Jump to content

lethalweapon3

Moderators
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    18,000

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    268

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by lethalweapon3

  1. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - 76ers

    By lethalweapon3,

    “That was FUN! Say, why don’t we all get together and do this again sometime? What are y'all's names, again?”


    “Who He Play For?” I had a little fun with some associates recently, armed with a list of names from the Clark Atlanta University Panthers men’s hoops team and people who have suited up this season for the Philadelphia 76ers, the opponents for tonight’s alleged NBA game against the Atlanta Hawks (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, CSN Philly). Only the hardest-core NBA aficionados had any earthly idea who was on which team without resorting to hunches. Lorenzo Brown? Derek Harper? Casper Ware? Brandon Davies? Kevin James? James Arnold? James Anderson? Dwayne Bingham? DeWayne Dedmon? Darius Morris? Darius Bonner?

    Of course, as The Rock might advise, it matters not what your name is if you can’t defeat this bunch of NBA jobber jabronis. The Hawks can thank Josh Smith for many things this season, and on Saturday night his Pistons saved the faltering Hawks from the prospect of becoming The Losing Team That Lost to Some Losers to End the Losingest Losing Streak in Recorded Professional Sports History. Brandon Jennings got Pistoff over a call not even against him, and elected to hit up Geno’s early. His teammates went on to absorb a pummeling not seen in the City of Brotherly Shove since the days of ECW Arena, a 123-98 tankerrific thrashing at the hands of the Sixers.

    The Philly Phaithphul aren’t exactly certain whether they want their Sixers to be Jabronis for Jabari, Embarrassing for Embiid, or Winless for Wiggins, but in any case, they see no need for the team to overextend themselves and lessen their lottery-ball fortunes. The team itself though, might disagree. For all its losing efforts since January, Philly still sits two games “in front” of Larry Drew’s Bucks, and a few hard-earned victories won’t endanger switching spots with the Magic, Jazz, or Celtics.

    So, with the monkey ejected from Philly’s back, and the Stephen A. Smiths of the world having skipped town, what’s to keep them from going on a little streak? Good question, particularly against a Hawks team that is unintentionally fumbling away its postseason chances, Mike Woodson’s Knicks nipping at their talons at just one game behind in the Leastern Conference.

    After all, it was Atlanta, behind Mike Scott and ex-Sixer Elton Brand (18 points apiece off the bench in a 125-99 win), that got this whole march to infamy going for Philly way back on January 31. Rather than playing the slumpbuster role again, why wouldn’t Head Coach Brett Brown encourage his youthful Sixers (no player above age 25 on the roster) to exact a spirited measure of payback against his former fellow Spurs assistant?

    During Atlanta’s current slide, we’ve learned that even those Clark Atlanta Panthers could probably give the Hawks a good run without a healthy Kyle Korver (back spams) on the floor. After missing each of the last six Hawks losses, the former 76er practiced today and is considered likely to return to the lineup tonight alongside DeMarre Carroll (tummy virus) who was a scratch in Saturday night’s loss to the Wizards.

    Among the things Brett Brown’s squad has going for them is a breakneck pace where his team is directed to get to the rim (NBA-leading 35.8 restricted-area field goal attempts per game; 56.1 restricted-area FG%, 28th in NBA) and do it quickly (league-leading pace of 102 possessions per 48 minutes).

    The Sixers will also keep the Benny Hill-style back-and-forth going by mastering the art of the steal (NBA-high 9.3 SPG). Led by good-soldier Thaddeus Young (2.2 SPG; 29 points and 5 steals vs. Atlanta on January 31), Philadelphia ranks 3rd in the league with 49.4 points-in-the-paint per game, and fifth in the NBA with 17.4 fast break points. A sloppily-played game on both ends works to Philadelphia's advantage.

    Unfortunately, they have no reliable shooters on the floor (50.4 FG% in-the-paint, last in NBA; 37.2 FG% on mid-range twos, 25th in NBA; 31.0 team 3FG%, last in NBA), and few reliable rebounders to sop up all the missed shots and extend possessions. They're relying on guys like Jarvis Varnado and Davies to help out starter Henry Sims (15.6 PPG, 9.6 RPG last five games) at the 5-spot, with Byron Mullens (ankle) and Arnett Moultrie (munchies) unavailable to chip in tonight. After the team’s February fire sale, the team’s most efficient rebounder is rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams (8.4 RPG, 6.3 APG), not the worst thing in the world given his advantageous 6-foot-6 height, but certainly not a factor conducive to winning basketball.

    To end their slide and make this contest as painless as it should be, Paul Millsap (35.2 FG% and 25.0 3FG% in his last five games) must control the action on the low block and avoid the easy strips from Young. Anytime the Sixers reach, the Hawks guards must be ready to teach. Jeff Teague and former Sixers Lou Williams and Shelvin Mack must take advantage of Philly’s persistent gambles by driving inside and finding the open man for decisive shots.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  2. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - 76ers

    By lethalweapon3,

    "You up for cheesesteaks afterwards?"



    Alright, Philadelphia 76ers. You’re still not doing this right.

    If Philly does not intend to hand their division-rival Knicks the league’s top lottery odds, if they are indeed trying to out-tank the world, then they’re doing a pretty rotten job of showing it on the floor lately. The Sixers (13-49) are expected to keep tonight’s affair with the visiting and NBA-leading Atlanta Hawks (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, CSN Philly) from becoming a “trap game.” A few players may not have received the memo.

    Philadelphia is merely decimal points “behind” New York in the race to the bottom of the league. But both before and after the trade deadline, Brett Brown’s charges are participating in way too many close shaves. Absent DeMarre Carroll, Thabo Sefolosha, and Pero Antić, the Hawks hung on back on January 31 for a 91-85 home win, the last of a historic 19-game win streak, that felt nowhere near as fun as the 105-87 romp Atlanta enjoyed in Philly just three weeks before. Since then, the Sixers beat three floundering teams (Denver, Charlotte, and Washington). And while they’ve dropped eleven games in that span, eight of those involved margins of eleven points or less.

    On Wednesday night, Russell Westbrook walked on his home floor donning a mask, and put up 49 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. And playoff-hungry Oklahoma City needed every last one of those triple-double items just to fend off a visiting Philadelphia team by five points in overtime, a Sixer team that was already missing a “starter” in Robert Covington (elbow contusion).

    Part of the mistake the Thunder made was that they, like the rest of the free world, did not realize that “Jason Richardson, competent basketball player” was still a thing. Acquired back in the summer of 2012 when Philly thought they traded their way into title contention, J-Rich played in just his 39th game in a Sixer uniform, the sixth in the past two seasons, on Wednesday. The 34-year-old scored 29 points (4-for-9 3FGs, 9-for-9 FTs) and added six rebounds against the Thunder.

    Brown has praised Richardson’s stick-to-it-iveness over the past two seasons, never demanding a lifeline out of town while dealing with knee/foot/conditioning issues. Now that J-Rich is finally healthy, Brown is rewarding him with as much garbage floor time as his heart desires.

    Michael Carter-Williams was the face of the franchise, the signal to the Brotherly Love fanbase that good times are just a few more draft picks around the corner. Until he wasn’t. MCW got traded at the deadline to Milwaukee for a top-5-protected 2015 pick (controlled by the Lakers). No worries, Philly fans. LeSean McCoy and the Philadelphia Eagles’ season is right around the corner.

    Slam-dunking second-round steal K.J. McDaniels was sent packing as well, off to Houston for a fifth second-round pick this year. Oh, and Isaiah Canaan, who lit up the Thunder with 31 points on 8-for-13 3FGs (“Canaan-ball!”), plus seven rebounds and six assists. Brown has given Canaan and Richardson carte blanche to make lemonade out of Philadelphia’s NBA-worst offense (92.1 points per 100 possessions; no other NBA team’s rating falls below 98).

    Last night, Philly hosted Utah and held Quin Snyder’s up-and-coming team to 89 points on 38 percent shooting. They forced 18 turnovers that included 13 Sixer steals, 10 combined from Nerlens Noel and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. J-Rich’s tank-a-rific 0-for-10 shooting night and elbow-hampered Covington’s 1-for-8 performance off the bench were the only things that “saved” Philadelphia from victory, the Jazz prevailing by just six points.

    The Sixers may not be helping themselves against the Knicks, but GM Sam Hinkie may have done the Hawks’ brass a solid by screwjobbing another division rival -- blasphemously, if you asked Thomas Robinson.

    After getting traded out of Finals-contending Portland and securing a buyout from down-in-the-dumps Denver, Robinson was praising his maker for securing a new deal with Billy King’s Brooklyn Nets (“All Thanks to GOD! Thank you Brooklyn”). The Deal from the Heavens assumed T-Rob was going to clear waivers, and it was assumed his addition would help the Nets lock down one of the East’s final two playoff spots. But you know what they say about what happens when you assume. Lo and behold, Hinkie swooped in like a thief in… well, Philly at night… and used Robinson’s salary to scooch the Sixers above the NBA’s salary-minimum floor.

    His new teammates were probably less than thrilled to see him arrive, and not for competitive reasons. Whatever the Sixers didn’t pay in minimum salary was all set to go to them. Now that roughly $3 million in bonus dough goes away. Yeah… welcome, Thomas!

    Robinson now gets to spend the balance of the season in Proving People Wrong mode. Yeah, that always ends well. “I’m tired of being treated like a rag doll. I just want to prove that I belong here. I’m tired of being treated like I’ve been treated in this league… Nobody’s given me a chance,” pleaded the 5th overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft.

    T-Rob has been PPW’ing from the bench so far, but perhaps not for much longer. Robinson joined the double-double club with Noel last night, providing 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds in just 15 bench minutes. He will likely form a fronctourt tandem with LRMAM and Noel as the Sixers continue trying to put on a good face.

    Beyond that, when it comes to offense, the Sixers don’t have Ish. Whoa, check that… they do have Jeff Teague’s former collegiate backcourt mate, Ish Smith, coming off the bench. Smith contributed 14 points and 7 assists (one turnover) in 22 bench minutes last night. He was picked up off waivers after the Pelicans released him two weeks ago. Smith makes it four key players on the Sixers roster who were not around the last time the Hawks and Sixers met just over a month ago.

    Noel understands that, with MCW’s departure, he is now the face of the Sixers… until he’s not. The highest-salaried returnee next season is next year’s rookie and perennial Rihanna stalker Joel Embiid. Only Noel, Embiid, the injured Tony Wroten, Covington, and Jerami Grant have guaranteed contracts for 2015-16. Everyone understands that when they put on the Sixers jersey, they’re not playing for Hinkie’s 76ers so much as they are for their next NBA employer. So each player will give it their letter-best for every game, including tonight’s against the league’s best team.

    “Un” fortunately for the 76ers, their “go-for-yours” style of offense won’t lead to much production unless they’re getting runouts in transition (17.4 PPG off TOs, 8th in NBA; Atlanta’s 17.9 PPG ranks 7th). Only Smith, through seven games as a Sixer reserve, exceeds five assists per night. And Hawks’ opponents average an NBA-low 11.0 PPG off fastbreaks.

    Rest and recovery remain important for Mike Budenholzer’s Hawks, especially when dealing with contests on back-to-back nights. 21 teams have at least one player logging more minutes per night than Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver’s 33 MPG. On the hunt for win #50, Atlanta (49-12) will rely on the depth of the roster to hold serve during the Sixers’ biggest runs, preserving the starters ahead of a six-game road trip that begins on Wednesday.

    Mike Scott (7-for-9 FGs), Dennis Schröder (8 assists, 1 TO) had huge offensive roles during the Hawks’ flustering of the Cavaliers last night. Former Sixer Elton Brand and Kent Bazemore also made crucial stops and made things simpler for Al Horford, Jeff Teague and the LeBron-containing Carroll to reserve their energy for the decisive final quarter. These reserves, plus Mike Muscala and John Jenkins, will be useful to keep the Spirit of the 76ers under wraps.

    As was the case last night (10 Hawks steals, just ten TOs), possession control and execution will be crucial, limiting Philadelphia’s chances of staying within a Canaan-ball or two from victory. Atlanta is 23-4 when they limit their turnovers to 12 or fewer. Philly desperately needs the Hawks to help them do tanking right.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  3. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - 76ers

    By lethalweapon3,

    When looking at the lineups at the start of the season, one could not help but glance at the Atlantic Division and make the sobering recognition that, with the cagey Celtics, wisened Knicks, and retooled Nets, that somebody will be settling for fourth place.

    It turns out that role fell to the Philadelphia 76ers, tonight’s opponent for the Atlanta Hawks coming off of a decidedly half-baked road trip. The Sixers are kicking off a three-game road swing through the Southeast, losers of their last ten road games (2-18 in their last 20 away games) and winners of just one of their last ten overall. They offered not much resistance to the Boston Celtics last night in Philly, pressed into shooting just 41% in a 109-101 defeat.

    They rolled the dice and apparently came out craps, shipping off Andre Iguodala, Nikola Vucevic, Mo Harkless, and a future first-rounder in a multi-team deal that netted them a potential star center in Andrew Bynum and veteran Jason Richardson. Bynum, an unrestricted free agent this summer, has not healed after a non-invasive procedure for his bruised right knee and is dealing with swelling in both knees. J-Rich was shut down for the remainder of the season after requiring knee surgery himself.

    In Bynum’s absence, the Sixers are not a terribly physical bunch. Heavily reliant on Spencer Hawes, Lavoy Allen, and Kwame Brown, they’re last in the league for personal fouls drawn per game (16.4 opponent PF/G), and last in free throws made per game (12.1 FTM/G, two places ahead of the Hawks’ 13.7). More minutes will be allocated to 6’11” rookie Arnett Moultrie, who scored ten points on all five field goal attempts versus Boston. While he has not drawn trips to the line himself lately, he shot 78% on free throws at Mississippi State, fifth-highest among NCAA centers last year. Over the last four games, he made all 12 of his field goals.

    After the West Coast road trip, Senor Al Horford has edged ahead of Sir Charles Barkley for 20th all-time in career field-goal percentage (54.1%, 5th among active NBA players). He’s shooting 63% since the All-Star break (54.1% before the break) and has averaged 24.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in those eight games. With limited resistance from the Sixers in the post, he and the Hawks’ frontcourt players need to take the ball to the hole repeatedly, and outrun their opponents on the fastbreak.

    Akin to Woodsonian Hawks teams of the recent past, the Sixers depend heavily on ball control (12.6 TO/G, 2nd-fewest in NBA), a plodding pace (21st in NBA), and modest defensive efficiency (105 opponent points per 100 possessions, 12th in NBA) to keep themselves in games when they lack offensive firepower (92.1 PPG, 29th in NBA). Nick Young, another offseason acquisition, sprained an ankle last week and will remain out of action indefinitely. Dorell Wright comes off the bench looking to approximate production lost with Richardson and Young unavailable. Jeremy Pargo lit up Atlanta back in November with the Cavs, and is available if more offensive punch is needed.

    To sustain a defensive focus in the backcourt, Royal Ivey (yes, that Royal Ivey) has been starting lately at the 2-spot. He has actually improved at the offensive end, with career highs of 46.0 FG% and 44.3 3FG%, although he’s far from a primary option. The Hawks’ shooters at the wing will be closely guarded by third-year guard-forward Evan Turner, who has yet to really turn the corner. The former second-overall pick averages career highs of 14.1 PPG, 36.4 3FG%, and 4.5 APG, but with a boost in minutes his overall efficiency has not been quite what was expected of him. Damien Wilkins will also be deployed to frustrate any dribble-driving Hawks, including Devin Harris, who missed out on Atlanta's 99-80 loss in Philadelphia on December 21, but will start tonight with DeShawn Stevenson at small forward.

    One silver lining in this deep-sixed Sixers season is the long-predicted emergence of Jrue Holiday (19.1 PPG) as a top-flight point guard. STATS LLC reports that the 2013 All-Star’s per-game assist total (8.5 APG, 3rd among active NBA players, up from 4.5 in 2011-12) represents the league’s largest jump in that category. That this is happening without Bynum or other previously expected offensive contributors at his disposal is an impressive feat. Holiday also leads the NBA in turnovers (4.0 per game), but with the Sixers turning over the ball so little as a team, that only serves to show, in contrast to the Hawks, how ball-dominant the point guard role is for Philly’s offense. When he gives up the ball, it is important for Atlanta defenders to deny him from getting the ball back, forcing other decision makers late in the shot clock.

    Another emerging player is former Yellow Jacket Thaddeus Young (career-high 14.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.7 SPG, and 0.9 BPG). Young may not get consideration for Most Improved Player in the league this year as his free-throw shooting is down sharply (55.5 FT%, down from 77.1% in 2011-12). However, his turnover rate (7.4 pert 100 possessions) is among the five lowest in the league. Despite becoming the second-best offensive option in Philly, his usage rate is surprisingly down from previous seasons. Expect that to change as the regular season draws to a close.

    New Hawk acquisition Shelvin Mack had a cup of tea with the Sixers about a month ago, playing just seven minutes in four games. He was invited back to the Wizards after getting waived in training camp, actually starting in his first two games, but was dropped in a squeeze play once John Wall was prepared to return. A fairly stable passer and energetic defender, Mack will have time to work on his wayward jumpshot and conditioning behind Jeff Teague and Devin Harris.

    Sixers Coach Doug Collins has that Larry Brown look about him. Buoyed by the prospects of The ‘Drew and Jrue Show, Collins signed a contract in October extending his services through 2013-14. But with the chips not falling and the season unraveling, Collins seems to be at wit’s end and looking for the nearest exit out of the City of Brotherly Shove.

    The 76ers sit in the ninth-place position, ten games behind the Hawks with 23 games to go, with Toronto and Detroit nipping at their heels. Any opportunity the Hawks allow Philadelphia to pull off a victory at Philips Arena tonight would greatly disappoint paying fans and serve merely as a granted stay for the Sixers’ eventual execution.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  4. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - 76ers

    By lethalweapon3,

    “So, where we going next? I wanna find out where they hid the crack in the Liberty Bell!”



    “Help me… help you.”

    There ought to be a lot of quid pro quo going on tonight at the Highlight Factory. On the second night of a back-to-back for both teams, the Atlanta Hawks will seek their third win of the season over the Philadelphia 76ers (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth in ATL, The Comcast Network in PHI). The Sixers know the Hawks want to pad their NBA-leading 39-8 record, while the Hawks know the Sixers want to… umm… work up a good sweat and get out of town. Both teams want these events to transpire as swiftly and painlessly as possible.

    Make no mistake: this week is already a win for the Sixers. On Wednesday, they took advantage of a Jennings-less Detroit Pistons team and stuck it to Stan Van Gundy, who lambasted the franchise as “embarrassing” back when he was under-employed last year. “If you’re putting that roster on the floor,” the Master of Panic surmised, “you’re doing everything you can possibly do to try to lose.”

    And, indeed, the 76ers are. But a person who plans to return to the NBA’s coaching ranks need not call them out on it in public. So once the Pistons rolled into town, Brett Brown’s charges did everything they could possibly do to try to beat the warmup pants off of Van Gundy’s team. Philadelphia prevailed 89-69 as they held everyone aside from Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko to 11-for-54 shooting.

    With Philly (10-37, one game “ahead” of the Knicks) playing against a team that had a virtual vacuum at the point (D.J. Augustin, who sucked better than most vacuums by shooting 0-for-7 with four assists), head coach Brett Brown couldn’t be any more pleased with how Michael Carter-Williams (14 points, 10 assists, five TOs) performed against Detroit. “Michael was a point guard tonight,” crowed Brown, who could reasonably have gotten away with definite-article usage if he wanted. “His presence on the court and the size, when he gets a small guard in his pocket, that’s a special quality for a young point guard.”

    Last night, the Sixers reached triple digits for the first time in 23 games, topping the worst NBA team (for the moment, at least), the Minnesota Timberwolves, at home 103-94. The win ensured the Sixers would not finish with a record as bad as the infamous 9-73ers of 1972-73. Again playing a team without its top point guard, Carter-Williams contributed a triple-double (17 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) to the victory, tying Rajon Rondo in that department with three on the season.

    Led by Nerlens Noel (7-for-8 FGs, six blocks, four steals), the Sixers’ better-than-you-think defense (102.6 D-Rating, 13th in NBA; #1 in SPG, #3 in BPG) clamped down on the Wolves after giving up 59 points in the opening half.

    20 points against the Hawks on 8-for-13 FGs and four assists (five TOs), as MCW produced on January 13, doesn’t look too bad in a vacuum, until one realizes (a) somebody has to score, and (b) Jeff Teague got the night off. Teague, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll cheered from the bench as Dennis Schröder (13 points, 6 assists) held his own and Shelvin Mack (12 points, 10 assists) helped with the tag team of Carter-Williams. Meanwhile, Al Horford collected the first triple-double (21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) of his NBA career, as there was no Sixer (rookie Nerlens Noel included) able to match up with Al’s unique skill set.

    The Sixers (89.7 PPG) are still the lowest-scoring team in the Association, and their leading scorer, Tony Wroten tore an ACL against the Hawks on January 13. After Carter-Williams and November pickup Robert Covington (4-for-11 3FGs last night, team-high 19 points vs. Detroit), the Sixers’ third-leading active scorer is Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (career-high 9.7 PPG and 28.3 minutes per game).

    In a move that would soothe Billy Knight, undrafted 6-foot-9 rookie forward JaKarr Sampson is getting a boost in minutes in the starting shooting guard role to replace Wroten. Brown is bringing the plyometric K.J. McDaniels off the bench in hopes it will produce better defensive balance.

    Small forward Jerami Grant is an occasional firecracker off the bench. He scored nine fourth-quarter points against the Hawks to keep the January meeting from becoming a laugher. The son of ex-NBA baller Harvey Grant, it was Jerami, not Noel, who blocked eight shots in a strategic home loss to the Knicks last week.

    No one understands it’s a game of runs better than Larry Drew II, the point guard currently interning with the Sixers on a 10-day contract. While he’ll remain a reserve, Drew (3.6 APG) got his first NBA start against the Pelicans this past Monday and is hoping to play well enough to stick around.

    As a key to “entertanking,” the Sixers scramble to create turnovers (17.8 opponent TO ratio, 3rd in NBA), so much so that they leave the barn door open (71.6 D-Reb%, lowest in NBA). While the Hawks are used to seeking the optimal shot, they’ll do just fine seeking the first good shot and relying on Millsap (21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals vs. POR) to crash the offensive boards. The high-paced Sixers thrive on points off turnovers (15.0 PPG, 6th in NBA) and fastbreak points (17.7 PPG, 8th in NBA), so Atlanta will want to keep halfcourt plays simple and get back on defense to minimize Philly’s runouts.

    During the 18-game streak, the Hawks average 27.1 APG (2nd only to Golden State’s 30.2), and Philadelphia is 1-30 (the sole win against the Wolves last night) when their opponent gets 24 assists or more. Nine field goals per quarter will suffice for Atlanta, who’s averaging 38.8 per game during the winning streak. The Sixers are 0-30 when they allow more than 35 field goals in a game.

    Kent Bazemore (17 points, 7-for-14 FGs, 3-for-6 3FGs, 5 defensive rebounds at PHI on Jan. 13) ran out from the tunnel after a quick bathroom break to fill in for Thabo Sefolosha, who in turn was filling in for Carroll before quickly straining a calf muscle. Bazed God provided a crucial 40 minutes (12 points, 5-for-6 FGs, two steals one block, and boundless energy) of productive basketball last night to help push the Hawks ahead of Portland for good, and it may be too much to ask for him to replicate his earlier performance against the Sixers tonight.

    To relieve Bazemore, Mike Scott (4-for-5 3FGs in 14 minutes vs. POR Friday) and Pero Antić (present) need to get their offense going early and often for the Hawks to deep-six the Sixers early, and Dennis Schröder (7 assists in 24 minutes on Friday) must make smart drives to the hoop, and minimize turnovers and iso-ball. In the second half, it may be one of Mike Muscala, John Jenkins, or rookie Adreian Payne who helps to wrap this game up.

    The 76ers will certainly understand if the Hawks try to build up a nice cushion early, and rely heavily on reserves late. After all, we’re doing this for their own good.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  5. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - 76ers

    By lethalweapon3,

    Another Road Warrior Hawk.



    Along the path to their first (and last) NBA Championship, the St. Louis Hawks pulled off eight-straight wins away from their nest over a 21-day stretch in December 1957 (including “neutral site” games). The run concluded with a victory in Dallas over a Minneapolis Lakers team that featured Erik Spoelstra’s father, before the Hawks lost a few days later by just two points... in Philadelphia. Is past prologue?

    Away from home 57 years later, the Atlanta Hawks have been flying high for awhile, victors of their last eight road games. But the Eastern Conference leaders will have to endure an East Coast road-trip that spans four games over six nights before returning home for the MLK Day Game. This trip will include a pair of “trap games”, beginning tonight with the Philadelphia 76ers (7:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, CSN Philly). The fire-sale Boston Celtics awaits the Hawks’ arrival tomorrow night.

    The Hawks always seem to catch the 76ers (7-29) just as Philly’s starting to smell itself a bit. The Hawks had to slow the Sixers’ roll back on December 10, as Philadelphia was coming off its first two wins of the season over the course of its previous three games, with three days rest in between. Now the Sixers host the Hawks with two days’ rest after pulling off three wins in their last four games, all thrilling (for them, at least) victories within the closing seconds of each game.

    A Tony Wroten jumper with ten seconds remaining did in the LeBron-less, Kyrie-less, lifeless Cavaliers a week ago. Then the Sixers pulled off wins on back-to-back nights for the first time in over a year. Nerlens Noel dunked a game-clincher on the Nyets with three seconds to go in Brooklyn last Friday, and the next night the Sixers hung on for the final ten seconds to prevail after Michael Carter-Williams made a layup. None of those opponents have played remotely as well as Atlanta lately, but if it comes down to the final minutes, the Sixers will damn the torpedoes and ditch the tank job.

    Outside of San Antonio, there is perhaps no NBA coach who better understands what Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer is trying to put together than Philadelphia head coach and former Spurs assistant Brett Brown. He was given the chance to become The Man Who’s Sitting Next to the Man when Coach Bud flew the Spurs’ coaching coop for Atlanta. Instead, Brown accepted Sam Hinkie’s offer to manage a reclamation project in the City of Brotherly Shove. His charges have the “pace” part down (99.1 possessions per-48, 4th-highest pace in the NBA), but don’t have the talent (90.6 PPG, 29.9 3FG% and 41.1 FG%, last in NBA) necessary to adequately “space” the floor. Brown’s affable demeanor takes some of the media heat off of him as he coaches up a team designed to fail, but a few wins every now and then help him instill confidence in the Philly Phaithful.

    Sixer games are an intentional slopfest, a lot of wild back-and-forth with occasional highlight-reel-quality play from their up-and-coming stars. In Atlanta, the 2-19 Sixers never held a lead but played the Hawks as close to the vest as possible and for a full half. Then Philly repeatedly pulled within ten points before the Hawks could pull away in the final quarter for the most headache-inducing 16-point win of the year.

    Between the 5:30 mark in the third quarter and 8:45 in the fourth, the lurching Hawks made just one field goal, half of the Sixers’ two in that stretch. The teams totaled three field goals in the opening and closing minutes of the first three quarters and the start of the fourth. Opponents’ sense of disbelief that they’re not blowing out the JaKarr Sampsons of the world by halftime adversely affects their play, working to the 76ers’ competitive advantage.

    The Spirit of ’76 might not be so high without the boisterous efforts of one of their biggest followers – namely, rookie K.J. McDaniels’ mother. Shawn Chapman-McDaniels comes to Sixer games to cheer on her son’s team as loudly as possible. Check that… to cheer on her son as loudly as possible, to the extent where she’s audibly booing and screaming from the sidelines whenever her jumping-jack of a kid isn’t receiving passes from teammates. Booing in Philadelphia is like “y’all” in Atlanta, so the Alabama native fits right in, but she traveled to an Orlando game and was nearly escorted out.

    Chapman-McDaniels was not let in on the Sixers’ ulterior motives, and eventually let her feelings be known in no uncertain terms on Twitter, earning her quite the following. K.J., his teammates, and the McDaniels clan has “suspended” Mom from Twitter, even betting her money, until she can prove she can bite her tongue for a full week. Yet her unwavering “attytood” has become not a distracting spectacle but a team-bonding effect on Philly’s sideline. If she’s at tonight’s game, you’ll know.

    While showing some sense of a pulse on the court, the Sixers have been quite the busy beavers in their front office since falling in Atlanta back in December. Their leading scorer from that contest, Alexey Shved (13 points off the bench)? He’s been Shvedded, off to Houston for Ronny Turiaf (who was also discarded), some 33-year old Eurostiff (ce n’est pas tu, Ronny!) who will never see an NBA floor without a press pass, and a future second-round pick.

    Brandon Davies was also sent packing, to Brooklyn, in exchange for Jorge Gutierrez (they dumped him, too), Andrei Kirilenko and (in a small nod by the Nets’ Billy King to the Hawks’ front office) a swap-rights option for second-rounders in 2020. Brett Brown’s post-trade coffee klatch with Andrei apparently didn’t go as smoothly as planned: Kirilenko refuses to report to the team, while Philadelphia has suspended him without pay.

    Malcolm Lee was picked up a week before the Hawks game, played for a couple minutes, and was promptly dropped like he wasn’t hot the next day. Ronald Roberts was yo-yo’ed before finally getting waived to make room for a young Turkish import, forward Furkan Aldemir. His mom, it’s believed, does not wish to be known as “Mother Furkan”.

    That 33-year-old Eurostiff whose name isn’t worth finding out? He was shipped to the Clips for cash and our old friends Cenk Akyol (you remember Cenk, don’t you? He earned us some pocket change and a nice meal with Antawn Jamison at last year’s trade deadline!) and Jared Cunningham. Didn’t know Cunningham was with the Sixers? No worries: they cut him loose, too.

    Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie’s credo is probably, “The Trick is Not Minding.” The net results of his presto-change-o magic? Aldemir, straight cash, minor picks, and the right to slide all up in AK-47’s DMs. None of that pseudo-player movement, though, has impacted the 76ers’ near-respectable 7-12 run after an 0-17 start to the season. The Sixers’ recent winning ways have also happened without Hollis Thompson, who was starting at 2-guard but returns tonight after missing almost a month with a respiratory infection.

    Philadelphia collected a season-high 12 swats against Indiana on Saturday, and the Hawks got rejected a team-high 10 times by the Sixers in December. Philly depends on the windmill-length arms of Noel, Carter-Williams and McDaniels to make stops, and on their collective youthful energy to beat teams down the floor for fastbreak points (15.0 per game, 2nd in East behind tomorrow’s opponent, Boston). The 76ers’ 17.9 PPG off turnovers is right behind Atlanta’s 18.1 (2nd in East), so protecting the rock and bigs getting back on defense will be paramount for Atlanta.

    Better movement away from the ball and distracting cuts to the basket should help Atlanta open up shooters around the perimeter. Kyle Korver was dogged by Sixer wings in December but still ended the day 5-for-7 from three-point country, matching Paul Millsap’s team-high 17 points. Pero Antić (3-for-5 3FGs on Sunday) had no pressure launching shots against the Wizards, but he will have to be decisive tonight as won’t be given time for his patented jumpfakes against Noel.

    Dennis Schröder (2-for-3 3FGs) was immensely confident at the close of Sunday’s big win over the Wizards, but could not walk away from 2-for-11 shooting inside the arc. If they can get defenders at their backs on drives, Schröder (2-for-9 FGs vs. Philly in December) and Shelvin Mack could have big offensive outings to offset Philly’s MCW and Wroten. Jeff Teague, Millsap, and DeMarre Carroll will all be resting tonight, allowing Schröder, Thabo Sefolosha and Mike Muscala (whose contract for the rest of the season was fully guaranteed last week) ample time to shine in the starting lineup.

    The Hawks will also want to improve on the 69.2 FT% (on just 13 attempts) they shot in December versus Philly. Solid free throw shooting by the Hawks was a key difference between the satisfying conclusions in the Memphis (82.6 team FT%) and Washington (83.3%) games and the hang-on-to-your-hat finish in Detroit (66.7 team FT%) last week. Even with a slimmer lineup, the Hawks won’t want their chance for an unprecedented ninth-straight road win to turn into a nail-biter.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  6. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - 76ers

    By lethalweapon3,

    (REMINDER: NO LOCAL TV again tonight! 92.9 FM might be available online if they fix their feed)
    Alright, Sixers. Stop playin’. No, really, I mean it!

    The Philadelphia 76ers are 5-4 and ballin’ outta control, perhaps beyond the control of their own management at this point. They’re fighting for victories up until the final buzzer as if, no, they’d rather not pair up Andrew Wiggins with Nerlens Noel in 2014. No tanks!

    My theory still holds that they’re gonna pull a Bobcats. Get everyone all in a lather over how well they’re doing in November, get up above their nadir of 9-73, then let the bottom fall out. To get to Magic Number 10, though, they’ll want to pull off their second win in three road games tonight, at the Highlight Factory (7:30 PM Eastern, CSN Philly, 92.9 FM Local Radio). Their sole road loss was a double-OT defeat versus Kyrie’s Cavs.

    Whether my theory holds water or not, Brett Brown is in town having proven Mike Budenholzer wasn’t the only head coaching prize from the Spurs’ sagacious stable. Brown was a former star for Rick Pitino at Boston U. who was recruited out of Australian-league coaching by the Spurs. He became the Spurs player development director before moving up to assistant coach in 2007 alongside lead assistant Bud.

    Brown admits being taken aback by how well his troops have maintained composure and succeeded despite low-expectations. He’s instilled a free-wheeling offensive gameplan without a whole lot of set plays – 101.8 possessions per 48 minutes, 2nd highest pace in the league right now. One could argue opponents won’t know what’s coming because the Sixers themselves don’t know either. Despite an average efficiency, the pace is high enough that Philadelphia is averaging a pretty wild 105.8 PPG, a far cry from the dead-last per-game scoring ranks from 2012-13 (93.2 PPG).

    The latest stone-cold stunner was the Philly’s 123-117 defusing of the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Granted, the Rockets did not have James Harden at their disposal. But the Sixers managed to pull it off without an emerging star of their own, rookie point guard sensation Michael Carter-Williams, who made his grand entrance with a dousing of the world champion HEAT in his career debut.

    This win was highlighted by a game-saving three-pointer by James Anderson, for three of his career-high 36 points. Yes, the same James Anderson cut by the Hawks in Preseason 2012 after shooting just 23.8% in limited action. If he goes off again tonight, you’re likely to hear that fact again. Hobbled by a bruised foot, MCW will be watching tonight’s game from the sidelines, as well.

    The Sixers are unbowed despite going into every game relatively shorthanded. In addition to Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel is out indefinitely, and Jason Richardson may be done for good, after each had knee surgery. Reserve power forward Arnett Moultrie won’t be seen until at least January due to his ankle injury. Probably not to the team’s detriment in any way, Kwame Brown remains out with a persistent hamstring issue.

    Right now, every one of the team’s ten remaining players are getting action, even Brandon “The BYU Code Breaker” Davies, Darius Morris, Hollis Thompson, and Daniel Orton. Having played into overtime twice already, the starters are being pushed to playing 35-to-40 minutes a night, and as long as they’re playing with a chance to win, nobody seems to mind.

    Evan Turner, offensive star! Yeah, you read that right. We’re so accustomed to young players coming into the league with busted jumpers that leave the very same way, that it’s eye-opening when the occasional player works hard enough to transform himself into a reliable threat. He still lacks three-point range (16.7 3FG%), yet he is nailing two-pointers from ten feet out at a respectable 47.5% clip, up from 40.9% last season. Turner has averaged 20+ points in each of the last five Sixer games, and is the first Sixer to go 18+ in seven consecutive games since A.I. (the one that just retired) ruled the roost.

    Spencer Hawes is one of several 76er players not trying to get the memo. The nephew to former Hawk Steve Hawes has opposing bigs crying uncle, rejuvenating his career to the tune of 16 points and 10.6 rebounds per game this season, while shooting 52.3 FG%, all career highs by a mile. In overtime versus Houston, he managed a crucial putback tip dunk over the shoulder of Dwight Howard, largely because D12 kept forgetting Hawes could play. Hawes isn’t staying out by the perimeter and shying away from the offensive glass anymore.

    Murder… he Wroten! Carter-Williams isn’t the only Sixer who was magnificent in his NBA starter debut. In the upending of the Rockets, Tony Wroten (18 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) filled in for MCW and became the first player to mess around and record a triple double in his first NBA start, since… maybe ever? Elias Sports Bureau began tracking the NBA in 1970-71 and they can’t find another instance (the Big O, maybe?). Despite Jeremy Lin’s 34 points, Wroten and Anderson ran Houston’s backcourt ragged, and they’ll try to do the same against Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver tonight.

    Former Yellow Jacket Thaddeus Young is still trying to get the hang of things in Brett Brown’s breakneck offense. While he has had a pair of 29-point games, he’s shooting below 50% for the first time in four seasons, and rebounds, steals, and blocks are down thus far, while turnovers are up. Perhaps playing more small forward, Young has gone back to taking occasional three-pointers after having abandoned that shot in the past three years.

    Young will seem like a momentary relief for Paul Millsap, after having to try and clamp down on Carmelo Anthony on Wednesday night. Before he has to deal with Melo again tomorrow night at MSG, he should be able to use his considerable girth advantage to wear down Young in the paint. Largely due to unsteady minutes, Millsap’s usage dropped precipitously in the past two games versus New York and Charlotte, totaling a combined 15 points and 11 rebounds on 5-for-16 shooting, after averaging 24 PPG and 10.7 PPG (58.7 FG%) in the prior 3 Hawk contests.

    To get back above a double-double average for the season, Teague (9.9 APG, 8 assists vs. NYK) should be looking for Millsap early and often, along with a cutting Al Horford. Al is finding his way to the rim with decent regularity, ranking second only to Andre Drummond among Eastern Conference players with 12 dunks on the season. The Hawks' Big 3 need to build an advantage at the line, as the Sixers do not draw a lot of fouls themselves (16.2 fouls drawn, last in NBA).

    Milk cartons all around Atlanta have Dennis Schröder’s face on them, asking that if you’ve seen the rookie’s offensive spark to please contact Philips Arena security. His minutes continue to get constricted as he has been erratically throwing shots and passes around trying to see what sticks. After committing four sloppy turnovers in less than nine minutes against the Knicks, until Schröder can steady himself, look to see if Shelvin Mack gets the majority of reserve minutes behind Teague.

    Eighteen months ago, during the Sixers’ fortunate run to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semis, their starting center was not Hawes, who played power forward, but one Mr. Elton Brand. The 34-year old has been deployed sparingly by Budenholzer thus far for defensive purposes, with just one appearance in the last 4 games. It will be interesting to see if he’ll get into the mix against one of his former teams and also provide a change-of-pace in Saturday’s road game at MSG.

    Another Sixer on that magical carpet-ride through Chicago and (almost) Boston back in May 2012? Lou Williams, who will be available to play after ten months of healing that awful ACL injury. What kind of a game-changer he’ll be over the course of the season for the Hawks offense will be fun to discover. For tonight, don’t expect more than a cameo appearance or two, as he just started full-contact drills with the team this week.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  7. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - 76ers

    By lethalweapon3,

    Whoa, hope that’s not Hanno Möttölä’s kid! How about we not invite him to the game today?


    It’s time to play, once again! “Who… He… Play For?”

    Drew Gordon. Orlando Coleman. Yonel Brown. JaKarr Sampson. Malcolm Lee. Damien Wilson. Robert Covington. Jordan Jones. Jerami Grant. Nigel Pruitt. Henry Sims. Brandon Davies. Kendrick Ray. Hollis Thompson. Delbert Love.

    Which of these cats are on the roster of the Philadelphia 76ers (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth -- “WELCOME BACK, BOB AND NIQUE!” -- CSN Philly), today’s visitors to the Highlight Factory… and which ones hoop for the Fightin’ Owls of Kennesaw State?

    Discerning Shinola from the other stuff is tougher. Hopefully, in the same amount of time it takes you to figure it out, the Atlanta Hawks (14-6) will have dispatched any notion that the Sixers might match the 3-7 Owls in basketball victories tonight.

    Brett Brown and Mike Budenholzer flew the San Antonio Spurs’ coaching coop for head NBA jobs following the 2013 NBA Finals. Both second-year coaches are earning praise throughout the league, albeit for vastly different seasons.

    Budenholzer has been building cohesion, competitiveness, and confidence on a 14-6 team that’s just one game out from the top of the Eastern Conference and seeking their eighth-straight win for the first time since Lenny Wilkens’ crew rattled off 11 victories to kickstart the 1997-98 season (one player on the losing end of Atlanta’s 11th win back in 1997, with the Wizards? Hawks assistant coach Darvin Ham).

    Building off a combination of decent rest periods and disappointing competition, the Hawks are not only #1 in the Eastern Conference shooting the basketball (47.5 FG%; top seven scorers shooting above 45%), they’re also up to Top-5 in the East for making stops (44.8 opponent FG%, 11th lowest in NBA, 4th in NBA East; 34.0 3FG%, 9th lowest in NBA, 2nd in NBA East; 14.9 opponent TOs/game, 8th most in NBA, 4th in NBA East; 99.0 opponent PPG, 11th lowest in NBA, 5th in NBA East). With differing sets of players stepping up to lead the way on any given night, Coach Bud’s patented “I Just Watched 2 Girls 1 Cup Face” appears on the sideline only when his Hawks’ 20-plus-point leads get chopped in half.

    Meanwhile, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ has been the best way to depict the frank but affable Brown, who is totally down with the struggle in the City of Brotherly Shove. He’s helping ensure his 2-18 Sixers’ intentional ineptitude endures, by taking the motley crew around Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams and running them absolutely ragged. Philly runs at the third-highest pace (97.4 possessions per-48) in the league, which would be fine if they had enough talent who knew what to do with the ball once they beat their opponents down the floor.

    The Sixers rank dead-last in three-point accuracy (29.9 3FG%) and free-throw accuracy (66.4 FT%), while also committing a league-high 17.4 turnovers per game. Euroleague star Dario Saric is another season away (at least) while Furkan Aldemir is getting wooed to come over from Turkey and get the "Furkan A!" jokes rolling. Would-be rookie center Joel Embiid is chasing Rihanna while long-injured vet Jason Richardson is chasing relevancy. You'd have better success running a vegan sandwich shop across the street from Pat's and Geno's. Yet Brown remains pragmatic, with a smile, satisfied with taking whatever highlights and victories (moral or otherwise) he can squeeze out of this bunch on the road to the next lottery.

    Carter-Williams isn’t here to hear about which of the above players might or might not beat Kent State, never mind Kentucky. Rather than hearing about tanking for 82 games, the NBA’s biggest Ellen DeGeneres fan would much rather you notice his improvement as a passer. He’s up to 5th in the NBA with a 42.1 assist percentage. Behind MCW and Tony Wroten (doubtful with a knee sprain), the team that ranks last in scoring (92.0 PPG) leads the NBA with 21.4 PPG on drives. Jeff Teague and the Hawk defenders must keep MCW in front of them and compel him to shoot the ball, a matter he’d also rather not talk about (27.5 FG% on jumpers; 23.9% beyond 10 feet).

    Brown has been trying to make-do without a backup lead guard while Wroten and Alexey Shved were out with injuries. He spelled MCW recently with 6-foot-9 forward JaKarr Sampson, a move which proved to be disastrous (or, if you’re smelling what the Sixers are cooking, delightful). Shved will give it a go after missing the last three games with a hip flexor. He did put up 18 and 19 points on the Mavs and Spurs in his last two appearances, but he may have trouble keeping up with the Hawk guards on the other end.

    Teams that are similarly sloppy will find Philadelphia in their rear-view mirror. The scrappy Sixers steal the ball a league-high 10.2 times per game and produce an NBA-high 17.5 turnovers per contest, leading to 18.9 PPG off turnovers (3rd most in NBA). Assuming Wroten (1.9 SPG) is a no-go, the Sixers will try to funnel opposing ballhandlers toward the lengthy arms of Noel, one of just 12 active NBA players (including Atlanta’s Paul Millsap) averaging at least one block and one steal. Noel will be a great test for Jeff Teague, Dennis Schröder and Shelvin Mack, who all need to make effective decisions in the paint while trying to get around MCW and the Sixer guards.

    There’s a strong likelihood that a Sixer will win Rookie of the Year in back-to-back seasons, following MCW… and I’m not just talking about Noel. Also in the one-block, one-steal club is swingman K.J. McDaniels (1.5 BPG), the second-rounder who passed up Philly’s standard-issue four-year contract (last two years unguaranteed) for a one-year deal. That makes the Clemson product a restricted free agent this summer, and he’s doing all he can to up his value, one highlight-reel block and dunk at a time. McDaniels had to send a poor lady some flowers after a violent preseason shot rejection ricocheted off her noggin in the stands – no word on whether she could actually smell the gardenias.

    Brown, in turn, won’t let McDaniels sniff the starting lineup, sticking with “the program” by going with Hollis Thompson (38.4 FG%) and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (39.6 FG%, 23.9 3FG%) instead. If K.J. does get an early call, he’ll lay off of fellow Birmingham native DeMarre Carroll and try to use his athleticism and defensive aptitude to keep ex-Sixer Kyle Korver from going off.

    Philly’s three-point defense hasn’t been too bad (34.1 3FG%), but it’s the interior that has been a sieve (51.6 FG%) as Noel gets spread out too thin covering for his frontcourt teammates. Paul Millsap struggled on Monday against the Pacers but should have a field day working in tandem with Al Horford (season-high 25 points vs. Indiana; 6-for-6 FTs!). With Mike Scott under the weather and out-of-action, Atlanta can use an offensive spark from any of Mack, Thabo Sefolosha (4-for-7 FGs vs. Indiana on Monday), Mike Muscala and ex-Sixer Elton Brand.

    Philly’s feeling froggy after getting their two wins (over Minnesota and Detroit) in their past three games. Plus, they come into this game rested up after a three-day layoff. Since spotting Boston a 42-30 lead five games ago, Atlanta has outscored opponents by an average of 25.75-18.75, and another early pounce should be enough to dampen the Spirit of ’76.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  8. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Blazers

    By lethalweapon3,

    "'No days off. Or No playoffs.' Okay, that's one bar..."

    The Portland Trail Blazers are in Atlanta to take on our half-baked Hawks (7:30 PM, SportSouth, CSN Northwest), and looking forward to being the latest team to stop their own three-game slide.

    Portland has dropped eight of their last 11 games, the last seven without All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge (back contusion). During their trek across the Dirty South, they got throttled in Charlotte by 30 points, and on Monday got sunk by the lumbering Miami HEAT in the closing seconds on a LeBron layup. Then on Tuesday, they lost on the road to a Magic team that had previously lost nine in a row.

    As a result, the Blazers (45-27) have gone from a playoff lock and possible 4-seed to an unwilling participant in the game of Western Conference Musical Chairs. As it stands, they’re two games ahead of Dallas for the 9th seed, Golden State, Memphis, and Phoenix wedged in between. But when the music stops…?

    You’ll hear no cries from the Blazers fans to see their team tank, because their would-be draft pick (Top-12 protected) will go to Charlotte if they fail to get into the playoffs. Either way, Blazers and ex-Hawks Head Coach Terry Stotts is all but assured of a new contract this summer, given the way this team has transformed under his watch.

    Portland will be thrilled to have Aldridge return tonight, but they will likely limit his minutes and bring him along slowly as he’s still dealing with some soreness. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and perhaps the most endeared Blazer to Portland fans is second-year center Joel Freeland, who sprained his MCL a month-and-a-half ago and has yet to return. Aldridge’s and Freeland’s absences further thinned their defensively-deficient frontline, causing them to rely more on Thomas Robinson and Meyers Leonard than they would like. There’s also a report that guard Mo Williams will try to go tonight despite a sore knee.

    As for the Hawks? Well…

    Pero Antić had a very Hawksian moment went he tripped over a coach after sinking one of the rare three-pointers in last night’s debacle in Minnesota (7-for-28 team 3FG), tweaking his ankle. Perhaps the hoops gods were trying to tell Antić (1-for-4 3FGs in 16 minutes last night, 4-for-22 his last five games) something about his shot selection of late. His status remains a cloudy gametime decision for tonight, along with Kyle Korver.

    It appears that without Korver screenin’ outta control and providing some measure of defensive help along the way, Head Coach Mike Budenholzer runs completely out of tricks to pull by the second half of games during Atlanta’s latest swoon. Atlanta’s opponents have rung up 60.5 PPG in second halves of the last four games, fire-roasting the Hawks by an average of 14.7 second-half points in the last three.

    The beatings will continue if they intend to play the way they did up in Rip City three weeks ago, the 102-78 game that concluded Korver’s (previous) legendary Threak. Atlanta shot a season-low 33.3 FG% and an Antician 4-for-27 on the night from three-point range, as the team had to rely on Cartier Martin to provide the garbage-time offense. Portland hardly needed Aldridge (1-for-13 FGs) to show up at all.

    Without Korver to chase around and Antić at least ineffective from the perimeter if he plays at all, Nicolas Batum (career-high 18 defensive rebounds on March 5) and Wesley Matthews will find themselves freed up to expend more energy on the offensive end. Matthews in particular wants an opportunity to fix his broken jumper. Since the All-Star Break, Matthews is shooting 39.6 FG% and 35.7 3FG%, down significantly from 45.9 FG% and 41.0 3FG% pre-Break.

    Jeff Teague did his best Claude Rains impersonation in Minnesota (0-for-5 FGs and no FTs in 19 minutes), and the Hawks’ so-called “lead” guards largely left it to teammates to get the offense going. The result was a brutal 25 turnovers (2nd most this season, most in a game since mid-December), 17 by Minnesota steals. Against a soft Timberwolves interior, the Hawks failed to get shots inside (eight attempts within 5 feet in the second-half). When the Wolves started taking their offense outside (9-for-18 3FGs in the second half, after 0-for-4 in the first), the Hawks tried to keep up and only went 2-for-14.

    To keep doing the same thing over and over again (#3BallThursday!)and getting the same result, they can try avoiding the defensively-limited Robin Lopez and the hobbled Aldridge in the paint, and just hang out on the perimeter like Daft Punk hoping to get lucky. In part due to defensive pressure at the wing spots, Blazer foes shoot the fewest three-point attempts (18.0 3FGA per game), but take the most two-pointers (69.7 2FGAs per game), while Portland is the only NBA team stealing the ball less than six times per game (5.5 SPG). Stotts’ gang would love nothing more than to compete with Atlanta in a contested-three battle and scoop up all the rebounds from missed shots (NBA-high 46.3 RPG).

    Teague should be nothing if not well-rested after getting a short hook last night, and should be better able to attack the basket and set up Paul Millsap and Mike Scott around the rim. On defense, Aldridge will be quite satisfied settling for his signature mid-range jumper, so Millsap has to properly defend that shot (no fouling!) and depend on his teammates to box out and secure rebounds.

    Meanwhile, Teague cannot afford to have Damian Lillard dictate the pace of the action the way Ricky Rubio (10 assists, 2 turnovers, 6 steals) was able to last night. Lillard is not a pass-first pass-last PG like Rubio, but his Blazers are 11-2 when he manages at least 8 assists. You do want Lillard to play hero-ball and settle for shots at the end of the clock, as he has averaged 20.8 PPG but shot just 33.9 FG% and 20.9 3FG% in the past six games. Don’t bail out Lillard with trips to the free throw line.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  9. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bobcats

    By lethalweapon3,

    “We need to do everything we can to keep him.”

    Sorry, Kemba Walker, not you. Sit down, Gerald Henderson. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist? Ha ha ha, you make me laugh!

    And stop looking over your shoulder, Josh McRoberts…. because Michael Jordan is talking about you.
    Now, when I say “Franchise,” you say “McBob!” “Franchise!” **crickets**

    “The success of the team is McRoberts and how he can connect the dots,” said Jordan. “Hopefully he doesn’t opt out of his contract. We need to do everything we can to keep him. “

    To be fair to His Errness, the Charlotte Bobcats owner has made many moves and declarations over the years more likely to beget a Not Sure If Serious Face than even this. You can go all the way back to Kwame Brown if you want to, or just stop at Adam Morrison. Think fast: can you name Jordan’s choice for head coach last season, AND cite where he is now? Exactly.

    Hitching the near-term success of the 3-3 Bobcats, tonight’s Atlanta Hawks opponent (7:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSportsCarolinas), onto the guy currently averaging 7.3 PPG and 3.7 RPG on 38.5 FG%, might be construed to a casual observer as tanking with faint praise. But the Bobcats, tanking, you say? Char-lotto? How dare you.

    “I don’t know if some teams have thought of that. That’s not something that we would do. I don’t believe in that,” uttered MJ, likely with a similar air as when Whitney Houston would insist, “I don’t do crack.” But he adds this…

    “If that was my intention I never would have paid Al Jefferson $13 million a year.”

    Perhaps. Grabbing the mega-rebounding Jefferson was indeed a big get, as big a deal as anything Charlotte could have expected this summer. At Time Warner Cable Arena, he’ll get an opportunity to face-off with two of his fellow free agent ex-Jazz teammates, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, as he returns from an ankle bone bruise he suffered in the Bobcats’ season opener.

    The one way Jefferson helps the Bobcats immensely is by shoring up defensive rebounding. Dependent last season on the likes of Byron Mullens and DeSagana Diop, Charlotte as a team finished next-to-last in defensive rebounding rate, while Al Jefferson finished 11th in that stat among returning players. He’ll be a boon for the young Bismack Biyombo (6th in NBA defensive rebounding rate). The Cats didn’t cough up too many furballs last season (13.1 turnovers, 3rd fewest in NBA), and Jefferson’s goof-free game fits in quite well (7.3 TOs per 100 possessions, 3rd fewest among active NBA players).
    Jefferson and Charlotte will try its best to protect the rock against the ball-hawks of Atlanta, who have posted the league’s second-most steals per game (10.5) while committing the second-fewest personal fouls (17.8 per game).

    The Bobcats are playing at a grindingly-slow pace (28th in NBA), and it seems as though there is a lot of wasted time on the clock when the team is averaging just 90.3 PPG (29th in NBA, albeit mostly without Jefferson available). Five of Charlotte’s top seven scorers are shooting under 40% so far this season. One exception is NBA sophomore forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (56.3 FG%), who is playing in a better comfort zone than in his erratic rookie year. The other exception is Ramon Sessions, who is just a shade above the 40% shooting mark. The reserve guard ranks 6th in the league in usage percentage (tied with Kyrie Irving!) and is getting almost half of his points from the free throw line, ranked 9th in attempts (tied with Blake Griffin! And Monta Ellis!). Sessions is seeking any potential path to the basket and calling his own number with a crazy level of frequency.

    Leading scorer and lead guard Walker (5.0 assists per game, down from 5.7 last season), who likes to drive without kicking much, has to do a better job setting up his teammates earlier in the shot clock, especially since their offense is so predictable. MJ’s dot-connector guy McRoberts is second on the team in assists, but needs to help to use his size to help create some extra possessions. Jordan does hope McRoberts' pass-first pass-second game rubs off on lotto pick Cody Zeller (5.2 PPG) in some way.

    Jeff Teague has so far found little resistance getting shots inside, either. He leads all NBA guards with 4.7 field goal attempts in the paint (outside of the restricted area), 0.6 more than Chris Paul. Teague’s fellow Deacon alum is also the only NBA player currently averaging more assists per game than Teague (9.8 APG), who heads the NBA’s best passing team (28.3 APG) right now. When the Bobcats don’t have to stay home on Kyle Korver, watch for Henderson and MKG to help disrupt the Hawk offense anytime Teague blows by Walker or Sessions.

    There will be a mini-reunion of sorts for a pair of ex-Hawks. Anthony Tolliver went from three-point specialist in the 2013 playoffs to veteran reserve in the Queen City. Tied for tops on the team in threes made per game, look for him to try and exploit Atlanta’s continued shortcomings along the perimeter. Jannero Pargo had an interesting spin with the Hawks last winter, but he’s been used sparingly thus far. Expect him on the floor only if Walker or Sessions run into foul trouble.

    As they say in Nashville, the Commodores were never the same after Lionel Richie left, and the same can probably be said about the departures of Atlanta’s John Jenkins and Charlotte’s Jeffery Taylor. If may be tough for Johnny Cash to watch Taylor, shooting just 34.0 FG%, 19.0 3FG%, and 52.4 FT%, appear in every game and average 23 minutes a game for the Bobcats, while he gets to wear his shooting shirt from the bench as the Hawks reform his defensive game. It will be interesting to see if and how Jenkins gets deployed tonight, especially if he has to hold Sessions or Henderson in check.

    A heart-stopping finish tonight is hopefully not in the cards, either for the Hawks or for Bobcats Head Coach Steve Clifford. Clifford will get a standing ovation tonight at the Cable Box as he returns after experiencing chest pains on Thursday night and undergoing a heart procedure.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  10. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bobcats

    By lethalweapon3,

    He goes hard in the... yeah, you know. "Cover the Earth!"


    Surely you remember that hapless kid, back in the day, who was a pushover patsy in the sandlot and a boundless source for extra lunch money? What’s that? “Sounds like a personal problem,” you say? Fine then, never mind.

    But you do recall those Charlotte Bobcats, don’t you? The ones formerly led by Meddling Michael in the player personnel office? The guys that took Sean May and Adam Morrison in the lottery? The team that finally clawed their way into the playoffs, then promptly undertook a fire sale the next season? The team that drafted Tobias Harris, then traded him, and their leading scorer, for Bismack Biyombo? The franchise that spectacularly tanked their way to the worst record in NBA history… and got Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for their troubles?

    No matter how wretched the Hawks got during the Al Horford Era, they could always count on their ne’er-do-well cousins up I-85 to know their role as Atlanta’s underlings and play it well. That’s especially been true in recent years, as the Cats have lost eleven straight to the Hawks over the past three seasons.

    Well, I hope you’ve had your fun, Hawks. Because, those Bad News Bobcats? Well, they’ve been drinking milk, and getting stronger! They’ve been like Cam Newton’s scheming young protégé, just loosening up their arms this whole time. And take a look at them now, all big and strong (strong as you are, for whatever that’s worth) and clinging to their first playoff spot in ages as if it were some voluptuous senior prom queen. Hercules! Hercules!

    Much like Atlanta, Charlotte (41-39) has slipped up just once in their past six games. While Charlotte gets a completely new makeover next season, re-clad in purple-and-teal as the Hornets, the Bobcats are eager to validate their evolution out of longtime-laughingstock status with a victory tonight at the Highlight Factory (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth in ATL, FoxSports South in CLT).

    The Hawks (37-43) almost got served their homecourt comeuppance back on December 28, before Pero Antić heard his inner Mister Miyagi and sunk his only shot of the game, a one-legged corner three with seconds remaining in regulation. Ten straight free throws from Lou Williams in the extra frame sealed the deal and kept Charlotte winless in Atlanta ever since Stephen Jackson’s buzzer-beater back in February 2011. On St. Patty’s Day in Carolina, a paltry 31 second-half points doomed the Bobcats’ chances at ending the streak, as there was no defensive answer for Paul Millsap (28 points, 12-for-20 shooting).

    A win tonight would not only grant the Cats their second winning season in their ten seasons of existence, it might earn them a more advantageous playoff position in the first-round. Washington is one game ahead of them in the standings with two games to play. If the 2-seed and 3-seed spots hold up, the 6-seed would face an inexperienced Toronto Raptors squad, leaving the 7-seed to deal with the defending NBA champion Miami HEAT. The Bobcats own the tiebreaker with the Wizards, if it comes to that.

    Atlanta, meanwhile, has nothing of significance associated with a victory tonight, save for a petty chance to remind the Bobcats once more who the older brother is in this division, while possibly dooming them to a tougher first-round matchup. The Hawks are the sole Eastern Conference team that knows its exact playoff seed, waiting to see how Miami and the Pacers shake out.
    Accordingly, Head Coach Mike Budenholzer intends to grant Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, and DeMarre Carroll some well-earned rest on the pine. Don’t be surprised to see other vets like starters Jeff Teague, Lou Williams, and Antić to get a short hook as well, along with Twyman-Stokes nominee Elton Brand later in the game.

    At the outset, this game will likely feature two candidates for Conference Player of the Week. Teague (20.3 PPG, 5.8 APG, 1.5 TO/G, 50.9 FG%, 91.8 FT% last four games) will go up against the improving Kemba Walker (likely to play despite missing some action last week with a groin strain). Teague (35.2 assist percentage, 2nd in NBA East), whose assertiveness arrived just in time for the Hawks to beat three top-seeded teams in the past eight days, may be one of the few candidates to keep Al Jefferson (27.0 PPG, 13.3 RPG last three games) from winning his third Conference Player award in the past five weeks. (UPDATE: Oh, lookie there! Way to go, Jeffrey DeMarco! Make sure Lil' Bro gets to touch the trophy.)

    With few top-line forwards in the game for Atlanta, look for attempts at big games from Josh McRoberts and Gerald Henderson, both of whom have been wildly inconsistent. Ex-Hawk Anthony Tolliver (41.7 3FG%, 13th in NBA) may be rediscovering his long-range shooting stroke (11.7 PPG, 10-for-17 on threes last three games) after an awful month of March. Kidd-Gilchrist remains an offensive threat only insofar as when he gets angles to the rim (25.3 FG% away from the rim).

    Although Teague will start, Dennis Schröder and Shelvin Mack will get ample opportunities to continue keeping Walker (28.6 FG% in last 3 games vs. Atlanta, including 7-for-35 on 2FGs) under wraps. SMack remains a decent ballhandling option (1.3 TOs per game in March/April), but his poor shot selection (36.7 FG%, 30.6 3FG% since March; 0-for-6 vs. Miami) and inability to draw trips to the line (1.0 FTAs per game, 95.0 FT%) have lately resulted in de facto wasted possessions for the Hawks.

    German Chocolate will be the likely offering from Budenholzer in the second half. Schröder rested against Miami and contributed four dimes in 12 productive minutes versus Brooklyn. Clifford would like to counter with veteran trade-deadline acquisition Luke Ridnour. The force hasn’t been with this Luke in quite some time, and Schröder can make hay for his team by persistently beating Ridnour off the dribble.

    George is possibly the only surnamed “Jefferson” that has taken more adversaries to the cleaners than Al, who is about as sure-handed an offensive talent as the league has to offer. “El Jefe” has stepped up his veteran leadership for rookie Head Coach Steve Clifford, ranking 5th in the NBA in total field goals and 7th in rebounds per game while steadily improving his offensive output (26.5 PPG in April, up from 15.8 in October/November).

    The Other Big Al (with apologies to Mr. Harrington) joins All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge as the only NBA players ranked in the top ten for usage (29.4%, 6th in NBA) and turnover percentage (7.6%, 7th lowest in NBA). He has proven himself an ideal fit for a franchise trademarked by wayward shooting and reckless ballhandling in seasons past, elements now corralled under Clifford’s low-paced (94.9 possessions per-48, 10th lowest in NBA), low-risk system.

    Not known for his defensive acumen, Jefferson’s career-high 8.6 defensive RPG has him enjoying his career-lowest defensive rating on a team that ranks sixth in the league (101.3 opponent points per 100 possessions). While his former frontcourt mate Millsap received All-Star accolades, look for some All-NBA Third Team votes coming Jefferson’s way.

    The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month as well, Jefferson is an ideal late-season matchup for starter Mike Scott tonight, specifically when Clifford goes big and plays Jefferson at the 4-spot. Scott gives up some 30 pounds to Jefferson, but secured some tough rebounds amidst the trees against Miami, in perhaps his most effective outing in the two months since his jumpshooting accuracy went south (20-for-42 on 3FGs in February, 10-for-55 in March/April). For the truly desperate viewers, rookie second-rounder Mike Muscala against last year’s #4-overall pick Cody Zeller (and/or Biyombo) should be fun to watch.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  11. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bobcats

    By lethalweapon3,

    "What? Who... me, on a .500 team? That's a stretch."


    Remember those Charlotte Bobcats? Those guys that were pushovers, that tanked their way into the worst single-season record in NBA history just two seasons ago? The team loaded with draft picks that never quite seem to pull it together, and a dumpster fire of veteran castaways? The team always got in its own way trying to play defense? The team that could only beat the Hawks only once in a blue moon?

    Yeah, forget all you remember, because these aren’t those same Bobcats.

    The 2009-10 Cats were going through the motions until they caught fire in March, going 16-7 to end the season above .500 (44-38) and earning the franchise’s sole playoff bid. Then His Errness got a hold of the roster, and Charlotte hasn’t been the same since the dismantling began.

    Finally, MJ turned over decision-making control to management, and it is finally paying dividends. The Bobcats have won six of their last seven, and have an opportunity to reach the .500 mark for the first time since Larry Brown looked like he would finally put down the Help Wanted ads.

    Coming into tonight’s action (7:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth in ATL, FoxSportsSouth in the Carolinas), the Atlanta Hawks have pulled off 11 consecutive victories over their once-hapless cousins in the Southeast Division. It won’t be easy to secure number 12, especially given the playoff implications (several teams want that #6 seed), and the red-hot play of the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Charlotte’s Al Jefferson.

    In vanquishing the Nuggets, Bucks, Wolves, and T’Wolves, Jefferson averaged 24.3 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 1.3 BPG. He’s the reliable, low-turnover workhorse Charlotte expected when they signed the free agent this past summer, plus he’s committing to playing better team defense for rookie Head Coach Steve Clifford, allowing a career-low 101.8 points per 100 possessions on the floor. Charlotte’s 77.2 defensive rebounding percentage leads the league.

    Without Elton Brand moving him off the low block, Jefferson can have a field day against an Atlanta team that was outrebounded by Denver 54-38 on Saturday and hasn’t recorded double-digit offensive boards in the last four games. His 24 points and 23 rebounds back in December had the Hawks on the ropes until they were saved by Pero Antić’s Captain Morganesque three-pointer.

    He’s joined in enhanced commitment to full court play by another Player of the Week award winner, point guard Kemba Walker, who won the hardware at the end of February when the Cats ran off four straight wins. Much like John Wall, Walker (7.6 APG post-All-Star-break) came into the league with much fanfare. Now in his third season, he would like to achieve the accolades that come with being in the upper pantheon of star point guards.

    Kemba’s got some better options backing him up with Luke Ridnour and Gary Neal, the latter averaging 18.7 PPG off the bench in his last three games. Neal has to feel liberated after leaving the Spurs for a free agent payday in Milwaukee, only to watch the Bucks crumble around him. He and Ridnour were granted a lifeline (traded for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adreian), and now get a chance to help a dormant franchise reach the postseason.

    Charlotte doesn’t turn the ball over much anymore, but they don’t create many transition opportunities either (6.2 SPG, 29th in NBA; 11.9 opponent TO/game, last in NBA). Jeff Teague and Shelvin Mack should have little problem with dribble-penetration (watch out for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, though) while Paul Millsap should find ample opportunities to work his way around McRoberts and Jefferson. There is little need to sit back and settle for three-pointers against a Bobcats team waiting to sponge up all the misses.

    The stumbling, bumbling Cats of years’ past aren’t around anymore. Thanks to Jefferson’s game and Walker’s improving ball-control, Charlotte’s 13.0 turnovers per game are the 3rd fewest in the league. So defensive rebounding will be critical, as will closing out on shooters like our old friend Anthony Tolliver (41.0 3FG%) and glue-guy Josh McRoberts, as well as drivers like Walker and Gerald Henderson.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  12. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bobcats

    By lethalweapon3,

    You know how, sometimes, you have to deal with an itchy tag? One of those labels that digs into you and chafes your hide, an uncomfortable label that you just want to rip off and toss into a shredder somewhere?

    Michael Jordan knows just how you feel. Lately, when he hasn’t been pitching tagless underclothes on TV, his endeavor has been to ditch the label of a clueless, overbearing NBA owner. All reports are, so far, it’s starting to pay off. He made the right call to quickly return the Hornets name to Charlotte, tonight’s opponent hosted by the Atlanta Hawks (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Carolinas), and his Bobcats team unveiled teal-and-purple Hornet logos and jerseys for 2014-15 that were a rare and unqualified critical success.

    MJ’s also looking less like His Errness after allowing for a sensible selection for their head coaching vacancy. Longtime NBA assistant and Van Gundies disciple Steve Clifford has succeeded thus far in building a sustainable 14-16 record (2.5 games behind 16-13 Atlanta) built heavily on slowing the game down for the Cats (92.3 possessions per 48, 24th in NBA for pace). Clifford knows Charlotte can’t score in bunches (99.2 points per 100 possessions, 29th in NBA), but if their opponents don’t have the ball, they can’t score either (100.5 opponent points per 100 possessions, 2nd best in NBA). He is trying to shed the label of a long-dormant franchise with teams that might start strong but will eventually collapse due to frail defensive effort.

    Charlotte’s big free agency acquisition is beginning to pay off as well. Al Jefferson has upped his scoring and rebounding output in December, averaging 17.2 PPG and 10.8 RPG this month. Jefferson’s averaging roughly 19-and-10 both in road contests (just 14.1 PPG when he plays at home) and in games following one or fewer days’ rest, which is the case one night after the Bobcats dropped a close one, 89-85, to Oklahoma City last night.

    Jefferson will be licking his mutton chops over the prospect of running the Philips Arena floor without Al Horford bawsing him around. Back on November 11, Horford, who’s out for the foreseeable future with a new pec tear, dropped a game-leading 24 points on 9-for-15 field goal shooting as the Hawks blew past the Cats in the second half to win 103-94. Jefferson could only muster 10 points (5-for-11 FGs) and has been upstaged by Horford during the second half of the past couple matchups.

    The only Al on the hardwood tonight, Jefferson will face off at center against Elton Brand instead. Until now, the 34-year old Brand has not been called upon to do much on offense besides clean up on the glass, but he has provided stout defensive presence and leadership in short stints on the floor. His defensive rebounding (27.8 DReb%, 8.8 per 36 minutes) and shotblocking (6.1 Block%, 2.9 per 36 minutes) are at the highest marks, efficiency-wise, in his 15-year career. What remains to be seen is how much additional floor-time he can sustain, especially at the pace Coach Mike Budenholzer desires, and how effective Pero Antić and Gustavo Ayón can be in a supporting role.

    Bobcat lottery yung’uns Bismack Biyombo and Cody Zeller could use more impactful floor time, so to make room, look for Clifford to seek a bulk advantage upfront by shifting Jefferson to power forward during the game, spelling Josh McRoberts (13 points, 7 assists, 3 3FGs, 6 rebounds vs. OKC on Friday). That probably won’t happen while Jefferson’s former Jazz teammate Paul Millsap shares the floor. Millsap will have a more vital role in the screen-roll schemes with Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver, the latter going for a Threak of 99 games tonight.

    Say hello to starting small forward Anthony Tolliver! The Tolly Follies became a necessity as the Bobcats lost their two most impactful defenders on the wing, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (fractured hand, out 1-3 more weeks) and Jeff Taylor (season-ending Achilles rupture). The former Hawk can still pop the occasional three-pointer (6-for-9 in the past two games), and that’s about it. Yet, since The Man from Kickapoo was given the starting spot and a boost in minutes in the weeks following MKG’s injury, the Bobcats have won four of their six games.

    Clifford has tried the mini-Me three-guard lineup of Kemba Walker, Ramon Sessions and Ben Gordon on occasion, but that group struggles defensively along the perimeter, so look for free agent pickup Chris Douglas-Roberts to log minutes at the three. CDR and Gerald Henderson will be on Korver Patrol throughout the game.

    Budenholzer’s Bunch is still expected to score in bunches, even with their leading scorer unavailable. To achieve their 12th 100+ point scoring effort in 13 games. Coach Bud will be relying on Jeff Teague (20.8 PPG and 11.0 APG last 5 games), Shelvin Mack and Lou Williams to keep the tempo of the ballgame high and render Charlotte’s driving guard threats negligible. The hero of that wild double-OT victory over the Cavaliers, Teague will need to have the same pebble-snatching effect on Walker, with defensive pressure, that he had at a crucial moment in overtime against Kyrie Irving. With a strong weekend of back-to-back games against the division-rival Cats and Magic, Teague could be looking at a Player of the Week honor on Monday.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  13. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bobcats

    By lethalweapon3,

    These are trying times on Trade Street, as the Charlotte Bobcats (10-31) are coming to understand their lot in life. They’ve won just three of their past 29 NBA contests and are fighting off the awakening Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers for dead last in the NBA.

    Complacency may be setting in for a team that, thanks to its fast start, has already surpassed the worst record in NBA history from the previous season. Now, though, they have a new futility record to fend off.

    Since starting out 5-2 at Time Warner Cable Arena, culminating in a one-point win against Toronto on November 21, the Cats fell 101-91 to the Atlanta Hawks two nights later. Two months have passed and they still haven’t won a single home game since. A loss tonight to the Hawks, winners of seven straight in this series, will move these Bobcats within three games of tying the all-time longest NBA home losing streak of 19 games, set by Jim Jackson’s 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks.

    They’re hoping for a lifeline from the Hawks, who enjoyed their largest margin of victory of the season (113-90) in the last meeting with the Bobcats in Atlanta on December 13.

    Charlotte’s scoring differential of -8.3 PPG is easily the worst in the league. Nonetheless, they’ve managed to keep their margins of defeat within 10 points for six of their last nine losses. They’ve also given up less than their NBA-high 103.2 opponent PPG in each of their last seven games.

    All the losing hasn’t seemed to hamper the sophomore campaign of Kemba Walker. The 6’1” guard is starting to find his scoring touch, shooting 50.8 FG% in his last four games, and has a slim turnover rate (8.95 TOs per 100 possessions) that’s bested among starting point guards only by Chris Paul and Jose Calderon. Like Kyrie Irving, surely his assist rate would be higher if he had some reliable shooters and finishers around him.

    Low turnover rates among the guards (Reggie Williams, Jeff Taylor, Ramon Sessions, and Gerald Henderson have even lower rates than Walker) and a high volume of free throws (19.7 free throws made per game, 2nd most in NBA) keep the Cats within purring distance even when their shots are off, which is often (42.4 FG%, 27th in NBA). Sessions and Ben Gordon come off the bench, but are the next two highest scorers after Walker. Sessions is scoring a career-high 14.3 PPG, and leads all qualified Eastern Conference guards in free throws made per game (4.8 FTM/G). The Hawks will want to minimize the hacking, as Charlotte is still 5-1 when they draw 27 or more personal fouls.

    Walker achieved a career-high 35 points on Monday with 6-of-7 three-point shooting against Jeremy Lin and the Rockets. Charlotte surged to an 11-point halftime lead in that game, but could not hang on as James Harden took control with 21 trips to the free throw line, sinking 19 of those shots.

    Charlotte’s fourth-leading scorer is a guard, too (Henderson). The guards are taking charge because there’s not much help coming from the frontcourt. The Bobcats are among the top five shooting teams volume-wise in the league at-the-rim, but because they rely on guards more than bigs, they convert at a woeful 57.7% (lowest at-rim FG% in NBA). Tyrus Thomas is earning a team-high $26 million over this and the next two seasons, but is deployed sparingly. Byron Mullens has of course been unreliable as a steady post presence, but it doesn’t help that he’s sidelined with an ankle sprain. Opponents are trapping the Bobcat guards and daring players like Brendan Haywood, Bismack Biyombo, DeSagana Diop, and Thomas to make something, anything, happen.

    Their top offensive option among power forwards? You guessed it, Hakim Warrick. Acquired in the trade of Matt Carroll to New Orleans, Warrick moved into the starting lineup on January 11 and has scored at least ten points in five of his last six games.

    Meanwhile, #2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist seems to be losing his way at small forward. The rookie is shooting 38.7 FG% in his last seven games (6.7 PPG), and has just seven steals and eight blocks over his last fifteen. Coach Mike Dunlap and the Bobcat guards have to find a way to get MKG more involved via the transition offense. He’s connecting on just 25.8% of his jump shots. DeShawn Stevenson will start tonight, apparently to stick with Kidd-Gilchrist, Gordon or Henderson if any of them get a streak going.

    The degree of difficulty for the Cats is less steep tonight. Atlanta will rest Al Horford, one day after posting a season-high 28 points, to address his lingering hamstring and calf injuries. Horford, the team’s top defensive rebounder, will be joined by the Hawks’ top offensive rebounder, Zaza Pachulia, on the injury list as Pachulia deals with a sore Achilles.

    Ivan Johnson, in his first NBA start, will be subbed by Johan Petro and Anthony Tolliver as they endeavor to achieve at least parity with the Bobcats’ frontline. Johnson has averaged 13.6 PPG and 6.1 RPG in the five games this season where he’s played 20+ minutes. He will have to be ready for putbacks and passes in the paint as Biyombo leaves him to help with Josh Smith and the penetrating Hawk guards. As Zaza did in a start last week spelling Smith, Ivan will need to pass the ball out more than he’s accustomed to doing (7.25 assists per 100 possessions, second lowest on the team). On defense, Johnson and rookie Mike Scott (fresh off a career-high 11 points and 7 boards) will have to be focused and prepared to box out when Charlotte’s guards drive for shots.

    As Road Warriors go, Kyle Korver has been less Hawk and more Animal. He’s shooting just 38.8 FG% at Philips Arena (9.9 PPG), but a superb 52.7 FG% (11.4 PPG) in away games. Korver also stays hot with little time off. His 50.7% from three-point range on the back end of back-to-back nights dwindles as he get more days off (46.3% with 1 day rest, 40.0% with 2 days rest, 30.4% with 3 or more days rest). The Hawks should look for him early and often… and so should the Bobcats.

    Expect Henderson and rookies MKG and Jeff Taylor to shadow Korver along the arc. Even without Lou Williams and Charlotte native Anthony Morrow, the Hawks have a plethora of options besides Korver (Devin Harris, John Jenkins, Jeff Teague, and re-arriving revelation Jannero Pargo) at their disposal to get open for shots. Bobcat opponents score 9.4 3FGs per game, most in the league, while shooting them at the second-highest percentage (38.6 3FG%).

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  14. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bucks

    By lethalweapon3,

    "Déjà Drew"?


    You’ll forgive Milwaukee Bucks fans if they’re paying even less attention than Atlanta Hawks fans to tonight’s matchup at BMO Harris Bradley Center (8 PM Eastern, SportSouth, Fox Sports Wisconsin).

    There will probably be fewer attendees for this one than participants in Ekpe Udoh’s Book Club. But each Buck fan will have one eye darting at the sudden changes in the owner’s box, and the other aimed toward the goings-on over in Durham, North Carolina.

    Today, Kohl and the Gang reached a half-billion-buck deal with a pair of filthy-rich hedge funders who have pinkie-swore they’ll never pack up this franchise and ship them out of America’s Dairyland. Now that they’ve fought off the Sixers’ 26-game losing streak and stumbled their way to the worst record (15-66, 2-16 in their past 18 games) in franchise history, Milwaukee’s also looking for any inkling from Jabari Parker that he’ll declare and deepen the talent pool for the NBA draft this summer.

    As you’ve probably heard by now, this year’s Bucks are just the third team in NBA history to get through an entire season without a single back-to-back pair of victories. They join the 1986-87 Clippers and our lovable Hawks from 2004-05 in NBA infamy. Who’s the common thread on all three of those teams? Larry Drew, who played for the Clips, was an assistant for the Hawks, and now wears out the chewing gum on the sidelines in Brew City.

    For sure, Larry drew the short straw when it came to available coaching gigs last summer (Mo Cheeks might disagree). But this year’s collapse shouldn’t necessarily mean his job is in any jeopardy. Aside from the draft, management struck out on so many fronts over the past year: Larry Sanders, Caron Butler, O.J. Mayo, Ersan Ilyasova, Carlos Delfino, Gary Neal, and Luke Ridnour all lived out, or played out, their worst-case scenarios on GM John Hammond’s watch.

    Unaccustomed to leaning on inexperienced youngsters to keep his teams competitive, Drew has been compelled to turn to a band of green players exhibiting varied levels of will and skill (most notably, Brandon Knight, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, John Henson, Jeff Adreian, Chris Wright, Miroslav Raduljica, and the injured Nate Wolters). Each of these guys have shown enough flashes of promise to give Drew something to show off to his new ownership tandem. In his silver-lining shpiel, Drew can tack on a bit of a garbage-time renaissance from ex-Bobcat guard Ramon Sessions (16.2 PPG, 4.7 APG, 5.2 FTs per game, 46.3 FG%, 83.9 FT% since the deadline trade to Milwaukee).

    Even with new owners coming to town, LD will probably get to see through at least one of his two remaining years under contract. Surely, Zaza Pachulia doesn’t want to be left hanging. Georgia’s favorite Georgian signed an offer he couldn’t refuse last summer to join Drew up north. But he couldn’t possibly have imagined starting at center for 43 games this season (would’ve been even more, had he not missed two months with a re-aggravated foot injury).

    The puff-puff-passing Larry Sanders’ throwaway season made this extra floor time essential from Z-Pac, who’s also sporting stitches over his eye after getting gashed two weeks ago in Chicago. On a team shooting 43.7 percent from the field (26th in NBA), the man who ranks in the top 20 all-time in NBA offensive rebounding percentage has become a literal utility.

    With a playoff series against the top-seeded Indiana Pacers looming around the corner, the Hawks have two overriding goals in mind while playing the NBA’s worst team tonight. Execute on both ends, and don’t get hurt. Aside from Paul Millsap, pretty much everyone on the roster will get a chance at some floor burn tonight.

    Knight and Sessions could serve as nice warm-up competition for Jeff Teague, who missed the 112-87 beatdown of the Bucks on January 25 with an ankle sprain. The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week may get a brief chance to show Milwaukeeans what they’ve been missing since Danny Ferry matched the Bucks’ contract offer last July.

    Tonight will be an even better opportunity for Dennis Schröder (8 points, 5 assists and no turnovers in a 102-97 defeat of the Bucks on March 13) and the Hawks’ reserve guards and wings to make amends after bailing out the Bobcats on Monday night. They allowed ex-Bucks Ridnour, Gary Neal, and Chris Douglas-Roberts to wither away a cushy 15-point fourth-quarter lead right down to the closing second.

    The second-unit has to be able to demonstrate an ability to hold, and occasionally expand, hard-earned leads. The more effective of the bunch will likely be among the first off Budenholzer’s bench when Game 1 kicks off this weekend in Indianapolis.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  15. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bucks

    By lethalweapon3,

    "Prince's 1979 self-titled album? Yeah, I'm a big fan."


    Following a horrendous road trip, the Atlanta Hawks return to the comfier confines of Philips Arena and are likely to kiss the floor when they arrive. Zaza Pachulia and Head Coach Larry Drew of the Milwaukee Bucks may very well join the Hawks in the floor-smooching festivities tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Wisconsin).

    A rousing ovation is likely for one of the most endeared Atlanta Hawks of the past decade. More than a few golf claps will also be in order for the last coach to lug the Hawks (27-35) into the NBA postseason.

    The Republic of Georgia native happily remains a State of Georgia resident. Zaza still maintains a home and many of his business affairs here in the 404. Pachulia will get to soak in some pregame cheers as a Bucks starter, but this was certainly not the role he signed up for when he joined Drew in Milwaukee this summer. This ain’t exactly the way Larry drew things up, either.

    For the Bucks (13-51), their ability to contend this season was based on a lot of “ifs”. If contract-extended Larry Sanders could maintain his professional composure, if free agent pickup O.J. Mayo was inspired to become a consistent scorer, if Ersan Ilyasova could be an efficient shooter, if offseason acquisition Brandon Knight could improve by leaps and bounds, if Carlos Delfino could contribute in a meaningful way, if veterans Caron Butler, Gary Neal, and Luke Ridnour could stay patient while youngsters Knight, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nate Wolters, John Henson, and Khris Middleton all cut their teeth and work their way into Drew’s rotation…

    Well, that all de-escalated quickly. Now, they’re the worst team in the league, still two games behind a Philadelphia 76ers team that has dropped 18 in a row, and playing their third game in four nights today.

    Sanders got about a month-and-a-half of hoops action following the embarrassment of the nightclub incident. One game after dropping 25 and 15, he broke a bone in his eye socket, and will be out indefinitely. Without Sanders for much of the year, Pachulia has been pressed into heavy minutes, leading to a broken foot that sidelined him for a couple months. Delfino was declared done for the season from the start, after undergoing preseason foot surgery.

    Wisconsin native Butler got downright petulant with his minutes dwindling, and now he’s on the outs along with Neal and Ridnour. Mayo lost his starting gig in mid-December, essentially handed by Drew to rookie second-rounder Nate Wolters, and hasn’t earned it back. Ilyasova was probably the worst-shooting NBA starter prior to the All-Star Break. As the losses pile up without any “sense of urgency”, LD is trying to ensure his initials won’t stand for “Lame Duck”, seeking the optimal starting lineup to help the Bucks win back-to-back games at least once this season.

    The concept of tanking brings forth its own set of unique challenges for GM Jon Hammond in Brewtown. If their top pick morphs into a can’t-miss forward, what does that do to the development plans for the Greek Freak, Antetokounmpo, or Middleton or Henson? If the injured Joel Embiid falls into their lap with a top pick, is he the next Kenyon Martin in the making? And what trade value would the moody Sanders, recipient of an $8 million raise next season, hold if Embiid can’t play alongside him? Would the Bucks dare to reach for a steadier point guard, and compel Knight to come off the bench? All in all, it’s hard to tell if the guys on the floor for Milwaukee are part of the team’s immediate future, or if they’re merely showcasing themselves for their next employer.

    There are silver linings to be found, if you dig deep for them. Ilyasova (starting tonight after missing Tuesday’s loss due to a sore right ankle) has recovered from early-season back issues and has improved immensely since the All-Star Break. Although his long-range jumper is still broken, he’s averaging 14.4 PPG and 7.6 RPG while shooting 51% from the floor since the break -- 16 PPG, 8 RPG, and 53.7 FG% this month.

    While Mayo has been occupied with serving up throat punches to random stiffs, Knight has emerged as the scorer the Bucks thought they were getting out of Mayo, averaging 20.1 PPG and 5.2 APG (44.9 FG%) since the break and blending better in the backcourt alongside Wolters (41.0 FG% and 18.4 3FG% pre-break; 50.4 FG% and 41.2 3FG% post-break).

    Middleton can occasionally get hot from deep, and seems to have locked down a starting spot while shooting 50.0 3FG% in his last ten games. Antetokounmpo is good for the occasional highlight to keep Bucks fans awake. Zaza is known to get fancy with the rock when it fancies him, and dished out a career-high 10 assists during the loss at Minnesota on Tuesday night, the Bucks shooting 52.7 FG% in the game.

    All of that would be encouraging if the Bucks could figure out how to stop anybody. The only team with a worse defensive rating than Milwaukee (107.7 opponent points per 100 possessions, 29th in NBA)? The last opponent the Hawks barely vanquished, the Utah Jazz (108.0 defensive rating). Atlanta actually has a worse per-game average (102.6, 2nd worst in the East) than Milwaukee (102.5), but that’s because the Hawks play at a significantly higher pace than the Bucks (94.3 possessions per 48 minutes, 24th in NBA).

    With the athletes they do have on the roster, it is a wonder that the Bucks show little exuberance (Larry would say, "energy") in securing defensive boards (71.2 defensive rebounding percentage, 29th in NBA) or going after the ball when it's on the floor (6.9 steals per 100 possessions, 28th in NBA).

    If Bucks assistant Nick Van Exel is doing his job, Knight should have a pretty detailed scouting report on how to play Nick’s former protégé, Jeff Teague. Teague sat out the January 25th laugher in Milwaukee with an ankle sprain. Knight had 27 points, but was essentially picked apart on defense against Shelvin Mack and the recently-invisible Lou Williams (combined 27 points, 9 assists, 3 TOs).

    Despite Danny Ferry's recent comments about the Hawks consequentially playing "too small" in explaining LouWill's benchings lately, he may get back into the mix tonight. (UPDATE: Lou's out tonight, it appears for personal reasons, as per C-Viv). He is hopefully rested enough The Hawks will need another sound performance from Mack to match up against drive-first point guard Ramon Sessions, acquired by the Bucks at the trade deadline along with Jeff Adreian for Neal and Ridnour.

    The Hawks will be emboldened to know that the lackadaisical defense by Milwaukee on opposing passers isn’t balanced by pressure on shooters, either. Bucks’ opponents shoot an NBA-high 38.6 percent from three-point range, including 41.9 percent from the corners. Atlanta hit half of their 26 shots on the Bucks on January 25, and made 25 of a whopping 57 three-point shots in their last two games against Utah and the Clippers.

    In his grand return, Zaza deserves an honorary double-double by putting back at least ten of his own missed layups, and his matchups with his Euro-replacement Pero Antić should be fun to watch. If Atlanta can keep every Buck besides Zaza from getting rebounds, and keep Zaza from turning into Al Jefferson out there, they’ll be able to keep Milwaukee at arm’s length. The Bucks are 1-30 when they tally 40 or fewer rebounds in a game.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  16. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bucks

    By lethalweapon3,

    “Hold up, where’s Brandon? And when did we go get Bruno Mars?”



    Things weren’t looking too hot for the Atlanta Hawks.

    Their opponents were running them out of the gym. Their big shots weren’t falling, and neither were the free throws and layups. The transition defense seemed stuck in mud, and the fans were left sitting on their hands, awaiting a run that never came. After having their feel-good run stopped dead in its tracks, there was a clear sense of uncertainty about how things would unfold going forward for Atlanta.

    Then, the Hawks went to Milwaukee.

    They kicked things off with a 21-10 first quarter, and thwarted a comeback attempt in the second half for a 90-85 win over the same team that stole their lunch money one night before. It was the first victory of a winning streak that stretched through the end of December, and through the entirety of January, earning multiple Hawks players monthly hardware and All-Star adulation.

    After having their tailfeathers kicked on Friday, this time at Toronto’s hands, the Hawks come into Milwaukee once again hoping the host Bucks (3:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Wisconsin) still have some of that elixir lying around. Bucks coach Jason Kidd will do all he can to hide it.

    While the Hawks used that December 27 bounce-back win to propel themselves to the top of the roost in the East, the Bucks didn’t exactly go quietly into the night. The loss dropped Milwaukee to 15-16, but since that game they’ve gone a spiffy 16-7, topping Cleveland and Toronto (both on the road) and Portland along the way. They’re not Kidd-ing around -- the Bucks intend to continue their trek up the standings by winning their fifth-straight game this afternoon, currently boasting the longest streak in the East.

    Illustrating how crazy-competitive this so-called inexperienced bunch has been, 6th-seeded Milwaukee hasn’t lost a game by double-digits since December 9. They’re clearly ensconced among the upper-crust of the Eastern Conference (three games behind Central Division-leading Chicago, eight games in front of 7th-seeded Miami). That’s all the more impressive considering their top-flight rookies (Jabari Parker and second-rounder Damien Inglis) are out for the season, backup guard Kendall Marshall suffered a season-ending injury in London, and former franchise face Larry Sanders got bought out so he could go deal with his moody blues.

    As a testament to the impressive job Kidd is doing, the Bucks’ defense (99.0 opponent points per 100 possessions) ranks 2nd in the NBA. The spindly limbs of Giannis Antetokounmpo, John Henson (5.1 blocks per 100 possessions, 6th in NBA), and Khris Middleton are disrupting opponents’ passing schemes and putting ample pressure on ballhandlers (9.5 SPG, 3rd in NBA). Only two Bucks average less than one steal per-36. The Bucks’ athleticism allows them to get hoof it down the floor quickly. Only the Bucks allow fewer fastbreak points per game (10.6 opponent PPG) than the Hawks (10.9).

    Kidd’s emphasis on using what Dominique Wilkins refers to as “linth” to his competitive advantage led him to pull the lever on perhaps the most eyebrow-raising deal of Trade Deadline Day. In the space of a week, Brandon Knight went from the biggest Eastern All-Star snub to the brightest new point-guard face out West. And by the time Knight and Marshall got to Phoenix, Michael Carter-Williams arrived in Milwaukee from the salvage yard otherwise known as the Philadelphia 76ers.

    Carter-Williams went from being mired in a long-term developmental project to being handed the keys to a surprising playoff contender. To eventually turn this town into MCWaukee, he’ll have to show the same improvement under Kidd that Knight displayed in terms of defensive effort and shooting range. He’ll also have to cut down the unforced errors. The Bucks are right behind the Keystone-Kop Sixers in terms of turnover ratio (17.1 TOs per 100 possessions), and tied with Philly for opponent turnover ratio as well (17.4 opponent TOs per 100 possessions).

    MCW was dealing with a toe issue before the All-Star break, and he is considered doubtful to make his Bucks debut today. Jerryd Bayless filled in admirably without either Knight or Carter-Williams available, leading the Bucks against Denver on Friday with 8 assists and just one turnover. Bayless will likely be looked upon to carry the load once again today, but he’ll get some relief from rookie Tyler Ennis, who arrived from Phoenix with center Miles Plumlee in the three-team deal.

    Turnovers made a difference in the December back-to-back series. Atlanta committed 22 TOs on the 26th, but just 11 one night later on the road. The Hawks escaped Milwaukee with the W despite shooting worse overall from the floor (36.7 FG%) than they did the night before (40.8 FG%). A commitment to stronger team defense (38.8 Bucks FG% on the 27th, 50.6% the prior game) also leveled the floor in the Hawks’ favor. It’s a lesson Atlanta should reflect upon after shooting a season-low 33.0 FG% on Friday against the Raptors, the first loss on the season for the Hawks (3-1) in which they shot WORSE than 40% on the floor.

    Atlanta and Milwaukee are each tied for 6th in the league with 77.4 FT%, but the Hawks haven’t helped themselves in their past two losses (65.2 FT% at Boston, 66.7% vs. Toronto) leaving easy points off the board. Facing a physical point guard in Bayless, Teague (86.8 FT%) will want to beat Bayless off the dribble and draw fouls, building up offense at the free throw line while testing Milwaukee’s depth by getting Bayless in early foul trouble.

    Atlanta’s defensive rebounders and stoppers must find their point guards to key the break against the stingy Bucks in transition. Milwaukee will resort to fouls (22.3 per game, 3rd most in NBA) if they cannot strip the ball or disrupt runs to the other end of the floor. The Hawks must play to the whistle and not the contact, finishing plays around the hoop, and striving to retain possession of the ball when they get hacked, rather than standing around in hopes the referee bailouts are coming.

    Knight’s departure will cause the Bucks to turn more toward Jared Dudley (he of the perfect 10-for-10 shooting night in Atlanta on Dec. 26) and Middleton (8-for-15 FGs, 5-for-8 3FGs vs. ATL on Dec. 27) to keep up with a Hawks team that expects the Law of Averages (21.1 3FG% vs. Toronto on Friday) to work in their favor today. Hawksquawk fan-favorite O.J. Mayo and Ersan Ilyasova are likely to contribute today after nursing a hamstring strain and illness, respectively.

    Paul Millsap has struggled of late (8-for-26 FGs last two games), but should be able to use his relative girth to his advantage when facing off against either of the Greek Freak or Middleton in the post. DeMarre Carroll, Millsap, and the driving point guard duo of Teague and Dennis Schröder (1-for-12 FGs vs. Milwaukee) can keep Antetokounmpo and Henson busy around the rim, while Zaza Pachulia and Plumlee will be occupied with scouting Al Horford’s mid-range game.

    Horford should get ample touches in space for both in-the-paint dishes and mid-range swishes. That plus an increased number of plays run for Carroll in the paint should be enough to free up Kyle Korver (3-for-13 3FGs vs. Milwaukee; 2-for-11 against Toronto on Friday) for a better array of catch-and-shoot opportunities around the perimeter.

    Atlanta hasn’t dropped three consecutive games since the end of March last year. A win tonight isn’t likely to precede another month-long winning streak, but it should help right the ship and re-establish some confidence for the top-seeded Hawks going forward.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  17. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bucks

    By lethalweapon3,

    Point, guards!


    As “Fernando Lamas” might put it, “It’s not whether you win. It’s how you look!”

    It’s important for Hawks fans, especially the happily-paying ones filling up Philips Arena the rest of the way, to feel engaged by the home team. Winning will be cool, too. But keep us entertained, please!

    Coming out on top in the remaining five home games, including tonight’s affair with the Milwaukee Bucks (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, Fox Sports Wisconsin), is a worthy goal, considering that Atlanta winning every home game over the next few months would bring the NBA Finals to at least a Game 7. Further, being able to peer at the standings at the regular season’s end and finding a 60-ish-win Hawks team atop the East sure would be swell.

    But more important is to see The Good Guys staying competitive with visiting opponents over the course of 48 minutes. Building up confidence and momentum as the Hawks head toward the playoffs’ first round is something the fans want to see, from one player to the next, from one play to the next.

    “Looking good” was something the eggnog-logged Hawks did not do the last time the Bucks traipsed into Philips Arena after Christmastime, coach Jason Kidd fitting the Grinch role to a T. The 107-77 pasting by Milwaukee was the Hawks’ worst showing in their home building all season, shooting just 4-for-23 from three-point land while coughing up 22 turnovers, including 15 steals by the long-limbed Bucks.

    Lethargic defense didn’t help either, as the Bucks shot 50.6% from the field, featuring Jared Dudley’s perfect game (10-for-10 FGs, plus a team-high four steals) off the bench. Including Saturday night’s deliberately-shorthanded loss to the Hornets, Atlanta is 3-11 when they allow opponents to make half of their shots. Hawks fans don’t necessarily need to enjoy a win tonight, but they do deserve to see winning plays on both ends of the court.

    It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Milwaukee winds up being that first-round opponent for Atlanta. The Bucks (36-37) have won just three of their past 16 games, a slide that commenced with a home loss to Atlanta back on February 22. They’re looking at a Magic Number of 6 to clinch a postseason spot, and need to go 6-3 to finish with a winning record for the first time since Scott Skiles’ 2009-10 crew bedeviled the Hawks in the first round. Bucks fans know the 15-67 team from last season is a distant memory, but they’d like to top off this season with a playoff cherry.

    Since prevailing in Toronto back on February 2, Milwaukee hasn’t pulled off a win in their past ten road games. That streak includes a triple-OT defeat in Brooklyn (boo!) in their last away game on March 20. If these Bucks can’t win away from home, is there a point to making the postseason as a lower seed?

    Kidd has no interest in answering such shortsighted questions. He is out to remind people that his team has come a long way, and still has a long way to go no matter how this season ends. "It's something much bigger than that, that you guys are going to have to wait and write about," he advised Chicken-Little reporters recently. "We're here to build something, not to do something in six months. There's a bigger picture. We feel we have a core here that will be around for a long time and have success."

    Still, after getting blown out by Golden State and Cleveland during last week’s homestand, Kidd knows he could use another victory in a top-notch opponent’s house to springboard his team into the final weeks of the NBA schedule.

    The Bucks have won two of their past three. But one victory required a spirited 24-9 fourth-quarter comeback and a Khris Middleton buzzer-beater to fell an injury-hampered Miami team. The other required Ersan Ilyasova to go bonkers with a career-high 34 points to outpace the Pacers. Nagging injuries to veteran players haven’t helped matters. Dudley’s back hasn’t done right in the past two weeks, and he’ll sit out tonight after trying to play in the last two games. O.J. Mayo will give it a go despite having been hampered by a hammy strain for over a month.

    Even with the depth-depleting injuries, it’s hard looking at the Bucks and not pinning their recent struggles on Michael Carter-Williams, the point guard who supplanted Brandon Knight on a stunning Trade Deadline Day. The Bucks’ leading scorer (13.4 PPG with Milwaukee) remains scattershot with his jumper (27.2 jumpshot FG%; 36.8 March FG% and 2-for-15 on threes this month).

    But while MCW has been inconsistent from game-to-game as a passer (no double-digit assist tallies in 16 games, Milwaukee is 5-11 in those games), his assist-turnover ratio (5.4 APG, 3.3 TO/game) remains on-par with what Knight produced (5.4 APG, 3.2 TO/game) for the Bucks. Kidd is hitching his reputation to the idea that Milwaukee has the right floor general to lead his core into a bright future, if not the 2015 Playoffs.

    MCW comes into today’s game hoping to provide inspired, and not distracted, contributions on the court. He flew to ATL after attending yesterday’s funeral in Massachusetts for his influential grandfather. In three games against the Hawks as a Sixer, Carter-Williams made 51.5% of his shots and averaged more rebounds (8.3 RPG) than assists (7.0 APG). He also turned the ball over a bunch (5.7 APG), including a season-high nine turnovers during an ugly game in Atlanta back on December 10.

    Jeff Teague will probably play measured minutes during tonight’s contest, along with the other starters that sat out Saturday’s game in Charlotte. Whether it’s Teague, Dennis Schröder, or Shelvin Mack, Atlanta’s point guards have to keep Carter-Williams operating from the periphery of the Bucks’ offensive end. To neutralize his offensive talent, the restricted area should be just that for MCW. On offense, Schröder and Mack have struggled finding the hoop (7-for-22 combined shooting vs. Charlotte on Saturday), but continue carving up defenses with their passes (19 combined assists and 3 turnovers on Saturday).

    With a post-All-Star offensive rating (96.0 points per 100 possessions) that’s worse than anybody aside from the Knicks and Sixers, the Bucks are only in games if they can find somebody with a hot hand and get him the ball. Usually, that go-to guy has been Middleton (17.6 post-All-Star PPG; 42.7 3FG% and 87.5 FT%). His shot gets hot-and-cold from one game to the next, but when he’s on he keeps the Bucks in the ballgame.

    It’s a similar deal with Ilyasova, who shot just 1-for-10 FGs versus Golden State two days after his career scoring night. Ilyasova (career-high 18.0 points per-36, but career-low 65.2 FT%) has bounced back after a wretched 2013-14 season, and has transformed from a pull-up shooter to more of a catch-and-shoot player, but lacks Middleton’s defensive aptitude. He should be easily exploitable by either of Paul Millsap or DeMarre Carroll.

    In his last seven games, Millsap has scored 20.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.7 BPG and 1.9 SPG while shooting 51.8 FG%, 46.4 3FG%, and 90.0 FT%. Sap led the way with 23 points and 16 boards in Milwaukee last month, and was arguably the only Hawk that showed up to play during the Bucks’ last visit to Atlanta (22 points, 8-for-10 FGs, 10 rebounds).

    The Bucks have the league’s highest turnover ratio (17.0 TOs per 100 possessions) since the Break, which can’t bode well against the Hawks team that leads the NBA post-All-Star with 18.0 opponent TO% while tying in the East with 19.1 points off turnovers.

    The Hawks want to have Giannis Antetokounmpo (post-Break; 1.1 SPG, 1.4 BPG, team-high 7.4 RPG), Middleton and John Henson spending more of the energy on their hoofs cleaning up the Bucks’ goofs, rather than attacking on offense. Both the Bucks and tomorrow’s opponent, the Pistons (10.4 post-All-Star opponent fastbreak PPG, fewest in NBA) will put the efficacy of the Hawks’ transition offense to the test.

    Forced once again to do way more than originally planned, Zaza Pachulia continues to come through for a team in desperate need for a positive veteran presence. He longed to get starter’s minutes for years in Atlanta and now, for the past two seasons, he’s got them, albeit by circumstance. The former Hawk has started in the last 17 games. While his overall shooting percentage this season is down from his Hawks heyday, since the All-Star break he’s shooting 47.5 FG% and 89.1 FT%, while averaging 3.5 offensive rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

    Zaza’s trademark hustle remains on full display. He saved a missed shot headed out of bounds as time was expiring, and his heave from the corner set up Middleton’s moonshot over Miami last week, ending the Bucks’ six-game skid. Al Horford and Pero Antić will have their hands full keeping Z-Pac away from the ball at either end.

    There’s a tiny bit of draft “strategery” associated with beating the Bucks. Atlanta’s second-round draft pick this summer goes to Milwaukee, courtesy of last year’s draft-day trade for 48th-pick Lamar Patterson, who toils away in Turkey. A few more wins by Atlanta would stick Milwaukee with the next-to-last (59th) pick in the second-round. Barring trades, the Hawks could pick at up to 11 spots ahead of the Bucks, thanks to the Lou-and-Bebe trade deal with Toronto. As demonstrated by Shelvin Mack, Mike Scott and Mike Muscala, the Hawks love developing second-rounders. As exemplified by starters Millsap and Kyle Korver, they also love rewarding them when they pan out.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  18. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bucks

    By lethalweapon3,

    The 2012-13 version of the Atlanta Hawks, coached by Larry Drew, lost 20 of their 38 defeats by ten or more points.

    The 2013-14 edition, with Mike Budenholzer at the helm, is now more than halfway through their season, and suffered just their fifth double-digit setback on Friday night. Although it’s the second straight drubbing with a deficit that exceeded ten points, that total still represents less than a fourth of their L’s this season, compared to over half of the losses last season.

    After the Men in Black had their way with Atlanta along the perimeter, the Hawks hope the goring won’t continue tonight, on the road, at the antlers of the Milwaukee Bucks (8:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Wisconsin).

    It’s a bit of a stretch to call tonight’s affair a vengeance match for ex-Hawks coach Drew. That's not only since Drew and GM Danny Ferry engineered a most amicable departure this past summer, but also because Drew, now in charge of the woeful Bucks (8-34), won’t need to gameplan against nearly half of the roster that he left behind from his final season with Atlanta. Al Horford (pec) and Jeff Teague (ankle) are back in Georgia recuperating, as is John Jenkins (back). So the only Hawk reunions going on will involve LD and Kyle Korver, Lou Williams, Mike Scott, and Shelvin Mack. Zaza Pachulia will be stylin’ and profilin’ as usual, but only from the bench as he continues recuperating from a fracture in his right foot.

    In Milwaukee (8-34, one win in the last eleven games), Drew captains a shoddy ship loaded with veteran disillusionment and discord. The perpetually seething Larry Sanders showed everyone what happens when keepin’ it real goes wrong in a nightclub, tossing around bottles of Champale like the world’s worst juggler. Sanders’ absence (to heal a thumb on his bottle-heaving hand, crucial for his sarcastic relations with the refs) pushed Zaza into heavy minutes for Drew, perhaps too prematurely for the sake of his fragile footsies.

    Caron Butler openly barbed with his team in the media, insistent that 24 minutes a night off the bench is not what the Wisconsinite signed up for. O.J. Mayo has taken Butler’s lead, insisting the team needs a “staple”, an identity, without any sense of cognizance about how he might help establish it.

    The play of shooting guard Luke Ridnour (6.5 PPG, 39.6 FG%) has bordered at times dangerously close to self-parody, even as Drew insists on starting him ahead of Mayo. Fresh from the NBA Finals, free agent acquisition Gary Neal reads Spurs box scores nightly and weeps into his Miller Lite. That is, when he’s not feuding loudly with Sanders in front of the beat writers. And were it not for the size of the media market he plays in, Ersan Ilyasova (38.8 FG%, 26.4 3FG%, 9.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG), on the front end of a 5-year $40 million deal, would be fodder for late-night comedians, despite the blame placed on mid-season maladies.

    It’s all a poisonous brew for Drew, who needs to play youngsters to give fans hope for the future, but not lose so badly that he can’t be included as part of that future. His Buckaroos struggled on the road in Cleveland yesterday, falling victim to big runs in the middle frames before succumbing to the subpar Cavs by 15 points.

    Largely with Sanders watching much of the game from the bench, Cleveland outrebounded their venison 52-34, including 21-8 on the offensive end. Atlanta can feel their pain, playing poultry to the Spurs on Friday by getting out-boarded 54-36 (15-9 offensive).

    Resigned to losing, Bucks fans are disinterested in the vets striking out, but ravenous over the potential of some of their stockpiled forwards. None moreso than The Greek Freak. Rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo lacks eye-popping nightly stats but is a tantalizing highlight reel on a short leash. He and sophomore Khris Middleton (as well as John Henson and Ekpe Udoh) are getting pegged for starts lately over the likes of Mayo, Sanders, and/or Butler. Drew has already trotted out 19 different starting lineups this season.

    Aside from Greece Lightning, the only constant of late among the starters has been up-and-down point guard Brandon Knight, the player Milwaukee settled for acquiring once Teague’s offer sheet was much by Atlanta last summer. Even Knight (team-leading 15.3 PPG and 4.5 APG) had trouble getting back in the first unit when Drew became briefly enamored with rookie second-rounder Nate Wolters. Against a steady Shelvin Mack (3.26 assist-to-turnover ratio, 5th among point guards with 10+ minutes per game), Knight will need constant help from his forwards to disrupt Atlanta’s ball movement.

    Ilyasova has been ineffective at power forward on both ends of the floor, and Drew has shifted him to the 3-spot in hopes it will thaw his once-reliable shooting efficiency. This will put either the rangy Alphabet or Middleton on Paul Millsap. Sap got some well-designed rest in Friday night’s blowout at the hands of the Spurs, and will be sought by the Hawks to work his way around the yung’uns and get to the hoop.

    Even with Sanders (1.9 BPG) or Henson (2.2 BPG) waiting in the paint, Millsap will work to draw fouls and thin out the Bucks frontline. The Bucks take just 0.1 fewer field goals than their opponents, and despite their poor shooting (league-low 42.1 FG%; 44.7 2FG% second-lowest in NBA), the few trips they earn at the free throw line creates much of the scoring discrepancy. Opponents shoot 5.5 more free throws than Milwaukee, the third-largest differential in the league. Atlanta can use their newly-improved free throw accuracy (3.3 percentage-point differential on FT%, 5th in NBA, highest in NBA East) to pad the points when the Bucks try to slow the game down.

    One guy looking for a bit of payback is Gustavo Ayón, who was cut in July not long after the Bucks picked up his team option. Ayón (14.3 offensive rebounding percentage, three O-Rebs versus the Spurs) was a key acquisition in the Tobias Harris deal with Orlando, but wound up getting yo-yo’d by Bucks management in the offseason. He’ll come into tonight’s matchup with the Bucks (70.4 defensive rebounding percentage, worst in NBA), a little better prepared after getting tenderized by Tim Duncan last night.

    Closing out on shooters around the perimeter will be crucial for both teams. Absent the roving DeMarre Carroll (still questionable tonight with a hamstring strain), Atlanta failed to do so against the league’s best 3-point shooting team last night, and was buried for their lackadaisical defensive effort (Spurs 11-for-18 on 3FGs). Milwaukee is nowhere near as strong a long-range shooting team (34.5 team 3FG%, 25th in NBA), but they will jack threes as needed to stay competitive and fight the Hawks’ bigs to earn second-chance opportunities.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  19. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bucks

    By lethalweapon3,

    Hey, let’s sweep a playoff team!

    Playoff practice resumes for the Atlanta Hawks at the Highlight Factory, as they face a Milwaukee Bucks team limping into the postseason, literally and figuratively. A win tonight versus the 8th-seeded Buckaroos would be the first in-season sweep by the Hawks of an Eastern Conference playoff squad since seizing all four games against the eventual conference champion Boston Celtics in 2010. A Hawk victory would also ensure that Boston cannot catch the Hawks for the 6th spot.

    Not likely to catch the Celtics for the 7th seed (3 games behind with four games to play… although the Bucks do hold the tiebreaker), Milwaukee may elect to rest starters Brandon Jennings, aggravated by a sore Achilles, and Larry Sanders, who injured his back in a rough fall at Orlando Wednesday. The Bucks have lost seven of their last ten, and it’s tough going into the Eastern Conference Playoffs when you haven’t defeated a single conference playoff team in over three months (Chicago on January 9).

    The Hawks trounced a Philadelphia team on Wednesday that was having second thoughts about the trade of Nikola Vucevic. Their opponent tonight, Milwaukee, is still smarting from a rebounding clinic at the hands of Vucevic and another young player, one they shipped to Orlando in February. Vucevic and former Buck Tobias Harris combined for 60 points and 39 rebounds while Sanders sat out the second half. Harris rubbed salt in the wound with a late three-pointer to force overtime, where the Magic pulled away and Milwaukee struggled to buy a basket. Another young player traded off by Milwaukee, Doron Lamb, dropped 16 points on the strength of four three-pointers.

    Monta Ellis scored 21 points but, as Monta is apt to do, missed 20 field goal attempts and four free throws in the process. Ellis and the expected prize of the Henson-and-Lamb trade, J.J. Redick, shot a combined 2-for-15 on threes. Ellis did manage to get reserves Mike Dunleavy and John Henson (17 points each) going.

    Lost in the lament over scuttled young talent, the rookie Henson came off the bench to post a whopping 25 rebounds himself – according to ESPN, the most by any NBA reserve in a game since the Spurs’ Dennis Rodman polished the boards like he did his nails in 1995, and the first rookie with that many rebounds in a game since Shaq in 1992-1993. Henson also rejected 7 shots in 41 minutes of action. Whether Sanders is a no-go or not, I think it’s safe to suggest Henson has earned a return to the starting lineup tonight, ahead of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.

    Henson will be paired with Ersan Ilyasova, who returns after missing the Orlando game due to a bout with the flu. The Bucks frontline will also be bolstered by the return of Ekpe Udoh, who missed three games with a sprained ankle. Samuel Dalembert seems to be stuck in Coach Jim Boylan’s doghouse again.

    They’ll need all the help they can get upfront against the menace of Al Horford, whose 24.3 PPG average versus Milwaukee is higher than any other team this season. Josh Smith doesn’t exactly Fear the Dear, either. He’s averaging 12.7 RPG against the Bucks, most against any team this year, and is coming off a 28-and-11 tear against Philadelphia. Ivan Johnson and Mike Scott are coming on strong offensively. Even Anthony Tolliver came up big late in the 104-99 Hawks win on March 24.

    Ball control will be important once again for the Hawks, as the Bucks thrive off of a hectic pace (3rd in NBA) and opponent turnovers. Milwaukee’s 9-1 when they can get their foes to turn the ball over 20 times or more. Their 18.1 PPG off turnovers ranks second only to Miami (18.9) among Eastern Conference teams, while the 16.9 PPG Atlanta gives up off turnovers ranks third-highest (Detroit, 17.7; and Brooklyn, 17.0). Marquis Daniels and Mbah a Moute will apply pressure to make passing tough on the Hawks’ guards, who had a grand time versus Philly on Wednesday. Jeff Teague, Devin Harris, and John Jenkins had a combined 25 assists and just two turnovers against the Sixers.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  20. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bucks

    By lethalweapon3,

    We’re back with the Bucks! Atlanta has a chance to clinch the season series in Milwaukee this afternoon. Doing so will go a long way if tiebreakers are needed to avoid the white-hot Miami HEAT in the first-round of the postseason.

    The final major road trip of this season has Our Fine Feathered Friends flying from Beertown to Naptown to Beantown. They leave Milwaukee for a tilt with the Pacers tomorrow night, and then go north of the border to face the Raptors on Wednesday before finishing their tour through the Northeast at Boston Garden on Friday night.

    Milwaukee is at risk of going the wrong way, with two straight losses on the road at ATL and in Indiana. At the BMO Harris (I don’t know what that is) Bradley Center, Milwaukee will be hoofing for their first home win against a playoff-bound Eastern Conference team since upending the HEAT back on December 29, although they’re just 0-4 in that stretch.

    The Hawks are likely to be without two key frontcourt reserves, as Ivan Johnson (back spasms) is listed as questionable and will likely join Zaza Pachulia (Achilles) on the sideline. In their absence, it will be great to get meaningful production out of Mike Scott and Johan Petro.

    Josh Smith got his season-high of 16 boards against the Bucks on Wednesday. With Milwaukee’s defense adjusting to try and impede Al Horford (24.5 PPG vs. Milwaukee, his highest against any NBA team; 13.0 RPG), it will be crucial for Smith to wreck shop in the paint once again. Against Portland, Smoove got a season-high 10 free throw attempts, making six.

    Slowing down power forwards has become a bit of a problem for the Bucks. Recently starting in place of David West, the Pacers’ Tyler Hansbrough got his season-high 22 points along with 12 rebounds against the Bucks’ frontline on Friday. Bucks fans would greatly appreciate a “Palm Sunday” from NBA-leading shotblocker Larry Sanders, who will need to help his forwards on defense. Not likely capable of Bucking the trend, but at least to offset the opposing team’s offense, Ersan Ilyasova has been upgraded to questionable for today’s action.

    Three-point defense still remains an issue for the ATLiens. The Blazers shot a very comfortable 10-for-18, bringing the Hawks’ opponent 3FG percentage up to 38.2% (3rd highest in NBA). Dallas also shot 13-for-22 last week, both double-digit losses at home. The Hawks are 4-12 when foes sink at least ten threes, and the four victories are all against non-playoff teams. Dahntay Jones and DeShawn Stevenson played a combined 9 minutes against the Bucks, who shot 42.1% (8-for-19) on Wednesday, and each will get some more burn patrolling the perimeter. Hopefully they watched some tape of Paul George and Lance Stephenson, as the Pacers held the Bucks to 3-for-19 three-point shooting on Friday.

    Indiana also throttled Milwaukee’s passing game, as the Bucks could only muster 17 assists, three fewer than they got against Atlanta on Wednesday. Milwaukee is just 2-19 this season when they assist on 20 or fewer baskets. Jeff Teague must play stout D on Brandon Jennings, while Milwaukee native Devin Harris must be more disruptive than he was against Portland. Monta Ellis was a non-factor with one assist and 5 points on 2-for-14 shooting in Atlanta, and will be eager to show he can’t be consistently neutralized.

    With the playoff-clinching Magic Number at 2, the Hawks need to treat this like a playoff game, and not just wait on the dregs of the Eastern Conference to clinch the postseason on their behalf. We should be doin' it our way!

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  21. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bucks

    By lethalweapon3,

    Somebody, check Kurt Russell’s availability. The Milwaukee Bucks may need his help, because for the last few weeks of this season, they will be starring in Escape from Miami. Situated in the dreaded eighth-spot, two games behind the Celtics and Bulls, and 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks with 16 left to play, they’ll need to rally just to avoid drawing the red-hot HEAT in the first round of the playoffs.

    The Bucks got a crucial home win last night against the Portland Trail Blazers, 102-95 to keep themselves above .500 (34-32) on the year. It’s their second triumph in a row, the prior one at home versus Orlando. But to get a more competitive first-round playoff matchup, they really need to beat a fellow Eastern Conference Top 8 team. Amazingly, that’s something the Antlered Ones haven’t accomplished since January 9 (0-6 since then).

    They’ll try getting over the hump and prevailing at Philips Arena for the first time since November 2010. They get two more cracks at the Hawks, including next Sunday in Milwaukee. The only other upper-half Eastern foes they’ll have on the schedule are Indiana (Friday), Miami, and New York, once each.

    It’s yet another team with an oft-cited sense of urgency coming into the Highlight Factory. Last time around, the Hawks blitzed the playoff-thirsty Dallas Mavericks with 113 points on 56 percent shooting -- and still got blown the heck out. It will be imperative for Atlanta to tighten up screen-and-roll defense against Milwaukee’s guards, who will penetrate and look for easy buckets or easier trips to the foul line. Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, and J.J. Redick each shoot more than 2.5 FTAs per game, and all three hit more than 78 percent of them.

    Back on February 23, Al Horford proved to be The Big Cheese in America’s Dairyland. He tractored the NBA’s leading shot-blocker, Larry Sanders for a game-clinching hook shot in the closing seconds of Atlanta’s 103-102 win at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Horford matched Jeff Teague’s 23 points and tacked on 11 rebounds to give the Hawks’ road trip a nice kickstart and the Bucks their third straight defeat. He’ll be going for his fifth consecutive double-double but needs to keep pace with Sanders on the defensive end (just one blocked shot in his last six games).

    Meanwhile, Sanders is trying to prove to Coach Jim Boylan he can keep his composure on the court, having been tossed in two consecutive games last week, including one hilarious scene where he thumbed-up each ref on the way off the floor. Posting him up repeatedly may fluster him again, and offer the Philips Arena crowd a little levity.

    Josh Smith provided five assists but turned the ball over four times against the Mavs. The Hawks can be crazy good when Smith’s passing efficiency is high. Atlanta’s 18-6 when he commits know more than two turnovers in a game (4.4 APG in those games), and 9-2 when he manages to keep it down to one TO (4.8 APG). Including the Dallas game, Atlanta is 0-3 when he takes at least 4 shots and misses them all, and 5-14 in those games (min. four 3PAs) whether he makes one or not.

    Smoove’s Oak Hill alum, Jennings goes through hot-and-cold streaks with his shot, and that game (11 points on 4-for-11 shooting, 5 assists in 30 minutes) was the start of a brief one. He shot 4-for-7 on threes against Portland yesterday on the way to 24 points, coming off a five game stretch where he shot 18-for-56 from the floor. He has been distributing the ball recently, with 9.3 assists per game in his last four and 10.8 so far this month.

    Sharing his high-scoring backcourt with Jennings, Ellis’ offensive efficiency has taken a hit up until recently. He’s shooting just 42.1 FG%, worst for the eight-year veteran since his rookie season, and just 26.2 3FG%, his lowest since 2008 when he hardly took those shots at all. But his numbers are up since the All-Star Break, averaging 23.6 PPG, 7.3 APG, and 4.4 RPG while shooting 48.6 FG% (35.0% on threes, 39.0% in March). Without continued improvement, though, rumors of Ellis’ forthcoming contract opt-out ($11 million due next year) may be greatly exaggerated. Against Atlanta’s pass-heavy offense, he’ll be beneficial to the Bucks tonight if he’s causing turnovers for his opponent (2.0 steals per game, 3rd in NBA) and not creating so many of his own (3.1 TOs per game, 8th in NBA).

    Why are they still hatin’ on the Haitian? Samuel Dalembert had his best outing against Portland (16 points and 7 rebounds) since enduring a week-long suspension for missing the team’s shootaround on February 26. Starting for the second time in three games after being used sparingly since getting suspended, it appears Coach Boylan may stick with Dalembert if he can provide defense and rebounding over the home stretch.

    Two Wheel-of-Fortune nightmare answers, Ersan Ilyasova (hip) and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (turf toe), will be sitting this one out. With Tobias Harris now settled in Orlando, these injuries will put more pressure on the small forward position. “Mike D” Dunleavy will have to be beastin’ from the perimeter (43.3 3FG%, 7th in NBA, just behind Ilyasova). Hawks’ wing players should be able to slip past Mike’s D to create buckets for themselves and their teammates.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  22. lethalweapon3
    “Oh… you shouldn’t have!”


    The Hawks were perhaps in too jolly a mood after getting to spend some of the holidays at home following an impressive winning streak. After being such gracious hosts for Coach Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, hopefully the Bucks will return the favor tonight (8:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FSN Wisconsin) in America’s Dairyland.

    To those ready to hand Mike Budenholzer the unofficial honor of Eastern Conference Coach of the Year, Jason Kidd would like to have a word with you. Say whatever you will about his summertime defection from Brooklyn to join his owner-pal in Wisconsin, but it’s hard to argue with the notion that Kidd placed himself in a far better situation right now.

    While the Nets continue to wobble, his young Bucks (15-15) are still looking good as a playoff contender in the East. After goring the Hawks without Larry Sanders (flu) on Friday, outscoring Atlanta in all four quarters, a sweep tonight would help Milwaukee surpass their entire 2013-14 win total. Kidd’s striving to keep spirits bright despite a spate of injuries that might still imperil their postseason hopes.

    John Henson is playing through an ankle sprain, and Ersan Ilyasova has been out for the course of the month after a rough collision earned him a concussion and a broken nose. Yet the unkindest cut to date for Milwaukee was the loss of their rookie star for the season. Jabari Parker was arguably the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year while averaging 12.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.2 SPG while shooting 49.0 FG% (58.9% in December), until an ACL tear 12 days ago disrupted his, and his team’s, progress.

    But Kidd won’t allow his team to cave in, besting one of his old teams in Phoenix that night, keeping close against contenders like the Blazers and Clippers, and then flying into ATL the day after Christmas to trounce the Hawks by 30. The Bucks used their length to repeatedly press Hawks’ point guards Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder (1-for-9 FGs) out of Plan A in Atlanta’s halfcourt offense, and to make shots for Kyle Korver (1-for-6 3FGs) and DeMarre Carroll (0-for-5 3FGs) much more of a challenge. They were prepared to pounce anytime the Hawks’ bigs (five frontcourt assists, 11 TOs) looked to pass the ball.

    You can pretty much put the long-named and even longer-limbed Giannis Antetokounmpo at any of four positions on the floor. And while you can’t expect good shooting (18.8 3FG%; 2-for-10 FGs last night), you can expect a highlight-per-minute out of the Greek Freak.

    Summer acquisition Jared Dudley, O.J. Mayo, and Khris Middleton are all helping to fill the void. Dudley (24 points, 10-10 FGs, 4-4 3FGs) did indeed do right on Friday by etching his name in the annals of NBA history last night, as the first player to shoot perfectly on at least 10 field goals including a minimum of three triples. Middleton was the sole Buck that struggled yesterday, but the second unit including Middleton, Dudley, Mayo, Henson and NBA FT% league-leader Jerryd Bayless outpointed Atlanta’s reserves 54-27, ensuring no Hawk players could come off the bench to seize the momentum.

    The injuries in Milwaukee’s frontcourt has placed senior leader Zaza Pachulia (14 points, 8 boards, 3 steals last night, starting in place of Sanders) into the familiar situation of being pressed for more productive minutes than he ideally should be receiving. He’s appeared for 20-plus minutes in each of the Bucks’ last 11 games, after doing so for just seven of the first 16. While his floor time is still down from last season, when he filled in admirably for Sanders, the 30-year-old is now in his fourth-straight season averaging at least 20 minutes. While his trademark offensive rebounding is down, Z-Pac (3.4 assists per-36) has been useful in Kidd’s passing game, contributing at least two dimes in his last seven games. He’s also picking off passes well (career-high 1.5 steals per-36). His three steals helped contribute to an uncharacteristic 22-turnover day by the Hawks, the first this season where Atlanta turned it over at least 20 times.

    When Jeff Teague’s 2013 offer sheet was matched by Atlanta, Milwaukee settled on former Piston Brandon Knight as a stopgap measure. Like Teague, Knight (18.0 PPG, 5.3 APG) has more than rewarded the Bucks as their leading scorer and passer. Under Kidd, the fourth-year guard has made greater strides defensively (career-high 1.3 SPG and 4.1 defensive RPG). He can still be erratic (3.4 TOs per game, 10th most in NBA), but much of that issue can be attributed to the collective inexperience of his teammates (17.0 team TOs per game, 2rd most in NBA).

    But the Bucks still a scrappy bunch, scoring 18.6 PPG off of 16.6 turnovers per game (3rd most in NBA) and pounding in 45.0 PPG in-the-paint (5th most in NBA). They’ll overextend often enough to pile up foul calls, however (23.1 personals per game, 3rd most in NBA; 25.8 opponent FT attempts per game, 4th most in NBA). While Atlanta’s guards must match Knight’s and Bayless’ assertiveness in getting to the free throw line, Paul Millsap (22 points on Friday, 8-for-10 FGs) and Al Horford will have to drive more to the rim, drawing contact and and-ones to help the Hawks reignite their offense. Adreian Payne got 13 minutes in his NBA debut yesterday evening, but with Pero Antić’s continued absence, look for more of Mike Muscala and Elton Brand tonight.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  23. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bulls

    By lethalweapon3,

    The Atlanta Hawks got drummed out of Philadelphia last night, looking terribly lethargic against a 76ers squad that had been stumbling before the return of Jrue Holiday.

    Now they return home to face a strongly confident Chicago Bulls team, a team that has won 9 of their last 13, beating Philly twice in that span. They’ve also defeated what was the East’s top team, the New York Knicks, twice this month, including a 4-point win last night in Manhattan that observers would tell you really wasn’t that close. Even without star guard Derrick Rose, the bloom is no longer off the Bulls, who are now primed to overtake the Hawks for the #3-seed in the East if they win at Philips Arena tonight.

    With little resistance from Chicago, the Knicks scrambled to put up 45 points in the fourth quarter just to shrink a 25-point lead by the end of the third quarter. The lack of a defensive pushback was, as expected, much to the dismay of Coach Tom Thibodeau. He drew a technical foul as the game got uglier, but his team was outdone on infractions as the Knicks’ Mike Woodson and star Carmelo Anthony were expelled. New York’s Tyson Chandler was also booted along with Chicago’s Joakim Noah after a fourth-quarter scrum, but a suspension for either player is unlikely coming into tonight’s game.

    It will be interesting to see what energy level the Bulls have by the end of tonight’s game. Deng (41.0) and Noah (40.2) lead the NBA in minutes per game, each exceeding their averages last night. To get both players some rest, Thibodeau may rely more on ex-Hawks Nazr Mohammed and Vladimir Radmanovic tonight.

    Unlike the Hawks last night, several key players on the Bulls stepped up their game to the level of their opposition. Noah clearly outclassed Chandler with a rebounding edge (12 to 8), and added 6 assists to go along with 15 points. Luol Deng (29 points) matched MVP candidate Carmelo Anthony point-for-point, and added 13 rebounds despite injuring his shoulder in the third quarter. Marco Belinelli (22 points) and Nate Robinson (11 points) did not shoot well from the field, but still produced offense by drawing trips to the line and nailing 16 of their combined 18 free throws.

    Perhaps most impressive was one of the players the Hawks jettisoned via free agency. Kirk Hinrich messed around and nearly registered a triple double (16 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 turnovers), while hitting 4 three-pointers, outplaying Raymond Felton.

    The T.I. that Hawks fans really want to see tonight is “Teague Inspired.” Will Jeff Teague, a listless 2-for-4 for 5 points and 4 personal fouls against the Sixers, take the reins of the backcourt offense and outwork the veteran he once had to defer to in past seasons? Without steady play from Teague, and with Devin Harris nursing his sore foot, the Hawks are pressured to rely on Lou Williams (13 points, 4-for-12 shooting, four assists, and four turnovers vs. Philly) as a lead guard for longer stretches earlier in the game than they’d like.

    Teague isn’t the only starter that needs to step up and dominate a game. Atlanta has now gone six games without a single starter scoring at least 20 points. They’ll need to see “Al Scoreford,” instead of the passive player (11.0 PPG, 3.5 APG) Horford has been in the past six games. He’s combining poor and rushed shot selection (9-for-35 in his past three games) with questionable decisions to pass up layups for passes out to the perimeter. His subpar free throw shooting (57.3 FT% on the season) may be subconsciously provoking his tentative play in the post. Although he’s 7-for-9 in his last three games, he definitely needs more trips than he’s earning. Horford will need to play big against his college teammate Noah, who’s won 7 of his last 11 matchups against him (including the 2011 playoffs).

    One Bull who had plenty of rest last night and will play a heavy role tonight will be Carlos Boozer. The Alaskan Assassin’s shooting percentage is a career-low 50.1 percent, and gets a quick hook from Thibodeau when his defensive effort is spotty, yet he is in the top ten in defensive rebounding percentage (27.3%). Taj Gibson plans to play despite a sprained right ankle after just four minutes of action last night, but Thibs will want to limit his playing time if he can help it.

    On Friday night, the Sixers played Death by a Thousand Long-Range Jumpers early, spreading the floor and making offensive rebounds and backdoor cuts easier against the Hawks. The Bulls, leading the NBA in the proportion of long-range shots (30.3% of all shots from 16-to-23 feet) will continue that line of attack.

    Josh Smith, who’s had all he could handle from Kevin Durant, David Lee, and Thaddeus Young lately, needs more help from DeShawn Stevenson and Ivan Johnson so he won’t be overspent making defensive stops at short-and-mid-range.

    More than half of the Hawks’ 15 wins, 8 of their last 11 victories, have come against cellar-dwellers in Charlotte, Orlando, and Washington. While earlier wins against Western contenders were impressive, they have to show some mettle against the top Eastern Conference contenders for others to take them seriously. A convincing victory tonight could be a big first step.

    Happy Holidays to All! And, Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  24. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bulls

    By lethalweapon3,

    Will our Homecourt Houdinis will be at it again, as the shorthanded but overachieving Chicago Bulls pay a visit to the Atlanta Hawks at the Highlight Factory?

    Our Deficit Hawks (26-19) have dug themselves out of double-digit graves in four of their last five home victories, erasing leads of 13 points versus Toronto on Wednesday, 27 against Boston, 18 versus Minnesota, 15 against Utah.

    But how much burrowing will be tolerable against a Chicago team that deep-dished the Hawks to the tune of a 44-point lead back on January 14, conceding just five points in the second quarter and 20 in the first half, on the way to a 97-58 beatdown so severe and absurd that even Worldstar was considering hosting the highlights as a viral video?

    To the casual viewer, one would think that was all Chicago’s doing, commandeered by Coach Tom Thibodeau with his vice-grip defensive strategies, as the Hawks shot a paltry 29.3 FG%. But the Bulls’ shooting in that game was also less-than-scintillating (41.8 FG%, just 27-for-65 from two-point range), and the Hawks committed just one more turnover (and three fewer assists) than Chicago, despite losing by 39.

    Rather, a lot of Atlanta’s damage was self-inflicted, with half-hearted team rebounding (59-39 rebounding edge to the Bulls), laughable shot selection, and a woeful inability to earn trips to the free throw line (ten free throw attempts, to Chicago’s 33). Even in the prior matchup, a comfy 92-75 win in Atlanta on T.I. Night (December 22), the Hawks only got to the line ten times.

    Prior to the January 14 game, Coach Thibodeau went in on his team, applying hoof-to-rump resuscitation two days after an embarrassing 16-point home loss to Alvin Gentry’s Phoenix Suns. "Early this morning, Tibs was going crazy on us at shoot-around,” Joakim Noah ruminated after the Hawks game. “Just waking up early in the morning and having Tibs just screaming at you and screaming at you and screaming at you ... we didn't want that to happen to us again." How amazing of a team that’s capable of responding when a coach dials the pressure up! After roasting the Hawks, the Bulls (28-18) went on to win seven of their last eleven games, pulling ahead of the Pacers in the Central Division.

    With the bloom still off Derrick Rose (knee), the Bulls also played last night in Brooklyn without All-Star Noah (recurring plantar fasciitis), Carlos Boozer (sore hammy), and Kirk Hinrich (elbow infection). Yet they still gave the Nets a run for their money, leading through three quarters before falling short 93-89 with just ten active players.

    Jimmy Butler and Marco Belinelli (team-leading 18 points) provided solid efforts off the bench, helping out with rebounding, passes, steals, and free throw shooting. Butler is a top-20 free throw shooter (85.4 FT%) in the league, and he’s top-ten in lowest turnover percentage (7.5 TOs/100 possessions). Belinelli and Hamilton will be leaned on heavily tonight to get open and spread the Hawk defense with accurate jumpshots.

    Butler, Taj Gibson, Luol Deng, and Nate Robinson each logged 40+ minutes while the Nets pulled away late. Gibson played the entire game, while Deng, the league leader in floor time (39.8 MPG) missed all of 4 seconds. Vladmir Radmanovic and Daequan Cook were dressed but not pressed into action, so look for appearances from each today, along with Marquis Teague, who played sparingly.

    Bob Rathbun sure can deliver the factoids. He tweeted today that against the Raptors, Josh Smith and Al Horford each tallied at least 20 points, 10 boards, three dimes and three swats. It’s the first time an Eastern Conference duo accomplished the feat since TNT celebrity Charles Barkley and ACC hoops analyst Mike Gminski did the deed just over a quarter century ago (January 27, 1988). Nice ‘n Smoove: sometimes, they run slow. Sometimes, they run quick!

    And when they do the latter, they and the Hawks benefit greatly. Bob reminds us that only the Denver Nuggets (21.0 PPG) run up more fast break points in their home games than the Hawks (19.7 PPG). With Chicago on the second night of a back-to-back, Atlanta will need to keep the Bulls’ guards, depleted without Hinrich, on their heels, and their frontline at their backs. A back-and-forth halfcourt race to futility only works in Chi-town’s favor. Instead, secure the rebounds, get the ball to the lead guards in transition, and engage in the running of the Bulls.

    If Noah and Boozer (both questionable) cannot go tonight, Horford and Ivan Johnson have to abdicate some of their mid-range shooting on halfcourt sets and back Gibson and Nazr Mohammed (their only available player above 225 pounds) into the paint. Last night, Andray Blatche wore down a weary Gibson with 10 points in the paint during the final stanza.

    If Hinrich is unavailable (currently not expected to play), Jeff Teague and Devin Harris have to dictate the pace, forcing Nate Robinson to remain active on the defensive side of the ball, drawing help from Deng and Gibson while opening up shots for the Hawk forwards and shooters.

    DeShawn Stevenson was a DNP-CD in that last Hawk-Bull matchup, and he’s expected to start tonight. He’ll be needed as an impediment to Deng, who shot 7-for-9 in that game. With Anthony Morrow finally fresh and Jannero Pargo’s re-signing today, the Hawks should have a full artillery of shooters at their disposal. Opponents shoot just 42.7 FG% (2nd lowest in NBA) against the Bulls' stingy defense, so someone should be crashing the offensive glass.

    Remember who our leading scorer was from that goring in Chicago? Mike Scott, by default, led the way with ten points. Bob also notes that Scott will have a cheering section tonight, as Tony Bennett and his UVa Cavaliers, in town to play the Yellow Jackets on Sunday, will be in the house tonight. With Zaza Pachulia out of action, look for Scott to get some inspired floor time tonight when the Bulls’ frontcourt backups are out there.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
  25. lethalweapon3

    Hawks - Bulls

    By lethalweapon3,

    The Chicago Bulls hope to follow up two straight disappointing finishes at the United Center with a victory tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. Before a national TV audience on NBA-TV, Chicago is also aiming to overtake the low-hovering Hawks for the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference.

    With apologies to the Pacers, the Bulls were perhaps the last impressive victory for the Hawks, winners of just two of their last eight games. The 92-75 win in Atlanta on December 22 kicked off a 4-0 stretch for the Hawks over the Christmas holiday and featured every starter scoring in double figures. The Hawks managed a 25-point fourth quarter lead that not even their fellow-feathered neighbors at the Georgia Dome could blow.

    Meanwhile, there’s a little pressure on the team with the #1 attendance average in the NBA to produce for its home crowd. The Bulls are 10-5 on the road but just 10-10 at the Madhouse on Madison. They’ve come up short in four of their last six home games, including a streak-busting defeat to Charlotte and back-to-back home losses to Milwaukee and Phoenix. That’s despite impressive road wins at New York (twice) and Miami in recent weeks. On the season, the Bulls have averaged just 91.7 PPG at home (2nd lowest in NBA), compared to 95.9 PPG (12th highest in NBA) in away games.
    Suppressing opponents with Coach Tom Thibodeau’s defensive strategies (90.4 Opponent PPG) have kept them competitive at United Center, but not as dominant as they could be as they await the healthy return of their superstar, Derrick Rose.

    This will mark a return for the sharpshooting Kyle Korver to his previous NBA home. Along with a couple other jettisoned members of the Bench Mob, the most accurate 3-point marksman in the last two Bulls’ seasons is sorely missed in the Windy City. He and Lou Williams each went 3-for-6 against the Bulls, still fairly stingy with perimeter defense, the last time out.

    If Luol Deng is hampered at all by a torn wrist ligament carried over by last season, having elected to forgo surgery in the offseason, it certainly isn’t showing. He leads the NBA once again in minutes per game (40.2 MPG), up a tick from his league-leading 39.4 MPG in 2011-12. Chicago’s leading scorer (17.7 PPG) is finding his way to the rim often on backdoor cuts, so it will be wise for Hawk defenders to deny him space along the baseline. He is also helping Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah with offensive rebounds and putbacks.

    Boozer and Noah generally split the rebounding duties, with Boozer the primary option on the defensive end (7.3 Defensive RPG, 10th in NBA) and Noah at the opposite end (3.8 Offensive RPG, 7th in NBA). Hawk centers would do well to challenge Boozer and force Noah to stay at home under the basket more. Noah’s collegiate teammate Al Horford has a total of two offensive boards in his last three games. He and Josh Smith managed three offensive boards each in their last matchup with the Bulls, individually outdoing the two from Noah, Boozer, and Deng combined.

    Former Hawk Kirk Hinrich has picked up the passing duties admirably in Rose’s absence, doubling his assists to 5.5 per game from last season. His scoring capabilities seem to have fallen off a cliff though, with career-lows of 6.6 PPG and 35.1 FG%. He shot just 3-for-11 in his December 22 return to Philips Arena.

    As we near the midseason trade deadline, Richard Hamilton ($5 million contract in 2013-14; just $1 million guaranteed) is a likely trade target, or at least that’s what many Bulls fans seem to be hoping.
    Free agent acquisition Marco Belinelli (team-leading 40.6 3FG%) is playing for his next contract and, while not as reliable from mid-range, has provided about as much offensive punch as could be expected from Rip at this stage of his career.

    Nate is Nate. Robinson’s trademark zeal makes up for repeated breakdowns in defensive play with aggressive drives to the basket. When he’s not settling for three-point shots, he can be a handful. His per-minute scoring rate (18.4 points per 36 minutes) leads the team, and ranking top-20 in the league in assist percentage (30.3 assists per 100 possessions) has made him and his previously unguaranteed contract impossible to shed from the roster even with Rose’s impending return. Perhaps a sign of over-expended energy, Robinson has provided a bigger scoring boost in the first halves of games (45.9 FG%) than in the second halves (39.1 FG%).

    This isn’t really a team you want to see getting their offense off of cheap fouls. Five of their top 6 scorers (the exception being Boozer) are shooting above 80% on their freebies. Deng has boosted his percentage to a career-high 81.9%, as has Belinelli (84.5%). Even Gibson, a career mid-60’s free throw shooter, has improved at the line (74.6 FT%). How nice to see a team that seems to work at that!

    Chicago’s starters are not going to make a lot of three-pointers. Their top two three-point shooters, Robinson and Belinelli, come off the bench now that Hamilton has returned. Hamilton is 3-for-7 in his last seven games but has not taken a three-point shot in any of his last four. Former Three-Point Shootout champ Daequan Cook has been picked up on waivers, and will work his way into the Bulls’ rotation if he can effectively stretch the floor.

    The Bulls’ defense strives to make opponents take tough shots off the dribble. Opponents have the fewest assists per game in the league. An NBA-low 47.1% of opponent at-rim shots are assisted. The Hawks will need to pound the ball down low repeatedly, making Carlos Boozer work on defense (Luis Scola filled that role for Phoenix on Saturday, with 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting) , and penetrate into the lane (as Shannon Brown and Michael Beasley did for the Suns), forcing Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson to provide help. Atlanta must punish the Bulls when they go with a Hinrich-Belinelli backcourt, with guards beating them down the court for transition baskets.

    Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
×
×
  • Create New...