounding percentage at both ends, top ten in efficiency at both ends, top-ten in forcing turnovers, and number-one in perimeter defense (34.4 opponent 3FG%). They’re a spiffy 20-13 in away games, 12-4 since January 31. They are on-pace to be the best team ever in that town’s Pelican Era (ten prior seasons, one playoff-series win), topping the 2017-18 season when DeMarcus Cousins’ untimely midseason injury spoiled their last, best chance to keep Anthony Davis in the vicinity of Bourbon Street. Crescent City only had to suffer through one NBA season before another #1-overall pick landed in their lap. Thighs are no longer sore there, yet five years and 166 appearances later for Williamson, current PBO/GM David Griffin and Willie Green are carefully titrating Zion’s minutes, and appearances. Assuming he is indeed a go today, this run of ten consecutive starts, and counting, is the longest stretch of the season for Zion (22.0 PPG, just ahead of Brandon Ingram’s 21.5; 5.2 APG and 5.6 RPG). He previously hadn’t played beyond seven-straight. Aside from his passing, Williamson’s efficiencies are a solid step below his past two All-Star seasons, those straddling the 2021-22 campaign he had to sit out due to an offseason foot injury. Helping the Pelicans surge to the top of the NBA West early last year, he was named to 2023’s All-Star team despite barely making it past New Year’s Day before getting shut down with a strained hammy. Yet these days, he’s being asked to pinky-swear he’ll show up, in a jersey, for 2025’s Dunk Contest. Barely clearing 30 minutes per contest, the 23-year-old’s playing time is down from the 33 MPG from those prior two seasons. But Williamson seems to have the on-floor assistance he needs, on various fronts, to play exclusively to his strengths and lead the Pelicans as far as he can toward, and through, the postseason. New Orleans needed some timely blocks from Zion (3 blocks, 12 rebounds, 23 points mostly on relentless hot-knife-thru-butter drives to the hoop, 4 assists, 1 TO), and a little help from the refs in the clutch, to avoid blowing a 35-point lead over the hobbled 76ers in Philadelphia. But he has hardly had to lift a finger to aid the Pels in recent blowout victories – a 23-point win at MSG, 27-point payback blowout of the Pacers back home, then a 41-point win over the Raptors in Toronto. The Pels certainly have enough horses in their stable to keep the Hawks (29-34) from collecting its fourth-straight home win at State Farm Arena, plus its season-high-tying fourth-straight W overall following a 99-92 win at Memphis on Friday. Particularly if Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado and New Orleans defenders can tamp down Dejounte Murray (probable, contused calf; career-high-tying 41 points @ MEM) and compel the Hawks to rely on their other remaining scoring threats (and you, too, Saddiq Bey). Are there enough horses, and is there enough stability, for an upright Zion-led squad to knock off the reigning champ Nuggets, the Clippers, or the green Timberwolves and Thunder, and reach the second round? Should they begin to subside out of the West’s Top-6, can Zion’s star shine brightly enough to outduel the All-Star-studded threats that await in the Play-Ins? Shirley, I can be serious! Ramadan Kareem. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3
  13. Aside from Jackson, Memphis' other frontcourt hero in Wednesday's win at Philly was Jake LaRavia, who posted career-bests of 13 rebounds and 3 blocks off the bench. Griz GameNotes cites former Hawks legend Gorgui Dieng, back in 2020, as the last Memphis reserve to post consecutive double-dubs. Drafted-and-traded all the way back in 2001 by Atlanta, it took Pau Gasol almost five seasons before the future HOF'er recorded his first triple-dub. His 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists (plus 4 steals and 3 blocks) helped the Grizzlies thump Coach Bob Weiss' SuperSonics in Seattle on this day back in 2006. Beyond working together briefly under Coach Bud, Jenkins was also an assistant for Snyder's D-League Austin Toros for two seasons. His team has won three-straight over Atlanta, narrowing the Hawks' All-Time head-to-head lead to 32-23. Bogi is 2 points shy of the first 1,000-point campaign of his NBA career, as per Hawks' Game Notes. They may come from a bucket, or they could come at the charity stripe, where his 92.3 FT% is behind only Damian Lillard's 92.7 among NBA'ers. Among the many injuries Memphis is dealing with, I missed out on Kennard (sore knee, like the Questionable G.G. Jackson), who is listed as Doubtful on the Boo-Boo Report. Ziaiare Williams has been Out with a strained hip while two-way Scotty Pippen is Out a bulged disc in his back. Recent two-way pickup Vit Krejci made the trip and is Available for the Hawks. ~lw3
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