lethalweapon3

Another tidbit: One calendar year ago, Mindaugas Kuzminskas was the runner-up as the Euroleague Player of the Month for October. The winner of the monthly honor was Malcolm Delaney, who went on to make the 2016 All-Euroleague First Team. http://malaga.eldesmarque.com/unicaja/42973-delaney-le-quita-el-mvp-a-kuzminskas http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/6g7wcmwhi9d4nvan/mvp-for-october-malcolm-delaney-lokomotiv-kuban-krasnodar ~lw3

One late scratch... Joakim Noah's feeling ill and will sit this baby out. O'Quinn will start (BBQ Chicken, Dwight!) while Miles "Yes, another" Plumlee was recalled from D-League Westchester. ~lw3

“Dolan’s posse on my tail, ‘cause I’m in demand!” It’s Breakfast at Madison Square Garden! The Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks are taking Centre Court a little early this Sunday (12:00 noon Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, MSG Network in NYC). I’ve got a busy week ahead myself, so rather than a full spread, in these game threads I’ll provide some tidbits for the upcoming games, including some strawberries-and-cream for this mid-day matchup. What is up, schedule gods? Only two games so far this season involved the Hawks (9-3) facing an opponent coming off a back-to-back. The Hornets had two full days off before nipping Atlanta’s six-game winning streak in the bud on Friday night. Recent Hawks opponents included the Bucks (three days off), and the Rockets (two days off), and the Cavs (two days off). When Atlanta returns home, they’ll take on a Pelicans team that had two days of rest. Today, they visit a Knicks squad that has been off since Thursday, although that team has spent much of its time stewing. The Knicks (5-7) thought they were climbing out of an early-season rut after home wins over Dallas and Detroit this past week, but they were sent reeling once again when they were tripped up in Washington by another reeling team. Before toppling New York, the Wizards (now 3-9) had just dropped their third-straight game one night before in Philadelphia (now 3-10), where’s it’s not always sunny. “On the road you should be 10 times [as focused], it should be 10 times more important to go in somebody’s house and win,” lamented sixth-man guard Brandon Jennings to Newsday following the loss to the Zards. “This is a team that was desperate for a win and they got one. They just lost to Philly and they come and beat us? Nah… We definitely need to be more desperate. Every game, from here on out we need to be desperate. We play for the New York Knicks. Everybody wants to beat us. It’s a known national team.” The Knicks have been running in different directions on offense, at times trying to execute Jeff Hornacek’s new schemes, at times looking over their shoulder as the Zen Master implores the team to run more Triangle sets, at times getting iso-happy and doing their own things. They ended their night in D.C. on the losing side of a 119-112 score, but things were much worse when they found themselves with just 42 halftime points and down 87-65 through three quarters. New York is at their best when they key in on post-up plays, using the crafty maneuvering of Carmelo Anthony (22.3 PPG, 53.1 2FG%) and the height and length of Kristaps Porzingis (20.3 PPG, 54.4 FG%) to their advantage. The Knicks are one of two teams (joined by their borough mates in Brooklyn) that have made more than half of their shots on post-up plays, scoring at least one point league-high 53.1 percent of the time. Counter-intuitive to the offensive mindsets of Jennings and Derrick Rose, New York takes just 22.0 drives per game (2nd-lowest in NBA), scoring just 15.8 PPG (2nd lowest in East) off drives toward the hoop. Until recently, Anthony and Rose have been playing too much of a two-man game to the exclusion of their teammates, including the prodigious Porzingis. While each have started to produce more plays for Kristaps (40.0 3FG%, 35 points vs. DET on Wednesday), they need to get others involved along the perimeter, including swingmen Courtney Lee and Mindaugas Kuzminskas (each 40.0 3FG%) and ex-Hawk Justin Holiday (42.3 3FG%). The Knicks’ real problem, to few people’s surprise, is on the other end of the floor. New York allows 108.8 points per 100 possessions to opponents, a shade ahead of Portland (108.9) for the worst mark in the NBA. With all of his height, Porzingis is often deployed to help defensively deficient guards patrol the three-point line (37.0 opponent 3FG%, 4th-highest in NBA), the Knicks find themselves springing a leak around the rim. They allow 15.4 second-chance PPG (3rd-worst in NBA) as opponents’ 26.3 O-Reb% ranks as the 4th-most in the league. The Knicks also board-crash a lot on the offensive end (27.3 O-Reb%, 5th in NBA), but that doesn’t help them get back in transition as well as they’d like. Center Joakim Noah remains admittedly slowed by past injuries, and Hornacek has turned more often to Porzingis as a “small”-ball 5 than to reserve big man Kyle O’Quinn (career-low 10.2 minutes per game). For the Hawks’ frontline, the head-to-head matchups with the Knicks will seem transitive relative to the opponents in Charlotte. Paul Millsap goes from facing ample backside to ample upside with Porzingis. Dwight Howard got the Ashton Kutcher treatment from Charlotte’s Cody Zeller, and now the seasoned Noah will pull whatever tricks he can out of his bag, in his limited time on the floor, to distract and dissuade Howard from getting the job done. (EDIT: Noah sits today, see details a few posts down) Whether it’s due to foul trouble or an injury or an ejection, Millsap (team-high 17.3 PPG) has willingly covered for Howard’s absences on the floor to the best of his ability, as has the improved Mike Muscala. But as demonstrated in the closing minutes in Charlotte, going into crunch-time without Howard on the floor is not sustainable. Kent Bazemore will have his hands full with Anthony and will need to help force tough mid-range jumpers without fouling. Bazemore has struggled defensively against taller opponents, especially when they’re granted touches in the paint. Including his need to make Anthony work on the defensive end, Bazemore’s floor time will be integral to Atlanta’s success today, especially if Thabo Sefolosha (knee sprain) remains unavailable. The Knicks are pressed to begin the process of shifting from Melo to Porzingis as a first-option in their offense. Similarly, the Hawks also some transitioning to consider. If starting guard Kyle Korver is on the floor for nearly 30 minutes, as was the case versus the Hornets, it’s likely not with the intention that he get three three-point attempts up. His 4.7 3FG attempts per game are the lowest since his years as a reserve in Chicago and Utah. It is important for coach Mike Budenholzer to direct more of the ball from the point guards and bigs out to get Kyle (40.4 3FG%, career-high 55.6 2FG%) more touches. But as Korver becomes less effective as a decoy on offense and a helper on defense (no rebounds, steals or blocks @ CHA on Friday), it is time to other options starting at the 2-spot, including a guy that was once the lead scorer for a banged-up Knicks team. In exchange for a one-year rental of rookie Jerian Grant, the Knicks disposed of Tim Hardaway, Jr., who now resides in Atlanta. He does have a ways to go with perimeter shots (32.8 3FG%) and passing, and his free throw shooting has momentarily regressed (65.6 FT%). But he is attacking the rim with authority (66.0 2FG%, 3rd in NBA; Muscala’s 73.6% ranks 1st), and is building rapport with Atlanta’s first and second units. Baze (34.8 3FG%, 7-for-10 2FGs but 4 TOs @ CHA) as the starting 2-guard is the better long-term play. But the Hawks’ bench may be better served in the interim by a pairing of Korver with the eventually returning Sefolosha at the wing. Among Atlanta’s top-20 2-man combos, either of Hardaway or Sefolosha are part of six of the Hawks’ seven-best lineup tandems, in terms of net points per 100 possessions (the sole starter in that septet being Millsap). Baze-and-Kyle are at minus-3.4 net points per-100 (201 minutes together), while Baze-and-Timmy are a positive +7.2 (71 minutes). The not-so-grumpy, not-so-old men Kyle-and-Thabo have been +32.4 points per-100 net scoring, but have only shared the floor for 21 minutes this season. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3 View full record

Al Horford Lives! Rebounds! How novel! ~lw3

Heads up: Action at The World's Most Overrated Arena between the Hawks and Knicks tips off at noon tomorrow. Treat it like a Football Sunday, since the Falcons have the week off! ~lw3

Meanwhile: Technically, shouldn't the Hornets be posting this Tweet? ~lw3

I'm not on mobile, but I do notice the Gray color on the changed font, which might pose problems for some of y'all on mobile. Paging @Dolfan23! ~lw3

That Hornets injury report was as of last night. Backup big man Roy Hibbert has dealt with some knee soreness but played briefly versus Minnesota a few days ago, so I presume he will be active tonight. ~lw3

“We don’t give a d*mn about no d*mn Gucci Night!” As the twin-engine aircrafts approach for landing, they catch Rich Cho’s knowing eye. Cho races to the bell tower, alerting his boss from the belfry that it is time. The guests are arriving! “This gentleman seeks to reverse the downward story arc of his career.” Cho whispers to his manager the deepest-held desires of his visitors, as each subject disembarks. “This enterprising fellow wishes for his dyed hairstyle to become the viral rage of his foreign land.” The manager who runs the whole place is attired in a dashing white suit and Hanes T-shirt, and equally white sneakers, a silhouette of his likeness from sprier times affixed to their tongues and heels. At the reception area, he greets his newest lei-adorned arrivals at once: “My dear guests, I am Mr. Jordan, your host. Welcome… to Kemba Island!” Teams like the visiting Atlanta Hawks are finding it harder to meet up with the host Charlotte Hornets (7:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast,92.9 FM in ATL) and come away with a W. To do so, at some point, you are compelled to deal with this isle’s namesake. You could almost name a nice salad dressing after the number of islands sitting all alone in the NBA Sea. Cousins Island, Davis Island, Harden Island, Lopez Island. But Kemba Island is among the few isolated locales where its inhabitants have been legitimately prospering. Entering the pros with a collegiate championship in hand and a winning All-American persona, in recent years, Kemba Walker was left to the Bermuda Triangle of basketball’s collective consciousness. A predictable ballhandler, limited mid-range shooter, a modest defender, situated in a small NBA market. “Dime-a-dozen,” became the read, especially in a star-guard-loaded league where one Charlotte-based NBA guard was emerging to take the world by storm. In days long before the Dab arrived, the Kemba Walker Dance was the craze that kept Uptown heads bobbing. But by the time of Walker’s fourth season, the excitement had grown stale, and NBA eyes were shifting elsewhere. And that’s a shame because Walker, now in his sixth pro season, has only just begun ascending into the All-NBA atmosphere. Walker joins Charlotte-raised Stephen Curry as the only NBA hoop stars averaging 25 points and 5 assists while exceeding shooting splits of 45/45/80, his career-best 25.8 scoring average buttressed by career-best shooting of 50.0 2FG% and 47.8 3FG%. Kemba’s assist-turnover ratio of 2.75 ranks 6th among point guard starters, assisting on 32.4% of his team field goals to rank 8th (just behind Dennis Schröder’s 32.5%). Notably, unlike many of the Carolina Ranger’s do-it-all cohorts, his Hornets (7-3) are winning ballgames, victors in five of their last seven contests, with three losses to Toronto, Cleveland, and Boston by only single digits. Despite their early success, the Hornets have just one victory in their cap against a team currently above-.500 (Utah, who has lost two straight). They’re looking for an impressive win at the rebranded Spectrum Center, and they hope Atlanta (9-2), one of the few Eastern Conference teams whose opponents have held a worse winning percentage (44%), will be just the quality opponent to come to the island bearing gifts. Charlotte mimics latter-day Atlanta in forgoing offensive rebounds (27th in O-Reb%), in hopes they’ll get back in decent position to force tough shots and make defensive stops. So far, that’s working well. The Hornets rank 5th in the league with 79.3 D-Reb%, contributing to their 99.4 D-Rating ranking 4th in the NBA, two spots behind second-place Atlanta (95.1). A healthy Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, plus Nic Batum, beloved ex-Hawk Marvin Williams, and Cody Zeller, are defensive-oriented role players on the top line, easing pressure off Walker (1.9 SPG, 10th in NBA) to adhere to his opposing guard assignment. The supporting cast of starters, and bench players, also know their roles when they get to the other end of the floor. Specifically, keep moving while Walker (30 points, 5 steals @ MIN on Tuesday) is setting things up, and when a teammate gets the ball from Kemba, find your shot or make the assist, but don’t waste time hesitating and risk losing the ball. Charlotte’s 6.7 secondary assists per game ranks third behind Golden State (9.7) and Atlanta (7.1), and their total 24.2 team APG ranks 5th. Offensive ball control is at the core of the Hornets’ gameplan (league-low 5.1 team SPG), which is bad news for a Hawks team that thrives off opponent goofs (10.0 SPG and 17.1 opponent TOs per 100 possessions, 2nd in NBA). Kemba has been credited with just 4 bad passes (via Basketball Reference) in his ten games so far, compared to over one per game last season, which wasn’t bad, either. Backup players Ramon Sessions, Marco Belinelli, Frank Kaminsky (20 bench points, 5 assists @ MIN) and Spencer Hawes have little interest in passing the ball. It’s catch-and-shoot city for the Hornets (5th with 28.5 catch-and-shoot PPG, 0.1 PPG more than 6th-place Atlanta), at least until the fourth quarter, when it comes time for Kemba (7-for-7 2FGs in clutch situations, 86.7 fourth-quarter FT%) to don the cape. In his pregame commentary, Hornets coach Steve Clifford cited “offensive energy, and we can’t turn the ball over,” as keys to victory tonight. As FanSided’s The Step Back noted yesterday about Charlotte: “They’ve built their identity on not making mistakes, which forces you to beat them straight up.” Atlanta will find takeaways even more scarce without Thabo Sefolosha (NBA-high 5.2 steals per 100 possessions) around to pester Hornets all across the floor. But playing Charlotte “straight up” will be much simpler tonight with the return of Dwight Howard (early career-highs of 62.2 FG%, 1.8 SPG and 5.9 offensive RPG), who sat out Atlanta’s 107-100 win against Milwaukee after bruising his thigh one night before. The Hornets don’t gamble for steals much, an indication that the passing lanes to Howard should be clearer for Schröder and the Hawks’ passing game. Similar to Walker, the lion’s share of Dennis’ turnovers (just 8 bad passes in 11 games, a departure from past seasons as a backup) derive from going full-bore on drives and losing the ball. When the driving lanes are clogged, Schröder should be able to find Kyle Korver (1-for-1 3FGs shooting from Dahlonega, 5 assists vs. MIL) and Kent Bazemore (3-for-5 3FGs vs, MIL) at the wings to let it fly. He’s had ample time scouting Walker while watching from the sidelines as Jeff Teague’s second-in-command. There should therefore be little trouble for Dennis to run the offense on this particular island, as he continues his transformation from Gilligan to the Skipper. But Schröder’s on-ball defense will also be needed to deny Walker his preferred spots (like the top of the key, and the left-corner 3-point zone) and keep him out of the lane, considering Clifford has expressed great interest in raising the Hornets’ paint points. Atlanta has benefitted from a weak strength-of-schedule, but now the challenge steepens as they embark on a stretch of 7-of-8 games on the road to conclude the month. Including the Hawks (3-1) and the Hornets (4-1), the league’s top six teams presently in the standings have a stellar 26-4 collective record in away games. Sustaining their position atop the Eastern Conference standings will necessitate full court production that is as sound away from home (league-best 88.5 D-Rating in away games, but 23rd-ranked O-Rating) as it has been at the Highlight Factory. While the Hornets don’t force many live-ball turnovers, they will press in transition to catch opponents off-guard and out of position (17.9 PPG off turnovers, 7th in NBA; Atlanta’s 20.5 PPG ranks 2nd). Bazemore and rookie Taurean Prince will have critical roles in slowing and thwarting the Hornets in transition. If Atlanta is successful with minimizing unforced errors, and stopping Charlotte from churning Hawk mistakes into points, their stay will feel a lot more like Fantasy Island, and a lot less like LOST. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3 View full record

Nah. He's in the Fast Eddie Division of Hawk fan favorites. ~lw3

"And not only that, Auburn's making it all the way to the Final Four!" ~cb34

b/r couldn't find a Hawk for a cover pick, but hey, why quibble? ~lw3

I used to get calls on a cellphone like that. Late night when... ah ne'er mind... ~lw3

^Stay strong up there, GM! We've been catching some of the early morning smoke all the way down here in the city all this week, and can only imagine how hectic stuff is further north in the mountains. Props to the real Fire Brigade! ~lw3

Snoop was a Philly guy (w/ the Hawks around the time I was contemplating moving here), and guys like him and Mario Elie that went through roundabout means to make it in to the league were intriguing to me. ~lw3

I have a hard time picking just one! Once you remove Nique from the equation, that is. But Smitty is my favorite non-HHF guy, for all the reasons Soth identified. The competitiveness-x-class combo was hard to beat. Using the back of a napkin, I'd have to break faves down by decade: 70s - Lou Hudson (lowkey, Mike Glenn) 80s - Kevin Willis (lowkey, Antoine Carr) 90s - Steve Smith (lowkey, Snoop Graham) Aughts - Joe Johnson (lowkey, Zaza Pachulia) 20Teens - Paul Millsap (lowkey, Ivan Johnson) ~lw3

~lw3

Automatic Chatroom sips, everytime Nique: * "TABS" (That's a Bad Shot) * "NAGS" (Not a Good Shot) * Craps on a subpar opposing player who promptly goes OFF * "Oh, now, you know, you can't leave Kyle open like that!" (sip twice when Kyle clanks the 3) * (Up 4 with 3 minutes left) "That's a dagger. This game's over!" ~lw3

So you're saying. "You Don't Give a D@mn 'Bout No D@mn Drake GIF?" ~kd35

~lw3

Yes, Bawb is a National Treasure. He goes nowhere! ~lw3

Follow-up from yesterday's threadswerve: “We always say, a possession is not complete until you get the rebound.” – Bud on 92.9 just now. ~lw3

Let It Fly, Greek Freak! Let It Fly! (and, bless the Magic) ~lw3

I slept on this one last night, and woke up with "The Finishers!" Which is probably an indication I need more ZZZZZ's. Anyway, as per NBA Stats, the Hawks bench Net Rating sits at +18.2. Next-highest are those mighty Timberwolves (Adreian??!?) with +9.0. The reserves' defensive rating is an NBA-best and downright ridiculous 91.2. Among teams playing at a pace 100 possessions per-48 and above (Hawks bench at 103.0), the closest team in D-Rating to the Hawks are those pesky Lakers (Louuuuuu!!?!) at 100.0. Their plus/minus of +6.8 is best approached by the Raptors' (Bebe!?!?!) +2.8. We about to lose all our assistant coaches! And probably the scouts, too! ~lw3

I wanna add that one of the best young color analysts I've heard in recent years has been under our tent for awhile now. (Go Dragons! btw) What has Malik Rose been up to lately? Quietest Bball Ops director ever! I'd love for him to Duane Ferrell a game or two when Nique needs a break. ~lw3