benhillboy

They’ve proven to be the worst matchup for the Hawks, their 64% shooting versus us this season may go up after today.  
 

Hawks very much still in the game tho.  Good feel timeout by Carlisle.  Pacers settling too much and DJ had that bounce like he was about to heat up.

6 minutes ago, terrell said:

How can you watch this backcourt this long and think its going to work defensively?

They're not even a good fit offensively IMO..

Frontcourt is bad but so is backcourt

 

I enjoyed watching the Magic this season.  Fultz, Anthony, Harris, and Suggs get after it every possession, relieving as much pressure as possible off their front court,

Okay Mo I see you.  Looking like Siakam there 

DJ is ass defending on ball I swear.

I was staunchly against the play in tournament at first.  Looking at how consequential game 82 is around the league, the sh*t works.

Aight it’s time for Myles to sit.

Bogi forced Siakam off the ball in the post and they still get 3 smh. 

They can run an elite pace because they have active hands on defense.  Bruce Brown showed them how to get timely stops then they trade him lol.

Such a smart home crowd.  Chanting “defense!” immediately after the tip.  Most fans don’t know how much it energizes the team.

52 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Are we playing our starters?

Everyone except Clint.  Good decision, he doesn’t need to be running with the Pacers’ #2 pace with Drummond on the horizon.   Their unfamiliarity with Bruno and Mo should pay some dividends.

56 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Trae's improvement from End of December to now has been very noticeable 

Eh, he’s always up and down with his approach possession to possession, game to game.  Granted I took a hiatus from the Hawks after the first Clippers loss on 2/5 where they gave up 149 in regulation, I had enough.  Didn’t tune back until the first Celtics win, knowing the Hawks would still tread around .500 without him.

Basketball Reference really loved his game last night tho, one of the biggest metrics jumps I’ve seen from him, now at +.3 on/off.  Hopefully he can keep it after Sunday, a negative on/off from him on this roster is totally unacceptable.

That had to be the most fouls called since the adoption of the new officiating.  I watched a recording fast forwarding through stoppages and it still was a chore to watch.

3 hours ago, terrell said:

Brunson is so good man... 

Killing the C's right now..

Schlenk traded Luka then took Brunson teammate Spellman over him in the same draft..  smdh

He’s a beast no question.  I was watching him off the ball, where he’s underrated.  It helps lead to a decent amount of offensive boards for them.

I’m not surprised he’s been shooting lights out at 3 levels, but his team defensive IQ (admittedly anyone can look better alongside OG) and leading the league in offensive fouls drawn by a wide margin is eye-opening for sure.  

You know the Hawks gonna Hawk tho.  Now and forever,

Trae just hit -5 in raw net rating last night.  He’s likely going to finish the season with a negative on/off on a team where Bogi is the only player on the entire roster with positive on and off values.  
 

The average WS/48 for Brunson, Haliburton, and SGA is .214.  Trae is at .110.  Most of you don’t realize how horrendous these metrics are or how those players’ varied roles coming into the league make them far superior leaders and floor raisers but that’s what I’m here for I guess.

Luka just qualified for Basketball Reference’s HOF probability tracker.  He’s at 36.8%. Trae is at 9.4.

The Mavs have an all time winning percentage of .567 when Luka starts, .424 when he’s out.  The Hawks are .451 and .450 with Trae, respectively.

17 hours ago, macdaddy said:

It's been proven though that number of pro games on the body means more than age and Luka has as many games on him as any at his age.  He's still got a scary amount of 'prime' left in him but not sure it's going to be 10 years. 

Fair point, I forgot he became a pro at like 12.

Still his total non-reliance on athleticism bodes well for his future.  Sure he won’t still be in peak form at 35, but the two generational vets we have in the league of Steph and LeBron aren’t/ weren’t too shabby at 35, although I stop just short of calling Luka “generational.”  Jokic and Wemby, no doubt.

Nice minutes by Bufkin, he doesn’t seem to get sped up.  Although Kyrie cooked him posting up several times, no shame in that.  Meth Bogi continues to impress with the shot.

Luka had an OK game by his standards, still +21.  Hunter did a great job holding him scoreless in the first but after the Mavs made a conscious effort to get the switch it was over.  The more I watch the more I can see how his defensive positioning contributes to his solid metrics on that end.  He has to play 3 more games to qualify for BB References Hall of Fame probability tracker, so interesting to see what it will be.

I never really cared for Luka before this season but he’s been must see TV since the Gafford acquisition, as his metrics  and MVP case have spiked since then.

His footwork, strength, vision, and shooting have all improved, not that any except the latter needed to.  It doesn’t hurt Kyrie is having arguably his best season, Lively, super-smart and rugged, is the prototypical rim protect/ lob threat Big, and Exum is finally showing the excellent feel that I’m guessing was expected when he was drafted.  

Luka still bitches to the referees way too much and doesn’t get back.  Oddly their below average defense somehow generates a fair share of cherry picking layups for him, go figure.

The Mavs are a fun watch no question but I can’t depend on PJ Washington and Junior as my 3rd and 4th option.  The defensive acumen just isn’t there and when asked to create their own shot it’s usually mediocre or worse.  Cam Johnson and Bruce Brown types in those spots, sure, they’re in the Conference Finals regularly.  

After Jokic’s reign ends, Luka, the OKC trio, Ant, and Wemby (if surrounded by the proper vets as Ant has) are gonna usher in a near Golden Era of playoff competition out West.  No one will be more ecstatic than me to see the grossly overrated peaks of KD, Harden, and Westbrook gone and forgotten and replaced with some true “bus drivers” as Chuck calls em.

Luka still has a ways to go in temperament and consistency of defensive effort.  Still his projected incline for the next 10 years is downright frightening with his mastery of passing out of double teams and 10 gig hard drive-like corporate knowledge.  It would be nice to see him go a stretch of games without appearing on the injury report lol.

Recent wins over the Clippers and Celtics twice were nice but overrated: both teams are a tough watch for me.  Clippers have no leadership whatsoever and the Celtics’ three point heavy and iso attack is gonna get them upset again in the playoffs.  The Bulls win a little more impressive being on the road with high stakes against a team they’ve struggled with in the past.  Make no mistake tho, a win tonight would be the best since Trae went down.  Better than beating the Magic as soon as he was out of the rotation after three straight losses to the Bulls, Raptors, and Hornets with him SMGDH.

I never thought I’d see him grab POTW.  Major congrats.  Granted being in the East is a huge advantage; the West is a f&@kin Thunderdome.

He’ll never be the defender I thought we were getting (feel free to press full and get up into someone as they approach the arc at some point!) nor will he ever be the most cerebral, one-to-two steps-ahead, offensive floor mapping player that I covet.  But he damn sure has developed an exceptional mid range attack and his career three ball improvement is a marvel.  You rarely see a sh*t shooter evolve into a volume sniper who relishes crunch time attempts, but he damn sure has.  Man dem put that work all the way in.

2 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Watching the Chicago stream. Bogi and Quin got into it 

I love it.  Bogi is smart enough to challenge him.

Great team win tho.  I always enjoyed the team energy without Trae, most notably road blowouts a few years ago against healthy Grizzlies and Nuggets squads.  It’s always been obvious they play with a chip when he sits.  The all time winning percentage without him has finally crept above the winning clip with him (.454 to .452). 

Might need to petition the league to allow Bruno to wear some wide receiver gloves.

GTFOH ref.

I’m over these charge challenges (unless the Hawks win )

1 minute ago, AHF said:

Forrest needs to get cut to make room for Vit on the playoff roster.

I like Trent, yet can’t argue one bit.

3 minutes ago, hawkman said:

DJ's handle continues to baffle me. 

It’s an absolute killer in the playoffs when hands get super active with fewer whistles.

27 assists to 11 turns?  I’ll take it thank you sir.

I saw a few minutes of the Bulls game last night.  Caruso arguably harassed Ant Man like no one else quite has this year.  DJ’s loose dribble against him will not end well.  Vit spelling Dre guarding DeRozan is gonna be key.  Stay down on the pump fakes young man.

I never thought I’d enjoy Hawks away games more than home but with 22 camera shots of Boosie Ignint Ass a game here we are

Its aways been cool to quiet the great Bulls crowd anyway.