lethalweapon3

Beywatch! Hawks' GameNotes has Saddiq joining Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell as the sole NBA'ers averaging over 20 PPG with 50/40/90 minimum splits over their past 4 games. Forever and always, he's always here. Traewatch! Young could surpass Mookie for the franchise triples lead with 4 more today. Tewatch! Per Elias Sports, Murray's next four-point play would move him past notorious perimeter foul magnet Jamal Crawford (5) for third all-time during a season in Hawks franchise history. Bruno remains Probable to return today, although non-COVID illness seems to continue hampering the Hawks roster. 2Ts Matthews is Out, while Patty Mills is listed as Doubtful on the Boo-Boo/A-choo Report. These little piggies may or may not be going to market: Patrick Williams (mid-foot edema) remains Out, Alex Caruso (contused toe) Questionable, and Torrey Craig (sprained toe) and Coby White (contused ankle) Probable on the Bulls' 1:30 PM update. ~lw3

“YOUR BOY VEACH WAS SUPPOSED TO TRADE THAT FUMBLING PACHECO AT THE DEADLINE! YOU FOOL!” There is a clear line of demarcation separating the Top-8 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference from the rest. It has been left to two teams, among the dregs, to decide whether they wish to muddle that line up. “Yeah, I’mma head out,” has been the mantra of the Pistons, Wizards, Hornets, and Raptors for a minute now. The Nets are soon to join them, once Dennis Schröder, Cam Thomas and Jacque Vaughn properly fall out with one another. That leaves two lottery slots, and it will be up to the players on the floor tonight in Atlanta (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, NBC Sports Chicago) to figure out which direction they wish to head. For the Hawks, and the Chicago Bulls, their fates are no longer in the GMs’ hands. You could have told me Brett Veach was the lead guitarist for The Cranberries and I would have believed you. Tagging along when Andy Reid was expelled from Philly, Veach was the personnel guy who first sang the praises of the rocket-armed game manager down at Texas Tech. Then he moved up KC’s ladder to take over the GM spot. Although it is easy to obscure oneself, lately, behind the glitz of an international pop star, Veach has since made the deals, the drafts, and the offseason signings and re-signings without much personal fanfare, then left it all in the players’ hands to, eventually, earn him a third Superb Owl ring. Your title-winning touchdown recipient last night? Acquired a week before the NFL Trade Deadline; thanks, Jets. What’s this GM guy’s name, again? Life’s a Veach. He’s like the “G” in Lasagna. I think Veach hit the sweet spot of being that RealGM that can hang out at the produce aisle midweek, taking time to pick just the right set of crudités for his gameday party platters, without anybody recognizing him enough to covet his autograph, nor lob tomatoes at him for failing to make the precise personnel acquisitions and dispatches they dreamed up for their favorite sportsball team. By no means celebrity GMs, certainly not celebrated ones, Landry Fields and Arturas Karnisovas likely each have their favorite supermarket shopping locales. It’s just that they must drive a little ways out from their NBA city-cores to spend much time there. Especially so, after last week’s Trade Deadline passed without any white smoke rising from either organization’s front-office edifices, much to the chagrin of their hand-wringing (and online neck-wringing) fanbases. While Landry at least makes the occasional appearance during and throughout the season, deftly applying his Stanford education to chat his way out of directly answering incisive questions, AK saved his Groundhog Day routine for the hours after Bulls fans realized his Trade Deadline line went dead. Paraphrasing Karnisovas: “We’re gritty and competitive enough right now; it wasn’t our kind of trade market anyway; no need to worry bout the cap crunch until the offseason; whoops, there’s my shadow, gotta run!” Wrought with despair over the years-long inability to get Lonzo Ball upright, and now Zach LaVine (foot surgery, out for season) having to shut things down, Bulls fans have been clamoring to their conductor that they want off this train. That would have meant Karnisovas finding a new home for his tricenarian players (DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Andre Drummond), and getting some useful draft capital or player exceptions to, someday, revamp this roster around Coby White. Yes, these are now Coby White’s Chicago Bulls. Never mind the former UNC star and North Carolina native’s career-long struggles versus the Hawks (38.5 FG%, 25.8 3FG%, 71.8 FT% vs. ATL), while being turnstiled in-and-out of coach Billy Donovan’s rotations for years. And never mind his shooting struggles of late on the road, going 5-for-21 from the field in the Bulls’ 114-108 overtime loss on Saturday at Orlando. Starting all season long, White has finally flourished offensively (career-bests of 19.3 PPG, 5.2 APG, 39.5 3FG%) while displaying some of the defensive tenacity, for rebounds and loose-ball recoveries, that Bulls fans crave from fan-fave Alex Caruso (questionable, contused toe after playing @ ORL). So long as he still has DeMar and Vooch around to draw defenders away, and with Drummond still here to smash the offensive glass, White can keep Chicago (14-9 when he hits half his shots) in contention on a decent shooting day. Hoof issues have plagued the Bulls (25-28) all season, between Caruso’s toe sprains and bruises, and Patrick Williams (out, midfoot bone edema, missed past 7 games) and Torrey Craig (probable, sprained toe, missed 22 games before coming off-bench for past 4) missing time. That’s forced Donovan into fielding the Bulls’ elder statesmen (DeRozan’s 37.6 MPG, most since his first All-Star season in 2013-14; Vucevic’s 34.4 MPG a career-high) longer than even he would like. Still, having had an off-day between the Magic and Hawks games, the Bulls are in better fighting shape than some of the travel- and injury-hampered teams that have stumbled through State Farm Arena’s doors of late. The hosts’ team colors, fortunately, are not Torch Red and Fool’s Gold. Coach Quin Snyder’s club exited this past weekend with a 6-2 stretch that, coupled with Trae Young’s worthy All-Star replacement selection, has begun to turn frowns upside down. It certainly aids the whole team that Dejounte Murray (34 points, season-high 12-for-15 FTs, 7 assists in Saturday’s win vs. HOU) needn’t look over his shoulder for a tap from Fields. But it is astute to recognize that wins like the past two, back-to-back at knee-capped Philadelphia and versus customs-cleared Houston, were the types of games where, as recently as weeks ago, the Hawks would routinely find themselves at the losing end. Games like the After Christmas Day loss in Chi-town, 118-113, to a Bulls team that had not only LaVine but Vucevic unavailable. Chicago was able to uncork Drummond (25 rebounds, incl. 10 O-Rebs, 24 points, 3 steals, 2 blocks) on an overwhelmed Clint Capela (out, strained adductor). It wouldn’t take much slippage, particularly on the defensive, free-throw and corner-three shooting, and ball-control fronts, for Atlanta (24-29) to find themselves hangin’ with the Hornets again. Not having to deal with Sengun or Embiid over the past couple games made it easier for Snyder to get away with Jalen Johnson (11 D-Rebs vs. HOU) subbing Onyeka Okongwu at the 5-spot, but Atlanta’s 58-41 rebounding disadvantage made it difficult to fully dock the Rockets. Similarly, Philly’s 49-40 edge on the boards made it hard to sink the Sixers’ ship late. With Drummond coming off the bench for Vooch (27.5 3FG%) tonight, Gwu Tang could use some spirited spells from Bruno Fernando (probable, illness) and secondary rebounding from forwards De’Andre Hunter (DNP vs. HOU, but not on the injury list), Saddiq Bey and Johnson to offset Chicago’s interior-heavy game. Young, Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic ought not be wooed by Bulls defenders into lofting out-of-rhythm threes, even when seemingly left “open”. They and the rest of the Hawks combined to shoot just 13-for-45 on treys in Chicago back in December. Permitting an NBA-high 39.0 3FGAs, but with opponents shooting just league-average 36.8 3FG% (15th in NBA), Donovan wants opponents out of the paint, keeping DeRozan, Vucevic and the bigs fresh and foul-trouble-free (CHI 7-16 when whistled for 20+ hacks). Their rebounding allows Chicago (30th in Pace) to grind the tempo to a halt and keep foes close enough on the scoreboard in hopes White and DeRozan can help pull off some winning shots late. Each current member of the NBA East’s Top-5 have been on the business end of a Trae Young bonanza in their own building during a postseason game (Play-Ins included). Given the choice, they’d rather see DeRozan, and his shrieking kid, than Ice Trae bringing wind chills to their arena at Playoff first-round time. You can always cover your ears, but you can’t avert your eyes when Young gets on a heater. While both teams have Play-In ceilings, even the most optimistic Bulls fan understands that a sudden surge up the standings to catch the Pacers (4.5 games ahead of CHI) would only have Chicago as the third-best team in the Central Division. The Hawks, conversely, are in the NFC South of the NBA, particularly with the Baddest Mamma Jammas in the NBA, down in Miami (4.0 games ahead of ATL; 1.0 games behind ORL), coming apart at the seams. A Play-In home game, and a feel-good division title, remain within reach, but only if the Hawks continue to improve at taking care of business when favored to win. They can do their part, tonight, to begin turning the East’s clear Top-8 into a Top-9. Preferably, not a Top-10. Blurred Line! I know you want it. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

“And that, kid, is How I Met Your Mother.” Rebuilding from the ground up to become NBA contenders, using the Drafts as the foundation, is never easy. Don’t believe Hawks fans? Philadelphia can tell you a thing or two about it. Laden with high hopes of Hall of Fame-level stardom, lottery selections and other first rounders could become the next Bouknights and Primos and Zhaires and Killians in a blink. There’s another possible side effect, going on right now with the Houston Rockets, when the draft acquisitions seem like they all could do more than just pan out. This ought to be a happy season for Rockets fans. Through 50 games they’ve already picked up more wins with coach Ime Udoka, than in any of the prior three training-wheel seasons with Stephen Silas calling the shots. GM Rafael Stone has crafted a roster loaded with upstarts, and he brought in a pair of free agent vets this offseason to hold down the backcourt as Udoka coaches up the youngsters. Yet not all is as it should seem. There are factions – what I like to call “Muses,” on The Internets these days – touting each of the up-and-comers as The Next Big Thing, insisting that they might already be that if other teammates would simply get out of their way. There’s the international-flavored Alperen Sengun Muse, and the Jalen Green Muse, fending off attacks from the growing Muses for Jabari Smith, Tari Eason, and now, rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore (Questionable vs. ATL, after spraining an ankle last night @ TOR), the latter a big draw for Villanova Muse. All eyes are on the Thompson twin after Amen collected his third double-double of the season on Tuesday in Indiana (13 points and rebounds, plus six assists and three blocks), in just his second NBA start while filling in for Eason (leg injury management). Normally, this development would be welcome news. But within the Rocket-verse, it’s… great… but at whose expense? From one day to the next, the Muses are circling the wagons around Their Guy when Udoka offers up a biting critique of their play, lobbing arrows in all directions when Their Guy finds minutes cut, battening down the hatches when Their Guy gets caught in 5G slacking on the defensive end. Were it not so sad, it would be a-Muse-ing. After toppling the Nuggets in Denver, then beating the Spurs and Ja-less Grizzlies to surf a five-game winning wave to a 13-9 record in mid-December, Houston (23-28) has found their cohesion slipping as swiftly as their playoff aspirations. It’s not as if they are in Tank Mode again, certainly not with this upcoming Draft. With both VanVleet and Dillon Brooks under contract through at least 2025-26, it’s not as though the Rockets have to figure it all out right away. But there’s no need for the players, or their supporters, to cut each other down this early in their trajectory. Thanks largely to Fred VanVleet (Out since this past Tuesday, strained adductor), Houston has taken care of the ball in ways that teams reliant on youthful playmakers often cannot. But there are too many instances, of Rocket players going it alone (57.7 team assist% since Dec. 15, 3rd-lowest in NBA; 0.83 points-per iso possession, 4th-lowest in NBA) that weigh down the offense at inopportune times (56.7 4th-quarter TS%, 6th-lowest in NBA). Central to this is Sengun (6.5 Roll-Man PPG, 2nd in NBA), who thrives on pick-and-rolls and the occasional pick-and-pops. But his 0.86 iso PPP is on the bottom end of the NBA spectrum, especially among bigs with more than 2 iso possessions per game (Sengun Muse would come at me if I didn’t mention LeBron’s 0.84 is even worse), while his 13.5 TO% is on the way-too-high end. It’s not just on offense where he easily draws Ime’s ire. Alpo was doghoused, riding the pine late in the fourth quarter of Houston’s 134-127 home loss to the Hawks on December 20, and Udoka minced postgame words about as artfully as he does garlic. “We want our bigs to be up and stay beneath the rollers,” Coach Ime explained to LockedOn Rockets host Jackson Gatlin and postgame media. “[Onyeka] Okongwu got out a few times. [Clint] Capela, same thing.” “When they’re not setting screens and slipping, you have to be able to adjust and defend those actions. That’s what I saw. Not the best pick-and-roll defense.” Fortunately for The Goon, Steven Adams can’t heal up soon enough. Unfortunately, Udoka sat him again, along with Jalen Green, while praising the bench brigade’s effort during the fourth quarter of last night’s 107-104 loss. (The Raps did have a 22-point lead that they nearly blew in the closing minutes… who does that?) When asked if he considered going back to Houston’s two top young minutes-loggers, postgame, Udoka replied, “Possibly. But not based on what I saw during the game.” I can only imagine the Muse-ings from overnight. “We need to have that urgency from the start,” Coach Ime remarked about the reserves, taking a flyer from Larry Drew, “from everybody. It’s Game 51. We have to see some growth.” After a season-low 21 minutes last night, Sengun’s maturity-to-date will be on full display in Houston’s Game 52, at least for as long as Udoka can stand it. Like the Hawks’ past two opponents, Philly and especially Boston, Houston doesn’t allow an abundance of decent transition opportunities for their opponents (1.05 defensive transition PPP, 2nd behind BOS in NBA). Udoka relies on Dillon Brooks, and Eason and VanVleet when healthy, to muck things up enough to keep them in nightly contention. On the second night of a back-to-back for both clubs (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Space City Home Network in HTX), Atlanta (23-29, after yesterday’s wire-to-worn-thread victory in Philly) will need to protect the ball and keep the sloppy execution to a minimum. Trae Young and his fellow Hawks will also want to sink the freebies they could not, last night, to keep the Sixers at bay in the second half, the free throws that Brooks and the handsy Houston defenders (21.2 personal fouls and 25.9 opponent FTAs per-48, 3rd-most in NBA; 74.8 opponent FT%, lowest in NBA) are sure to grant in lieu of field goals. Most importantly, the Hawks have to be the team on the hardwood that looks to impress the home fans as a collective, and not with a bunch of Imma Get Mines boxscore stats that only serve to wow the Muses. Can I get an Amen in here? Don’t let Jalen Green Muse answer that. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

~lw3

“Welcome, to The City of Buddy Love!” Watch for falling 76ers! Look out below! ‘Twas rough sledding for Landry Fields and our hey-big-spender Atlanta Hawks yesterday. Sometimes, after a full day stomping around at the big mall from sun up to sun down, you come away with absolutely nothing but sore feet. It didn’t help that many vendors didn’t bother to open for you, not until the noisy crowds rushed in. You find yourself going from shopping around, to getting shopped around. About to cry in your Pinto, you glance at the dude with the fancy car one parking space over. The convertible is loaded with glow-in-the-dark rock-band posters and a lava lamp from Spencer’s, a solar-powered grandfather clock from Brookstone’s, and a giant Happy Groundhog Day cookie from the food court. Advantage: You. Daryl Morey still gets to drive off in the Lambo at every day’s end. But the guy in the Pinto came away with the better deal at the mall, and that was without actually buying or giving away anything. The Philadelphia 76ers’ mover-and-shaker certainly made moves, reeling in Buddy Hield and Cameron Payne, but shedding Pat Beverley, Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz, and Danuel House in a trio of deals involving Central Division teams. Jaden Springer was also sprung to Boston at Thursday’s 3 PM Trade Deadline buzzer. The net effect of all that shaking, in the short term, was probably a shakedown. That wasn’t the scenario Sixers fans dreamed up when they awoke on Deadline Day. Morey has left a crack in this year’s championship window, his Sixers (30-20) falling further below the first apron, and clearing salary for some veteran waiver-wire pickups. A gunner like the contract-expiring Hield on the wing, for a subpar perimeter-shooting team (21st in 3FG%, 27th in 3FGM), won’t hurt at all. Yet that window hinges on the health, several weeks from now, of the only 76er on the roster with a contract guaranteed for next season. Morey’s maneuvers yesterday were built with an eye more on rebuilding a contender around Joel Embiid, next season, than it does on making a run for the ring in this one. Atlantic Division rival Boston rules the Eastern roost, while New York became the Deadline Day darlings. As for Philly? If the Sixers aren’t making traction toward the East’s Top-4, they will heed Big Perk’s sage advice, and put their MVP in mothballs until next fall. Daryl says: Respect His Process! Along the way, Tyrese Maxey will get to fully enjoy the NBA life his fellow Eastern Conference All-Star, Trae Young, has in Atlanta. That is, being unable to conceal his scoring skillset behind All-NBA talents. Including Philadelphia’s 139-132 OT loss last month in Georgia, the Sixers have fallen to 4-12 this season without Embiid on the floor. With Wednesday’s 127-104 home defeat at the hands of the Warriors, Philly’s latest 1-7 stretch includes six double-digit losses. Maxey and Tobias Harris, like Embiid notoriously, were also DNPs when the Sixers fell by just six points in Denver; five of the nine players who chipped in against the Nuggets all began packing their bags yesterday. Maxey (last 3 games, playing despite an illness: 16.7 PPG, 35.8 FG%, 67.0 FT%, 5.0 APG) will have to be not merely a worthy All-Star, but a certifiable All-NBA performer, to keep coach Nick Nurse’s club (4.0 games ahead of current 7- and 8-seeds MIA and ORL) from subsiding all the way down to the Play-Ins. No matter what Morey says when his lips move, that All-NBA part is, frankly, what he is betting against. Designated Player status, by virtue of Maxey getting plugged into at least the All-NBA third team, is what separates a 25%-of-the-cap offer, for this summer’s big-ticket restricted free agent, from a 30% offer, a heftier five-year differential of over $40 million as momentarily projected. Financial flexibility, with the more intensive second-apron punishments on the docket beginning this summer, is where it’s at in Philly’s front office. As the Sixers $ort things out, their visitors this evening (7 PM Eastern, CW/Peachtree TV and 92.9 FM in ATL, NBC Sports Philly) have entered The We’d Still Rather Not Call It Wells Fargo Center with a little more clarity and, arguably, a better sense of near-term purpose. This weekend for the Hawks (22-29) shapes up as a neat little Must-Win Creature Double Feature. Five 76ers on the roster as of Wednesday night are gone, and Payne had a knee hyperextension that he magically healed just in time for the trade from Milwaukee. Frontcourt starter Nicolas Batum (Out, strained hamstring) has missed the last ten days, while Robert Covington (Out, bruised knee bone) hasn’t played this calendar year. That, plus Embiid’s downturn, has been pressing former Philly-area blue-chipper Mo Bamba into essential minutes as the stopgap behind Tobias Harris and Paul Reed (2024-25 contract becomes non-guaranteed if PHI fails to reach the Playoffs’ second round… we see you, Daryl). Maxey’s starting backcourt mate De’Anthony Melton returned to Philly’s lineup ahead of last month’s Hawks game, after missing the prior three. But a lingering back-stress issue had him out, again, by the end of their next game, a status which won’t change today. Beyond the comic stylings of Kelly Oubre, Nurse has had to turn to stints among his two-way guards, like the fourth-quarter garbage-time allocated to Ricky Council (17 points in 10 minutes, 8-for-8 FTs) versus Golden State. Nurse will need to rely on Maxey to step up in his defensive assignments, a task that grows taller with Melton injured, Beverley (and Springer) gone and Hield (and Payne, both Out today, with trade particulars pending) arriving in his place. Atlanta will continue to soldier on without Clint Capela (strained adductor) starting at center. But they also didn’t have him available last month in the win over the Sixers. But for some missed freebies, Bruno Fernando nearly became the seventh Hawk to score in double figures, doing just enough to spell Onyeka Okongwu (19-and-11 plus a pair of timely blocks in OT). The Hawks also squeaked by without the services of another 215 blue-chipper, De’Andre Hunter (Probable, knee injury management). In Morey’s old stomping grounds of Houston, the Rockets, like the Hawks, did nothing to turn heads ahead of the Deadline yesterday. But they will be racing the Hawks south to Atlanta for Saturday’s game after playing whomever suits up in Toronto tonight (FWIW, Philly plays tomorrow as well, in D.C.). Since rising to a respectable 13-9 in mid-December, Houston (23-27, 12th in NBA West) has had problems they’ve struggled to solve, particularly away from home (road wins only @ CHA and @ DET since Jan. 1, the latter by 2 points; 1-5 in road SEGABABAs). Atlanta’s engine ran out of hawkspower in the second half, particularly without Dejounte Murray, in Wednesday’s otherwise valiant 125-117 loss in Boston. But even recent losses of late, to teams like the Celtics, the Mavs and the Clippers, have shown that there’s a competitive esprit de corps among the Hawks that coach Quin Snyder hasn’t fully untapped. Now that there’s some sense of stability in status, among Murray (Questionable, tight lower back, less-gritted teeth) and the Hawks’ rank-and-file, with a little finer tuning on the defensive end, the efforts displayed over the past week ought to be enough to outlast a Philly team in flux, and a Rockets team that hasn’t been flying so high. Carry some needed victories, and a hopefully healthier roster, through the All-Star Break and Atlanta, despite its virtual ceiling as a Trae-In squad once again, might even find Southeast rivals Miami and Orlando within their sights. The aim should be to no longer allow bad and/or down-trending teams – the Bulls and the Hornets, and then the Raps, straddle Atlanta’s All-Star Break schedule – to come up for air. If they take care of business going forward to the end of this season, then the Hawks can look to Miami as their South Star. And yes, perhaps even Philadelphia, as their North Star. A warning, to all you Lambo drivers out there: Pintos in Side Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

~lw3

~lw3

~lw3

~lw3

"And every body knows about Motor City.. " ~lw3

RELATED: Who got the GoFundMe going? ~lw3

The penultimate time that these Hawks fell to .500 was here at TD Garden, losing 113-103 on November 26. The Hawks were coming off a win the night before in Washington, and while they were without Jalen Johnson, Dejounte Murray's struggles from the field wouldn't allow them to capitalize on a Celts team missing Jrue Holiday (questionable for tonight, sprained elbow) and Kristaps Porzingis. That was also the penultimate time that we'd catch De'Andre Hunter (Probable, knee injury management) eclipsing 20 points (for the 3rd-straight game at the time; 24 points in 40 minutes). That was, until he went Monday Night RAW on the Clippers with a Vinnie Johnson-esque 27 points in a time-constrained 19 minutes as he returns from his extended injury stint. Was it enough to relieve Saddiq Bey in the starting lineup? Was it enough to get Landry Fields' cellie buzzing? Stay tuned. It's hard to say the Celts need much, with the league's best record at 38-12 (5.0 games ahead of surging 2-seed CLE). But they'd love to dangle out there anybody outside of their starting five and Al Horford, to get some veteran know-how in-house and up-to-speed before the playoffs kick in. Joe Mazzulla and company would try to make it work with Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta, or Oshae Brissett if injuries prop up at the wrong time. But they'd really rather not. With Jrue on holiday, Trae Young and Bogi Bogdanovic went 13-for-26 on triples in the last loss here in Beantown, Hunter (career-high 40.5 3FG% so far) chipping in to make it 18-for-37. After that West Coast-laden homestand Trae (154, at 38.4 3FG%) and Bogi (151, at 37.3 3FG%) remain 1st and 2nd in the NBA East, respectively, in made threes this season. Boston's Jayson Tatum (145, at 37.1 3FG%) ranks 5th. ~lw3

“You write the gamethreads on Hawksquawk.net? That ain’t workin’!” With the Atlanta Hawks’ action-packed homestand over, they travel to take on the class of the NBA East in the Celtics tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, NBC Sports Boston). And no one really cares, because what ultimately matters is… it’s TRADE DEADLINE KARAOKE time! Put the nickel in the jukebox. Let’s do this. Kick it, Coach Quin! [Atlanta Out-of-Rhythm Section jams] So I woke up here in Boston, the trade deadline’s just ahead The first thing I thought, as I shampooed my bed head How to draw up winning plays, AND save my owner taxes? Lemme put on these Torch Red Glasses [Okongwu riffs on rhythm guitar] Onyeka! Onyeka! Onyeka! A point-of-attack wing, a big 5 would do us right “It ain’t happ’nin,” said Landry; “Tony’s money’s kind of tight... “We just need enough hands to catch our All-Star Trae’s passes” Is he tryna get me fired? Where’s my Torch Red Glasses? [Okongwu riffs] Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! [Quin’s Third-String Band… AJ on bass, Mo Gueye on keyboards, Bruno on drums, Ko-B on triangle… joins OO on the bridge] “Now go out and win yourself these back-half games” With Kobe as the spark? He don't even know my name If the choice was up to me, I’d rather teach law classes Make a trade worth my Torch Red Glasses! [Okongwu riffs] Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! [The whole Atlanta Out-of-Rhythm Section jams it out] Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

Clips won't be in a big hurry to make it back home. Who lied to Tony! Toni! Tone!? Their side of the Boo-Boo Report ledger is fairly clean, although minutes may be truncated by T-Lue for some of the vets tonight, particularly Harden (42 minutes @ MIA). PG (3-for-13 FGs over 33 minutes @ MIA) told The Athletic's Law Murray that he expects to play today. Zubac got about 18 minutes in his return to action yesterday, and is listed as Questionable with his strained calf. Mason Plumlee plugged the pivot spot for most of the fourth-quarter. ~lw3

Saddiq Bey (sprained ankle) joins De'Andre Hunter (knee injury management) with Questionable designations on the Boo-Boo Report. LAC's opening injury/illness list is due in about an hour. As per Hawks' GameNotes, Trae will scooch past Mookie for 2nd All-Time in franchise history for assists with two this evening. Three will place him 100 helpers behind franchise leader Doc Rivers. Trae's theft in Saturday's wild win over GSW moved him into the top-twenty Hawks all-time for steals, passing Spencer's uncle Steve Hawes, who played alongside Wes Matthews Sr. in the early 1980s. ~lw3

“We’re in your System! I just want you to know that…” “This kid could become the face of the NBA for the next decade.” Alas, he’s an LA Clipper. It’s 2010. He’s under contract with a team that has lost an awful lot. They’ve never won any championships, or even appeared in an NBA Finals, living in the shadow of the Lakers, at times even in their own arena, since moving to SoCal in 1978. Understanding rookie sensation Blake Griffin needed help, the Clippers swung for the fences, poaching Chris Paul from the Lakers. But after a couple sour postseason endings, there was a sobering thought. Is Vinny Del Negro the coach to one day push this team over the finish line? Hey, Clippers owner. When you catch a break from shaking down your tenement tenants, find out what it would take to grant Doc Rivers a graceful exit from Boston. It might take more than a first-rounder for compensation to pry him free. Perhaps, let Doc bring his trusty Celtic assistants with him? “This kid could become the most skilled point guard in the history of the NBA, when all is said and done.” Bad news for this other #1 overall pick, though. He’s a Cleveland Cavalier. It’s 2013. He’s locked down with a team that never won it all, no matter how hard their hometown hero tried to erase the franchise’s drab history, dating back to 1970. That meal ticket moved to Miami, the sole reason the new young star even landed here. Understanding Kyrie Irving needed help, the Cavs were basically shrugging it out, stringing him along. Suddenly, word got out: LeBron James, the now hated hometown hero, was homesick. Hey, Cavs owner. Time to swing for the fences! Kyrie had already cycled through Byron Scott, and a returning Mike Brown. Then Cleveland brought in a Euroleague coaching legend in hopes Irving could transcend beyond his mixtape tendencies, and plucked one of Rivers’ lauded assistants, an NBA veteran point guard himself, to be the new coach’s lead associate. But after LeBron arrived, he considered his team’s sluggish season starts, and despite another trip for Cleveland to the NBA Finals, The King eventually turned his thumb down on David Blatt, in midseason. Tyronn Lue, you help these Cavs get to the Promised Land. Feel free, if you wish, to step over Blatt along the way. Happy Black History Month to the last two African-American head coaches to earn an NBA championship ring. Shot-calling stars, like LeBron and Giannis, put up with head coaches who know the game, as in X’s and O’s, but they’re actively politicking to be led by longtime veterans, turned coaches, who profess to understand The Game. Thus, Rivers suddenly finds himself plopped in the chair where NBA champion Coach Bud once sat. In Milwaukee, to prove to Giannis that he’s The Guy for The Job, Rivers gets to polish off the ring he gained back when Boston swung for the fences on Paul Pierce’s behalf. Play Six Degrees of Separation, and you’d likely be just three steps removed from either Lue or Rivers before you’d ensnare every active NBA player not on a rookie-scale. It’s not lost on me that Doc and T-Lue also just happen to have served time as PG starters for your Atlanta Hawks. That designation alone doesn’t translate easily into All-Star reserve votes. But it does bode well, for Trae Young, that prime coaching opportunities may be in the cards for his post-playing career, a decade or two down the line. For the moment, Young toils for a team that has yet to reach an NBA Finals since 1961, none at all since moving to Atlanta in 1968. His ho-hum Hawks, throughout its organizational history, have been a franchise that prefers to try sacrifice-bunting its stars to second base, rather than swing from the shoe tops. As Young decides whether Quin Snyder is truly the guy to help him steal third base, and maybe even home plate, T-Lue’s big-spender Clippers come into State Farm Arena today (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, BS SoCal in LAX) with the bases loaded and, for once, nobody out. (Sorry for all the cheap baseball references. At this time last week, I was already looking forward to pitchers and catchers arriving for Spring Training.) Hey, current Clippers owner. Not enough NBA 75’ers on the roster to pair with Paul George? Go ahead and snag one more! I was among many folks giggling at the Clippers’ woes upon acquiring James Harden from Philly. But I was also concerned about the heat beneath Lue’s seat as LA dropped six straight, falling to 3-7 by mid-November. 30 wins in 38 games later, it turned out Lue just needed more time to work through the kinks, get players healthy, optimize rotations and upgrade the team chemistry. LA (33-15, 1.0 GB top-seeds OKC and MIN) has won 16 of its past 19 games, after straitjacketing Jimmy Butler’s heat in Miami last night, and Lue wound up just a couple wins short of getting to meet up with Coach Doc along the sideline in Indianapolis. Lue was able to limit Kawhi Leonard’s and sixth-man Russell Westbrook’s fourth-quarter minutes, conserving their energies for this back end of a back-to-back set that closes out a seven-game road swing. He also got Ivica Zubac back for a half-game after the starting center missed the prior nine Clipper games with a strained calf. His Clips don’t need their Big 4 on the floor (plus Zubac) together to thrive, so long as players like Norman Powell (48.0 3FG%, 15.8 bench PPG last 4 games) and Terance Mann are hitting open shots and executing their roles well. The Hawks (22-27) will need scene-stealing performances from Tinseltown native Onyeka Okongwu, with Clint Capela (strained adductor) sidelined over the next week or so, if they intend to extend their current four-game win streak beyond the homestand that concludes tonight. Teammates limiting paint penetration and encouraging Kawhi, PG, and the Beard (40.9-45.1 3FG percentage range, 87.0-89.1 FT percentage range) to settle for mid-range shots will be key, as keeping Gwu Tang from getting into foul trouble will be a tall task. After Bruno Fernando, the next heftiest Hawks at Snyder’s disposal, maybe, are De’Andre Hunter (questionable, injury management), AJ Griffin and Bogi Bogdanovic. A strong team boxout effort, withholding Westbrook and Zubac in particular, to secure defensive caroms will be needed to control the clock and aid Young and Dejounte Murray in pushing the pace to their end-game advantage. Trae Young? This kid is already the premier dime-dropper in the NBA “But, he’s an Atlanta Hawk” has been a hindrance to his profile and a detriment to his team's ascension in the league. Yet, “But, he’s a Nugget,” no longer matters in Denver. “But, they’re the Timberwolves” isn’t keeping Chis Finch from finally nudging Minnesota to the top of the West, neck-and-neck with the “But, it’s OKC,” while fending off the “But, it’s the Kings,” as LeBron and Steph struggle to get their teams’ “Buts” in gear. “But, they’re the Clippers,” certainly isn’t stopping anyone in Vegas or Pundit-land from projecting T-Lue's squad as the team to get out of the NBA West, especially now that the dust around the Harden deal has settled. The difference is some teams, despite their sordid histories, have owners and front office managers recognizing the prime opportunities they have with the talents in their possession, and willing to swing, batta batta, swing. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

The Dubs clocked out of January with the NBA's least-efficient defense (NBA-worst 124.3 January D-Rating), but their rating improved significantly with Green's return from suspension. Enhanced by playing what's left of the Grizzlies in Memphis twice, including last night, GSW's D-Rating since January 15 (114.8) ranks a modest 12th in the league (incl. 52.9 opponent eFG%, 4th-best) FWIW, ATL's 116.7 D-Rating since Jan. 15 ranks a more palatable 17th. While the 57.3 opponent eFG% remains bottom-5, the Hawks' 25.4 opponent O-Reb% is 6th-lowest (11.1 opponent 2nd-chance points per-48, 3rd-lowest). ~lw3

It looked like former lotto pick Hilton Armstrong's NBA odyssey was going to end with the Hawks back in 2011, appearing in a dozen games and a couple playoff rounds after arriving at the Trade Deadline in the Bibby-for-Kirk deal. But after playing in Europe and Asia he was invited back to the D-League with the Santa Cruz Warriors, then got elevated for one last run with Golden State in 2013-14. Armstrong got into the video coordinating biz with the Warriors in 2021, and now he's among the player development assistants on Steve Kerr's staff. ~lw3

The Warriors' sole up-in-the-air player status was Dario Saric (illness) who is declared Out. Moses Moody had been practicing with the club but remains Out along with CP3 and GP2. ~lw3

A.J. may sneak some minutes in today, out of necessity, along with One T Mathews trading places with Two Ts: ~lw3

I was worried all season that nobody at Hawks, Inc. was going to dump their season-long "I'm a WARRIOR!" promo TV/radio ads for games ahead of this particular one (no idea who's barking the rap, because I'm an Old. My guess was Killer Mike?). They switched them up last week with some Rathbun voiceovers, to keep the ATL-GSW ad from sounding Hawkward, so I am a bit relieved that somebody was paying attention. The win at N'Awlins on November 4 was the last time the Hawks won four games in a row. Dubs GameNotes adds that the Warriors' 32 "clutch" games are the most in the league, but they are 15-17 in those close contests. The Hawks and Warriors' injury/illness reports, due to each team playing a SEGABABA, will be due at 1 PM Eastern. ~lw3

“Who needs the Splash? ‘Cuz we the Crash Brothers now, right?... Um, please, Sir Dray, don’t bop me.” Vive la difference! The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club ought to look a lot different, tonight, than the team that got souffled in San Francisco tend days ago. Not necessarily a whole lot better. And not because of anything Landry Fields is working on. Just, different. That’s because the Golden State Warriors will not be coming in off eight off-days, fueled by emotion. Instead, the Dubs have arrived in Atlanta after playing in Memphis’ Central Time Zone late Friday night, losing that dreaded hour in travel and preparation. Oh, and the incomparable Trae Young is likely to be available this go-round (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, NBC Sports Bay Area in SFO), pairing with Dejounte Murray to make this backcourt matchup with the Splash Brothers (10-for-18 3FGs in the 134-112 win vs. ATL on January 24) a fairer four-quarter fight. There’s a new face to complete Golden State’s Mount Rushmore. Not long after his perfect shooting display from the field (11-for-11 FGs) against the Hawks at Chase Center, Jonathan Kuminga (25.6 PPG, 14-for-23 on threes in last 8 games) finally won over his stick-in-the-mud coach Steve Kerr for a regular starting spot. JK’s been a boost to the spirits of the Warriors, and especially his biggest on-court advocate. “(Kuminga is) starting to carry us more than we’re carrying him,” Draymond Green offered after Tuesday’s home win over the Sixers. The 21-year-old Congolese forward, the 7th pick in 2021’s NBA Draft, could stand to rebound and make defensive plays around the rim with greater regularity. But given the Warriors’ other options upfront, Draymond isn’t complaining about his protégé’s scoring spurt. “That’s the maturation process,” Green said with unintentional irony. “That’s what you hope to see. (Kuminga is) handling it with grace and very well.” Matruing very well, Steph Curry remains locked in with the Warriors through 2025-26 when he’ll still be two years younger than his Akron General Hospital mate, LeBron James, is now. His longtime co-stars on The Mount are trying to figure out what they can do to make themselves worthy of clinging on to Curry’s carpet ride. Klay Thompson (career-lows of 42.1 FG% and 38.2 3FG%; 39.0 FG% over last 7 games), with his $43 million contract expiring this summer, won’t sign a meager two-year extension that could have him looking like trade fodder by 2025-26’s midseason. Green has another $78 million locked up through 2026-27, and he is hoping he can withhold his on-court antics long enough to be a net-positive influence going forward. After years of being able to hold off as the younger players, Andrew Wiggins included, failed to develop under Kerr’s watch into steady co-stars, Kuminga’s ascension has accelerated the calculus, for Junior Mike Dunleavy, of transitioning his team around Curry. With Kuminga’s outside shot beginning to fall, maybe the Dubs let Klay walk this summer, after all. Perhaps some team will be tantalized by Green’s new-leaf-turned-over promise, coupled with his on-ball defensive premise, and offer up something that lets Dunleavy reformulate the roster in ways his football-bound predecessor could not. In any case, Curry’s conditioning should allow him to comfortably enter his 40s, with the Warriors on his next mega-contract, as a tough playoff-out, should he so choose. He hasn’t had to fly over people, or off the handle, like a Ja Morant does. He hasn’t had to barrel over people to get his shots or earn trips to the charity stripe, as the graying LeBron did while hunting for merciful whistles over the decades. Most importantly, Steph doesn’t have to be a waterbug scampering over the entire court. He’s allowed the freedom, by Kerr, to coast on the defensive end, only helping to secure long rebounds when necessary. Getting Chris Paul, Moses Moody and Gary Payton II back in the fold in the coming weeks will only aid him further. Steph can dribble himself into a spot-up shot as easily as he can skirt around give-and-go screens to get open on the opposite end of the offensive court. For all of Golden State’s dependence upon his scoring, altogether, Curry’s 2.5 miles traveled per game this season (just 1.0 on defense), as per Second Spectrum stats, tracks about even with Atlanta’s corner-running Saddiq Bey, significantly less than All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey’s league-leading 2.9 MPG. Curry's prospective longevity is instructive for Atlanta’s backcourt sensation, who could soon become the senior-most voice on the Hawks before he knows it. While he takes pride in keeping the same energy, Trae Young will one day be tasked to do more with less energy. He is already conserving plenty on a club that professes to be high-paced, as his tracked average on-court speed of 4.02 MPH (below Curry’s, and Bey’s, 4.26) is neck-and-neck with Houston’s Fred Van Vleet for the lowest among players exceeding 2.4 MPG. By no means slow, Trae as a ballhandler is just unable to be sped up, by even the league’s most hyped defenders. His ability to dribble to the spots he wishes on the floor, then stop-and-pop or dish-and-dash, maximizes his unique court-vision talent. Now that he is blessed with a jumpshot-capable, high-flying greyhound in Jalen Johnson (17.0 PPG, 2.0 SPG and 8.2 RPG in last 10 games), Fields and the Hawks have an avenue to re-tune this roster specifically to Young’s and Johnson’s evolving skillsets. Similarly, Dunleavy may soon choose to proceed with Curry, and Kuminga, and not much else as holdovers charting the path forward. Steph, like Trae, are punchers, and on teams with good chemistry that provide defensive cover, each can provide their clubs a decent chance in any bout. Curry’s wellness may benefit with the rest that could come from another unexpectedly extended NBA summer, an offseason he could extend further by passing up on the chase for gold in Paris. It could come to pass if the Warriors lack the depth they’ll need to navigate the eight back-to-back series (including yesterday, 16 of their final 38 games) in their newly compressed schedule. Even in a best-case scenario where the Dubs survive the Play-Ins, they’d be a tough first-round exit unless they improve sharply on their lackluster 8-11 road record. They’re the last NBA team with over 20 road games left to play, a status which doesn’t change after today. Young (7 TOs but 32 points, 7-for-11 3FGs, and 15 assists vs. PHX) and the Hawks were signing jerseys and heading to the lockers, after dispatching the Suns 129-120 last night, right as the Warriors were embarking on a fourth quarter in West Tennessee versus a game yet severely shorthanded Grizzlies squad. Kerr was able to utilize rookie sixth-man Brandin Podziemski (14 assists, zero TOs @ MEM) to limit Steph and Klay’s minutes in the second half, and two-way forward Gui Santos to relieve Green. Yet it took a couple late-game Curry baskets hoisted from around Germantown to send the Grizzlies into hibernation, Golden State’s 121-101 winning outcome much closer than it looks on paper. Veteran Cory Joseph was DNP’d last night but had been holding the fort in recent weeks averaging over 15 minutes per contest, so his presence on the State Farm Arena floor is likely. Joseph will be good for a sprinkle of assists, help rebounds and three-point shots. He, Lester Quinones and Podziemski, together, allow Curry to just do his thing, not necessarily everything, at crunch time. As they did successfully last night in overwhelming the Suns’ backups, the Hawks’ reserves, including at least Bogi Bogdanovic and Onyeka Okongwu, must offset Golden State’s bench contributions. (As for the starters, please, for all that is holy, make your bunnies, Clint.) You usually hear the saying applied to individual standout players. But the time may come, sooner than later, where we look up to find two franchises featuring rosters, like their headlining supernova anchors, that are “built different”. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

It Was Written... about Nassir Little. ~lw3

~lw3

Aside from former Hawk Damion Lee, who has been recovering from surgery after a preseason meniscus tear, the Suns are in fairly good shape. Brad Beal is listed as Available on the early morning Boo-Boo Report while Bol Bol (inactive since January 11, sprained foot) is Probable. Unlikely to play both today and tomorrow vs. GSW, De'Andre Hunter is Questionable. But all the other non-rookies and non-G-Leaguers are Available for Quin Snyder's deployment today. It's not quite Hawks-at-Spurs, but Victory tonight for the Hawks would make it ten straight Ls for the Suns at State Farm Arena. Phoenix's last win in ATL came in March 2014, back when Channing Frye had Handles and when Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Markieff Morris still wanted to be there. Without Booker or Durant last February, the Suns were led by default in their 116-107 loss by Josh Okogie's 25 points and 3 steals off the bench. The Hawks built up the lead to 20 near the end of the third quarter, then Trae and Dejounte scored or assisted on every Hawks basket thereafter to keep the Suns set. Ten more dimes tonight by Trae would make it his 200th game reaching that mark. Hawks Game Notes has him in 5th-place all-time for NBA'ers aged 25 or younger, right behind Suns legend Kevin Johnson's 207. ~lw3