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“Houston, we have… a Solution!” Steph Curry decided playtime was over. With Eric Gordon approaching in a hands-down defensive posture, Curry hoisted another of his patented, absurd three-point shots that had the touch, the feel of cotton on its trajectory down. Curry offers his lullaby pose to the Houston Rockets crowd in the aftermath of the game-sealing shot, his Warriors winning 127-120 to gain their first road victory of the season. That defeat for the Rockets, dropping them to a league-worst 3-14, was on Sunday night. It was their last game, too, before tonight’s versus the Hawks at Toyota Center (8 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in HTX). If they chose, Houston could have kicked back and scouted the Hawks’ loss on Monday in Cleveland, and Wednesday’s bounce back win here at State Farm Arena over Sacramento, just to prepare. They could have enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast, then get in line for the Black Friday free-for-alls at Galleria, while awaiting the Hawks’ arrival. Coach Stephen Silas’ crew has had a lot going on since dropping the season-opener, 117-107 in Atlanta. Questions abound whether their spryer leading scorer Jalen Green (probable, sore toe) should subsume more of the ball-handling duties currently shared with Kevin Porter, Jr. Another Junior, rookie Jabari Smith is shooting just 33.3 percent from the field in his first 16 starts, feeling the outside pressure to keep pace with the league’s top pick in Orlando. Another Junior, Kenyon Martin had been feeling crowded out in a rotation that includes Jae’Sean Tate (out, sore ankle) and rookie Tari Eason. Former Hawk backup big Bruno Fernando (questionable, sore knee) is back and getting up to speed after suffering an injury in just his second game of the season, his extended absence upping the burden on Alperen Sengun (doubtful, strained groin) to keep the restricted area restricted. A former sixth-man stalwart now averaging over 30 MPG, the 34-year-old Gordon is trying to keep himself upright, and his bags packed, as trade season approaches. The upshot for the Hawks, though, is these are amazingly well-rested players they’re facing, one in the middle of a four-game homestand, despite the varied injuries and aggravations. Just before Houston’s home stretch began, they were up the road in Dallas, knocking off a Mavericks team that thought it safe enough to DNP-Rest Luka Doncic. It’s always fun to watch Rayford T. Young remind everyone why he is Trae M.F. Young, and he did that on Wednesday with 35 points (9-for-9 FTs, 4-for-5 second-half 3FGs) to help the Hawks (11-7) stiff-arm Sacramento. It is still important for his fellow starters (combined 18-for-50 FGs vs. SAC) to get going on the offensive end. Dejounte Murray and the Hawks can recover in transition by exploiting Houston, the league’s most turnover-prone team (NBA-highs of 17.6 TOs/game, 22.9 opponent points per-48 off TOs). Neutralizing the Rockets (NBA-high 33.6 O-Reb%) further will require Clint Capela, Onyeka Okongwu and John Collins limiting the hosts to one-and-done possessions, then getting out on the fastbreak for quality setups by the guards. Usually, Houston is no Freddy Krueger on the court. But on this night, with or without the tryptophan, they will be as fresh and rested as they’ve been all season long. Whatever you do, Atlanta, don’t fall asleep! Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

What could possibly go wrong? There were two future Basketball Hall of Famers, albeit honored posthumously. Two magnificent scorers and annual All-Stars, bound to have their jersey numbers one day lofted into arena rafters. Two teammates, sharing the stage, if not equivalently the spotlight, for your Atlanta Hawks. One, in a fit of probably drunken rage, had just bloodied the other’s nose. Had a flustered Lou Hudson swung a not-so-sweet arm in the direction of veteran referee James Capers, Sr., landing instead with an elbow that gave co-star teammate Pete Maravich a mask of crimson as the latter attempted to restrain him, the fallout would have been loud and severe at a national scale. Rather, it was Maravich wylin’ out in Houston, at Hudson’s nasal expense, and thus perhaps you’re just now hearing about it in 2022, Anno Dominique, at the outset of this brave new NBA season. Nonetheless, an onlooking young Rockets star, Rudy Tomjanovich, likely shook his head in astonishment upon witnessing the spectacle. Swinging hands and arms recklessly, with other players in the vicinity? Who does that? A half-decade later, Capers the Elder would signal the first successful conversion of a three-point shot in an NBA regular-season game. But at this moment, in February 1974, this referee’s challenge was to dodge a foul flung by the league’s premier young scoring guard in his general direction, after he dared to whistle Pistol Pete for a technical foul. Hudson’s visage bore the bloody brunt of the fling from Maravich’s meathook. The Atlanta Hawks’ gruesome disarray was officially on full display. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Tom Cousins could not have believed his good fortune in the early spring of 1970. The Hawks franchise he was able to pry from St. Louis just years before, bringing with them veterans like Richie Guerin (by then, serving double-duty as the coach) and talented up-and-comers like Sweet Lou Hudson, was a winning venture on the court and the reigning NBA Western Division champions (regular season, naturally), yet it wasn’t planting booties onto the wooden benches at Georgia Tech’s Coliseum. Attendance was an especially vital factor for the NBA. This was an age where Televised Sports meant viewers tuning in on lazy weekend afternoons, in time to witness the agony of a downhill skier crashing spectacularly in defeat along the slopes, with events often on tape delay hosted by men donning yellow blazers in vivid black-and-white. This was also an age where a rival hoops league dared to siphon off fans, and talent. At the outset of the brave new decade of the Seventies, college basketball’s most prolific all-time scorer was on the market, fresh off a celebrated and historic stint at Louisiana State. Will Pistol be the panacea for the NBA? Or the ABA? San Francisco’s Warriors, eager to replenish its NBA talent base with former ABA defectors, used “future draft considerations” to secure the rights to Atlanta’s center Zelmo Beaty, who had jumped ship for the ABA in L.A. but was already suffering misgivings. The Dubs went on a losing spree to close out 1969-70, yet Cousins’ Hawks, unbeknownst to the general public, clung tightly to San Fran’s first-rounder. The Warriors being the third-worst team in the NBA still seemed to place Maravich just beyond Atlanta’s reach. Besides, there was the matter of being outbid by the ABA. Casual poker player turned Hardee’s restaurant magnate Jim Gardner was putting on a full court press on Press, Pete’s head-coaching father at LSU, to get Pete to sign with his ABA franchise, freshly relocated from Houston to the high-school home of Pete and, coincidentally, Hudson, in the Carolinas. Sensing Cousins’ interest, Gardner went so far as publicly threatening to pilfer even more Hawks for the ABA, including Hudson, if Atlanta dared to both acquire and sign Maravich. But Gardner proved to be too off-putting for Pete’s sake, the prized possession choosing to spurn the Carolina Cougars and have his dad negotiate instead with the NBA team that drafts him. Pete had already stiff-armed any interest from Detroit, the league’s worst team, leaving the San Diego Rockets in pole position for Pistol. But at the last moment, San Diego elected to go with Tomjanovich, allowing Maravich’s draft rights to nestle neatly into Cousins’ lap. The eventual next pick, Florida State’s Dave Cowens, could not glue booties to Atlanta seats, it was surmised. Pete Maravich, though? Absolutely. Here’s a pro-sports record $1.6 million multi-year contract offer, young man! Oh, and a pen. This was huge. On the court, pairing two former Carolina prep standouts like Hudson and Maravich, together on the American Deep South’s sole NBA enterprise, was the type of chemistry you’d have to find in a Union Carbide lab. But this draw meant even more for Cousins, a developer by trade, who was competing with Peachtree Center’s Jim Portman to remake the future look, vibe and feel of downtown Atlanta. Cousins’ grand scheme involved the once-bustling stretch of Marietta Street, west of Five Points. The Omni complex would feature a coliseum suitable for professional hockey and basketball, a massive office and hotel building, and indoor amusement including, if hockey wasn’t enough ice to cool one’s jets, a skating rink to draw visitors. Across the street, a sprawling convention center complex was in the works, also developed by Cousins, with plenty room to grow around the tangle of railroad tracks a few parking levels below. The sports venue would be ready by the start of the 1972-73 NBA season. With this marquee signing, the Omni was destined to be known as The Place The Pistol Built. Atlanta was just strategically shifted from the Western to Eastern Conference, and the NBA’s timing could not have been more apropos. No more wrangling with Wilt’s and Jerry’s Lakers at playoff time, nor would Kareem’s Bucks be standing in the way. The sun was finally setting in the East, specifically in Boston, with the great Bill Russell having retired and the team withering under new ownership and John Havlicek’s on-court stewardship. Sensing blood in Boston’s bay and with a new coliseum of their own on tap, Long Island was actively conniving to do for the Celtics what L.A. had done for Minneapolis’ Lakers. Two NBA teams in New York’s metro, plus the ABA Nets? Who does that? Atlanta had the backcourt of the future, bound to make waves as the new faces of the NBA, at least the East, competing for banners just ahead the opening of a new arena that would revitalize what Atlanta knew, back in the 19th century, as its original downtown. The Pistol Palace! This had to work out. This simply had to work out. How could it not? Alas, the chemistry between Pete and Sweet, as with Pete and most of the other Hawks on the roster, proved more corrosive than amalgamating. Defensive stops, with Maravich on the floor, were few and far between. The elevated pace he enjoyed pushing as a collegian was not so advantageous in the pros, where players had now grown accustomed to the presence of a shot clock. Atlantans generally were lukewarm to the flashy rookie guard. But the newcomers who bothered to buy tickets were vastly more interested in cheering for Pistol’s show-stopper theatrics than victorious team outcomes, straining the team atmosphere. Hudson, Walt Hazzard and the Hawks could have used more scoring punch at the wing. But Joe Caldwell, playoff scoring leader on the Hawks team that just reached the 1970 Western Division Finals, was miffed over the Maravich deal and made good on Gardner’s threat by jumpin’ to Carolina in the ABA before Pete’s inaugural 1970-71 pro season. At playoff time, the Hawks and their rookie star could not contain Atlanta native Clyde Frazier, nor fellow Knicks guard d*ck Barnett. Inside, the tandem of Walt Bellamy and Bill Bridges were outclassed by New York rivals Willis Reed and Dave DeBusschere. Atlanta was swept at home in the 1971 playoffs, falling 4-1 to the top-seeded Knicks. Soon, it would be Boston’s turn to conclude the Hawks’ next two postseasons. In a world still dominated by big men, 1971’s Rookie of the Year, the Celtics’ Cowens, was sorely needed. Boston (44-38) missed the 1971 playoffs only because they finished third in the Atlantic, and the NBA’s new division structure favored the Central’s second-place team, the Hawks, despite the latter’s lackluster 36-46 record. One could say Red Auerbach was not happy. But was he ever, really? Atlanta would coast to that same 36-46 mark in 1972, Maravich hampered for a while by mono while struggling to score. Meanwhile, Boston surged to 56-26 behind Havlicek, Jo Jo White and Cowens, overtaking New York atop the Atlantic. While the Hawks managed to take two games in the ensuing six-game playoff series, their free throw shooting betrayed them, and they could not stop Celtic guards from arriving at the spots on the floor they craved. With his grand plan now teetering, Cousins understood his team had to make drastic improvements. Out went Tom’s brother, Bob, as GM, plugging coach Guerin into the executive spot, at least for a year. They hired a no-nonsense taskmaster in Cotton Fitzsimmons from upstart Phoenix as the replacement head coach. Atlanta’s record flipped in 1973 to 46-36, with Maravich finally joining Hudson as an All-Star. But the postseason results proved to be largely the same against Cowens, that year’s MVP, and the 68-14 Celtics. As the rejuvenated C’s were set to finally make a return to The Finals in 1974, the league had ended the funny business of second-place divisional teams qualifying for playoffs. With Bob McAdoo and Ernie DiGregorio surging in Buffalo, another second-place finish behind the Bullets in the Central Division wasn’t going to cut it, not for an Atlanta team regressing to 35-47. Despite Maravich and Hudson each eclipsing 25 PPG and earning All-Star nods once more, by midseason, the dysfunction centered around Pistol was a bit too, shall we say, on the nose. An 8-5 season start and a jinx-worthy SI cover feature was followed by up-and-down stretches that concluded with a 24-point loss at the Omni to the Celtics, capping a five-game skid before the All-Star Break. Pete was allegedly drinking both during halftime and after the fateful game in Houston, creating further distractions in the locker room and on the flight back home. Surly, you can’t be serious! In a bold strategy by Coach Cotton, Maravich was suspended indefinitely by the Hawks. How did it work out? Not great. Bloodied but barely bowed, Hudson soldiered through part of the next game, a resounding win over the Bullets, before missing the next five. After the Hawks beat Pat Riley’s Lakers without either of their two scoring leaders, Maravich was welcomed back, just in time for the Hawks to get blasted in Philly, by a Sixers team that mailed in a 9-73 record the season before and seemed just marginally better. The sports punditry, especially those in the big-city markets, guffawed at the floundering Hawks while taking dead aim with their ink at Pistol. He simply couldn’t win, despite his theatrics, under his father’s watch at Baton Rouge. Now he couldn’t win in Atlanta despite all that money thrown his way, and all that talent alongside him. Maybe, many inferred, he needs to be situated in a *real* pro sports town to succeed… The burnout wasn’t just apparent on the hardwood. With his real estate collection around the already rusty and half-empty Omni looking more like a boondoggle by the day, Cousins was beginning to literally Flame out. TV revenue wasn’t making up for the un-budged turnstiles at the Omni’s hockey and basketball games. No one wanted any part of the hockey club, not even Ted Turner, who expressed eagerness to pick up local sports to fill the time slots on his local TV station. After all, there were but so many reruns of The Andy Griffith Show to go around. Captain Courageous would eventually sail in to save the Hawks and Bravos in Atlanta. But not before Cousins had to face his most visible sinking cost, the increasingly pugnacious Pistol. With the 1973-74 season over, mere months after having to clean up a bloody mess, the Hawks wasted little time swinging back. Sending the disgruntled Maravich back to the Pelican State, into the excited arms of the NBA’s expansion Jazz franchise, was an easy write-up for locals as the second coming of the Louisiana Purchase. Pete the Panacea would New Orleans’ issue now. “This man has been quicker and faster than Jerry West or Oscar Robertson. He gets the ball up the floor better. He shoots as well. Raw-talentwise, he's the greatest who ever played.” Safely beyond arm’s reach from Maravich, and from the Hawks by 1978, the Lakers’ retiring Sweet Lou Hudson was free to speak his mind, with fondness and forlorn, about the former All-Star who mushed his co-star but couldn’t mesh with him. Hudson’s dual-edged quote would grace the opening of a critical article in SI, in December of 1978, continuing with: “The difference comes down to style. He will be a loser, always, no matter what he does. That's his legacy. It never looked easy being Pete Maravich.” Maravich, the LSU great, in the Superdome wasn’t enough to make the Jazz relevant in the NBA, nor keep Louisiana’s franchise from being shopped, then shipped, to Utah. The post-Pete-and-Sweet Hawks, under Turner’s watch by the mid-70s, avoided a similar westward shift, and while attendance at the Omni was a mixed bag, the ownership and management began making moves that helped engrave the Hawks as Atlanta’s NBA outpost. Nearly five decades later, the Rockets, still representing Houston, are in town at the Omni’s successor, State Farm Arena (Welcome back, Squawkfam! 7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL. AT&T SportsNet in HTX). The current ownership and management regime for the Hawks faces a new, but familiar, prime basketball objective: make it look easy being Trae Young. That’s why 2022 All-Star Dejounte Murray (9.2 APG, 4th in NBA 2021-22, just behind Trae’s 9.7) is here to grace Atlanta’s backcourt, alongside the All-NBA 3rd Teamer in Young, last season’s league leader in compiled points as well as assists. More a product of his resilience and reliability, Trae also ranked first in total turnovers, but on a 43-39 club that, true to head coach Nate McMillan’s form, finished with the fewest turnovers per game anyway. Further stifling opponents’ abilities to compile buckets off turnovers, Murray (2021-22 NBA leader in steals) has the quickness and dexterity to make defensive plays on opponent transitions, a veritable necessity with cheap take fouls now virtually off the table. Dejounte also led his otherwise lackluster Spurs team, and all traditional NBA guards (sorry, Luka) in defensive rebounds. Theoretically, he can make it simpler for Trae (4th in 2021-22 for Usage%) to cross halfcourt without needing the ball in his capable hands. Murray’s Spurs finished second last season in per-game assists, while joining Young’s Hawks among the league’s bottom-five in per-game TOs. His addition should accentuate Atlanta’s top-flight offensive efficiency (115.4 team O-Rating in 2021-22, tops in the NBA East, 2nd overall) while patching up some of the errors in judgement and intensity that had the Hawks bottom-five on the defensive end (113.7 D-Rating, 25th in NBA, ahead of HOU’s league-worst 116.4). Atlanta guards, without Murray last season, were a boon for the league’s most efficient roll-man finishers (NBA-high 66.9 eFG% and 1.31 points per P&R roll-man possessions, league-low 4.0 TO% on these plays). Second in the league with Phoenix (1.24 roll-man PPP) and fourth in the league with Washington (1.20) last season, reserve Aaron Holiday serves as an ample understudy, he and his brother Justin returning to play for more tutelage under McMillan’s watch. Getting jackrabbit John Collins to value avoiding foul trouble, double-double machine Clint Capela to finish around the rim while also getting back above 55 percent on free throws, and energizer-bunny Onyeka Okongwu to stay healthy from the outset can only expand on the exploitation of roll plays, now with Dejounte and Aaron in tow. The Hawks ranked second behind the since-evaporated Jazz in P&R ball-handler frequency, but interior field goal conversions left much to be desired. Murray’s mid-range and elbow-shot mastery will aid in rectifying that for Atlanta’s offense, his daggers blending with the paper-cut effects of Trae’s trusty paint floaters to doom opposing defenses. But with guards capable of penetrating and creating off the dribble, for themselves or anyone, the forwards need to be able to spread the floor. This is where “DeJohndre” is as crucial as “Dejountrae” for advancing Atlanta’s fortunes upward. As was once the case with a highly-drafted Marvin Williams, Atlanta’s freshly extended DeAndre Hunter has a chance to vault Atlanta’s postseason prospects into the stratosphere with a long-awaited star turn. The Hawks (37.4 team 3FG% in 2021-22, 2nd in NBA) bid arrivederci to Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter, two of the top perimeter shooters, as a consequence of deals for Dejounte and Justin, respectively. Bogdan Bogdanovic returns, but the Serbian wing comes off a second consecutive offseason having to address knee issues. As usual, the only thing that can thwart a deadeye rookie of AJ Griffin’s caliber is McMillan’s will. Hunter shot a career-best 37.9 percent on threes last season, but his interior shot-making subsided (47.4 2FG%, down from 58.2% during a more injury-riddled 2020-21). Atlanta needs to rely on him and Collins (36.4 3FG%, down from 39.9 in 2020-21; career-worst 61.0 TS%) to be more balanced finishers, inside and out, at the starting forward spots. To a lesser extent, second-year pro Jalen Johnson will need to make strides as a backup big to account for Gallo’s departure. The presence of Murray, the Holidays and occasional two-way wing Jarrett Culver, with Hunter, Collins, Capela and Okongwu, allows for better blanket defensive coverage in Coach Mac’s lineups, essential to turn around last season’s lottery-quality 113.7 defensive rating (5th-worst in NBA; HOU’s 116.4 ranked the worst). From Reggie Theus to LaPhonso Ellis, to Glenn Robinson and Antoine Walker, the Hawks have had a history of reeling in players whose star-level peaks turned out to be well behind them, in hopes of placating their franchise players. This time feels different, certainly from the Pete and Sweet era, if only because Murray and Young, each repped by Klutch Sports Group, have sought each other’s company. Dejounte didn’t need much convincing, neither about the potential long-term fit with Trae, nor about the appeal of playing to Atlanta crowds in hopes of watching them grow. This “Dejountrae” coupling ought to work out. It simply has to work out. How could it not? By the spring of 2026, when a Hawks fan hoofs it onto Dominique Wilkins Way, she or he will be sharing the street with those rooting for Atlanta Hopefully Still United and the Dead-Money Millionaires down the road at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Whether they are happy or sad about the trajectories of their pro teams, Hawks owner Tony Ressler hopes to have a place for them and another specific set of sports fans, ready to go, when they cross the street. Specifically, a live-work-cheer joint that stitches the Olympic park together with Atlanta’s South Downtown, right at his arena’s doorsteps. The never-ending effort to build out Cousins’ dream of a developed Gulch, Ressler has partnered with the City of Atlanta and another Cali-based development firm to make Centennial Yards a reality, collectively plunging over $5 billion in investment money into the 50-acre mixed-use urban utopia. While 2030 once seemed like a reasonable goal, a little thing called the 2026 FIFA World Cup promises to bring the biggest international influx Atlanta has seen, over the course of several weeks, since the Centennial Olympic Games wrapped up 30 years before it. Now the first major phase has been accelerated, dovetailing with Richard Ressler’s efforts to revive South Downtown and Atlanta’s urgency to make Underground functional again. Concrete, asphalt, and steel cannot make a sports team palatable, to say nothing of good. But a certifiably championship-competitive club can make all the difference for the immediate viability of a new development to become a revenue-churning destination. Word to the Battery. This isn’t Federal Express, and the Hawks do not absolutely, positively have to deliver overnight. But it is literally in the Resslers' best interest that Murray proves worthy of his next negotiated contract taking him into, and beyond, 2026. Also, that Young, possibly entering his walk season by 2026-27 in an NBA world infused by new media revenue, remains amped enough to improve his own game and make the pairing with Murray pay dividends long-term. While this collective is not at the Gold-Ball-or-Bust phase this season, the tipoff is about as favorable as one could ask for the Hawks. The first five games are quite winnable, although another backcourt pairing, Dejounte’s fellow Rainier Beach alum Kevin Porter and Jalen Green, are out to prove tonight that the future is now for Houston (20-62 last season). Relative to Atlanta, many teams have more injury question marks, and internal-fragmentation exclamation points, to deal with as they kick things off. While the NBA East is more daunting a field than in seasons past, a return of the Southeast Division banner to the Farm is an attainable goal, likely to help assure that a Play-In game or two would not be necessary. The defending champions and the team that handed Atlanta its 2022 postseason ouster, the Miami heat did not do demonstrably much in the offseason to enhance their standing. No matter the ultimate record, Hawks fans deserve, for once, a regular season that starts reasonably strong and grows stronger as it reaches its conclusion. Here’s to few extended losing streaks, even fewer pandemic disruptions and nebulous injury stints. Most importantly, here’s to a season that is disarray-free. No internal strife featuring lead players directing pointed fingers, or worse, at each other, while the coaching staff skates on thin ice. I just want my Atlanta Hawks to chain together a couple seasons that, from beginning to end, are bloody good. Not bloody bad. If any noses wind up bleeding along the way, they should belong to cheerful fans packed in seats along the top rows of our majestic downtown arena. Players socking their teammates in the face? Who does that? Thank you Squawkdonors! Fight Deke Fight! Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

"Thanks for the mustard, Boban." ~lw3

“Y’all don’t talk about me? No? No? No? No???” Please join me as we happily close the books on what has been a miserable, rotten, no-good regular season. I’m not even talking myopically about our Hawks, as if you’ve been around this sports town long enough, you already know nothing gold can stay. (btw, get well soon, Josef!) No, I join The Commissioner as he looks forlornly upon what has happened to The Association. He gets paid the big bucks to put on a good face, but Adam Silver wishes he could tear his hair out over all the bigger bucks the teams and players are collectively burning. You get used to hearing the phrase, “Billable hours! Billable hours!” in my line of work. NBA players don’t get paid hourly wages, thankfully, but let’s call their production time, “baller minutes lost.” Just go across the league to see how much more talent and competitive play the NBA fans have had to do without. It’s easier to go in order of salaries from top to bottom to assess the scale of “BML.” Yes, there are legitimate injuries, although teams have been allowed to be less than forthcoming about the arcs of recovery for their marquee players, from Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal to Jamal Murray. Still, could the Hawks have spooked Ben Simmons that badly? Kawhat? Kawho? Anthony Day-to-Davis? Can Jonathan Isaac simply go on to get his new bag and get it over with? And what is the deal with Zatarain’s Williamson? Oh, yeah, one more. When was the last time anyone saw the shadow of John Wall? If we get stuck with a few more weeks of wintry weather, we’ll know he’s finally seen it. Wall got $44 million to get ghost this season, and he’ll get paid $47 million, either lump-sum or spread out, when he opts in for GM Rafael Stone’s Rockets next season. That’s not bad for the former Best Point Guard in the East. It is bad, though, for fans who deserve to watch him play, somewhere, and not just burning holes through their favorite team’s cap sheet. The quest for Stone to keep this team young and gunning, but clueless enough under coach Stephen Silas’ watch to imperil lottery odds, affects not just veterans like Wall. The second and third highest-paid Rockets, Eric Gordon and Christian Wood, have been conveniently shut down. Daniel Theis was air-mailed back to Boston at the Trade Deadline, and of the three players brought back, Enes was granted his Freedom, while our old friend Dennis Schröder is left to wonder how things might have gone had he not bet on himself to leave the Lakers (all things considered, maybe it was for the best). The sole member of that trade trio who is likely to grace the floor for Silas today (3:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in HTX) is another chum, one not-so-old. Bruno Fernando hasn’t appeared on-court in over a week, but Silas did feature him in a pair of must-lose home games versus the Kangz, where he compiled 40 points, four blocks and 17 rebounds. Bruno won’t need to do much today for Houston (20-61), but his incremental contributions, should the Hawks (42-39) half-tailfeather their way through today’s proceedings, might become the reason why they’ll have to play an elimination game in a town that begins with the letter C. Today’s season-ending game from H-Town's side of the equation is simple. Kevin Porter, Jr. is going to get his, in the form of 30 points, whether it takes 30-plus combined shots or not to get there (last 6 games: 29.2 PPG and 7.7 APG, 49.2/38.5/86.7 shooting splits). Same get-mine deal, if he can go, for rookie Jalen Green (questionable, non-You Know What illness). The Rockets made the VanVleet-less Raptors fight to the bitter end in Toronto on Friday, falling by just a 117-115 score, and while Green was laboring in that contest, he has been dueling with KPJ for the scoring lead in the prior seven contests (29.1 PPG, 49.0/45.0/79.3 splits). For Atlanta, it’s a matter of who, be it Alpo Sengun, Bruno, Jae’Sean Tate, Garrison Mathews and the like, do they allow to go off and surge the high-tempo Rockets (101.2 Pace, 2nd in NBA) into the 120-point stratosphere. A more focused all-around effort than exhibited at the close of Friday’s loss in Miami, from De’Andre “Car 54” Hunter and the Hawks, would be enough to keep the Rockets’ offense reasonably grounded. I’d get into the particulars, but I’m already in Play-In mode. I am more interested in just balling up this regular season and putting it in the rubbish. Mr. Janitor, sir, would you mind tossing this here seas– oh, please forgive me, Mr. Wall, I didn’t recognize you! Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

~lw3

“What wood would Christian Wood’s woodpecker peck, if Christian Wood’s woodpecker pecked wood? Go ahead, say it three times, fast!” Well before a fellow named Zuckerberg became a self-styled zen-master, several Institutes of Technology that I attended each had students and staff expressing some inspirational maxim along the lines of “Move Fast and Break Things,” with a high degree of variance around usage of the word, “Things.” That’s the best way I could describe the approach being taken by coach Stephen Silas’ once-haphazard Houston Rockets. Fully rebuilding a franchise might come slowly, and all indications are that owner Tilman Fertitta is willing to be patient, at least with the front office led by Rafael Stone. As a head coach, Silas recognizes that you might succeed with the assets currently at your disposal, and you might even succeed fast. But if you are to set up to fail, fail fast, and learn quickly from the “things” that break along the way before the next trials come. Silas’ Rockets are that other team at State Farm Arena tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in HTX) eager to prove that their recent seven-game winning streak wasn’t fool’s gold. They’re pushing the pill at a pace (NBA-high 101.31 possessions per-48) that they know is hard for opponents to keep up with, given they can barely maintain control of the ball themselves (NBA-worst 17.5 TO%). Two key starters, each sub-age-22 and sub-40-percent from the floor, have blown gaskets (hammies, to be more precise) and have struggled to get back onto the floor. But as fan pressure mounted on Silas to stem a 15-game freefall without the services of lotto rookie Jalen Green or Kevin Porter, the coach was able to find players on his roster willing to pick up the pace, and the slack, consistently. Including one particular “G.M.” that has been doing much of the bailouts. Well on their way to a 16th-consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of an upright Chicago Bulls team back on November 24, Green exited due to injury in the first quarter, and neither of D.J. Augustin nor Armoni Brooks could adequately fill the bill. The hamstrung Silas turned instead to two-way swingman Garrison Mathews. In his second game of the season since getting called up from Rio Grande Valley, Mathews sparked the turnaround with three drawn offensive fouls in the space of eight minutes. Later, he hit a pair of crucial fourth-quarter treys, including a game-clincher with under 30 seconds remaining. The pride of Lipscomb University (home of the Fightin’ Mick Jaggers), picked up before the season began from Boston after a pair of two-way seasons with Washington, the developmental Mathews has been a fixture in Houston’s starting unit ever since, the Rockets rattling off six more wins (16.8 PPG, 1.2 SPG, 44.4 3FG% during that streak). Garrison has been joined in the breakout by veteran guard Eric Gordon, who has played like a man that knows he’s in a race to beat the mothballed John Wall out of town to a contender (20.5 PPG in past 4 appearances, 57.7 FG%, sinking half of his 6.0 3FGAs/game), just in time for the leaguewide trade market to widen. Few would blame the Rockets’ red glare coming to a close versus Milwaukee last Friday, or Houston losing the next evening at Memphis on Z-Bo Night while Gordon was granted rest. Further, it’s fair to notice the 8-18 outfit that fell 113-106 on Saturday has been far more competitive, in losses, than the one that dropped to 1-13 at the FedEx Forum on November 15 by a 136-102 margin. Even when leading scorer Christian Wood (20+ points & 10+ boards in six of last 8 games) had to depart a December 1 game at OKC early, oblong forward Jae’Sean Tate and Brooks filled in ably, scoring 23 of Houston’s 41 fourth-quarter points to keep the streak from ending prematurely. That comeback win over the Thunder was, and remains, the only road victory of the season (1-12 on the road) for the Rockets. Doubling Houston’s away-game total tonight would require the host Atlanta Hawks blowing their fifth straight game at The Farm. Youth has been served, much to the detriment of Hawk opponents at this stage of the season. Having played 8 of the 11 NBA clubs listed by SpoTrac as averaging 25 years of age or less, Atlanta has gone 8-1 so far. Houston will be young team #9. One of those teams already played, Orlando will await the Hawks’ arrival in a couple days seeking payback from a loss last month, and whatever suits up for Chicago will engage Atlanta in a home-and-home after the Crimmuh games. The sole slippage by Nate McMillan’s crew came after pussyfooting for too long with LaMelo-less Charlotte, coincidentally the team bearing the NBA’s second-highest tempo. At the risk of conflating youth with experience here, the Hawks (13-13) have feasted off of under-experienced clubs like Houston all season long. But they have found themselves susceptible versus players more experienced with performing in the clutch and/or teams capable of controlling the pace of play, at either extreme, to their liking. “You’ve got to learn to win,” McMillan told the AJC’s Sarah Sanders and reporters after shootaround today. His remarks were a departure from his defensiveness of the Hawks’ late-game execution following Friday’s 14-point final-frame in a loss to grubby Kevin Durant and the Nets. “You have to get stops and you have to make buckets. Some of our fourth quarters, we haven’t done that.” Brooklyn went 0-for-8 on threes in that pivotal fourth quarter, yet the Nets, led by players old and young, managed to outscore an Atlanta team arguably too dependent on Trae Young by ten points. James Harden, who lost to his old team, Houston, in the Nets’ prior game, committed Brooklyn’s only turnover in the entire quarter, a steal by Trae that was cleaned up niftily at the other end by Durant for a four-point swing. Thanks to Atlanta’s lack of offensive game-planning, be it plays run with Young off-ball or getting down the floor in transition, compounded by a sure-hope-they-miss defensive attitude, the East’s best team went from looking like a club begging to be put out of its misery to one giddy about extending Atlanta’s. Houston is the only team permitting opponents to score more than 20 points per-48 off of their turnovers, and the sole team ceding more than 15 fastbreak points per-48. As deflating as the Hawks have been executing transition plays (to say nothing of defending them), Houston’s the only NBA offense scoring under a point per transition possession, turning over the ball on roughly one of every six transition trips. Sustained defensive pressure ought to be enough to keep the Rockets misfiring and leaking fuel by game’s end. But it’s the lengthy lapses, and the coaching staff’s unwillingness to adjust lineups to address them, that keeps the Hawks making mountains out of what should be molehill climbs toward victory, and up the standings. It's reasonable for fans to anticipate, tonight, a sloppy affair that ought to be concluded, one way or another, by the time the clock strikes 9:30 PM. Things will move fast and, hopefully, good Hawk franchise records will be the only things broken along the way. Funk will be given to ya tonight. The only question remains: will it be A-Town’s, or H-Town’s? Hearts out to our Mid-South Squawkers and Fam. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

“I’m feelin’ good! I just thought you should kno-ooow!” Ahhh, the joie de vivre of one Mr. Tilman Fertitta. He never knew Lottery Love like this. “I never thought I could feel this good after winning only 16 games,” Fertitta shared with Tim McMahon of ESPN, his team a win short of its current total. “…when I look at all the draft picks that we have and the future, I’m just happy.” Clap along if you know that sucking is what you wanna do. “I know it’s unusual to feel this good with your coach and your general manager, but I do.” Happy to oblige, says Stephen Silas and Rafael Stone, respectively. Beginning with the end of Jeff Van Gundy’s coaching run of T-Mac and Yao in 2007, through the next decade of ownership under Leslie Alexander, to the oversight of Fertitta from 2017 through last season, teardowns weren’t something Houston liked to do. Through the Rick Adelman, Kevin McHale, and Mike D’Antoni coaching eras, the Rockets haven’t fallen below .500 in a season. Not until this one. The constant up until this season was Moneyball Morey, the analytics guru and offseason sultan of swat. Daryl Morey had a good thing going, swinging for the fences in deals for fellows like James Harden and Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook, until his Hong Kong Oopsie tweet at the outset of the 2019-20 season had Tilman tap-dancing, and Morey unsure, with just two Conference Finals trips over the course of his lengthy tenure, whether he could be Fertitta’s No. 1 super guy for much longer. In the midst of this uncertainty swooped Atlanta PBO Travis Schlenk. Swinging a four-way deal at 2020’s Trade Deadline with Minnesota and Denver, the Hawks sent out what was left of Evan Turner and Brooklyn’s first rounder to the T’Wolves, and a 2026 second-rounder to Houston. What Atlanta got back for their trouble was a handshake with Nene, and this season’s leading rebounder and third-leading shot blocker, Clint Capela (14.3 RPG; 1st in NBA for both O-Reb% and D-Reb%, per bball-ref). Without much argument the Hawks’ Southeast Division-winning season MVP, Capela could get to take one last dig at his old employer as the Rockets pay Atlanta a visit (7 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in HTX) to close out their season. Atlanta (40-31) may not have much left to play for – first-round homecourt depends on what our first-round opponent, the Knicks, do this afternoon – so hopefully Capela won’t have to make an imprint on this game for terribly long. Drafted as a raw 20-year-old in the lower end of the first round by Houston back in 2014, Clint had been the only thing resembling a homegrown Rockets product, as Morey swore off developing his own draft picks, or even taking them, while going for the gusto. Olivia’s hubby (she works for MGM Sportsbooks now) Sam Dekker, selected the next year in 2015, was the last selection the Rockets took with their own first-rounder. The last Houston draftee to actually play, just a little bit, for this team? 2017 second-rounder Isaiah Hartenstein, who was cut before the team made it to the 2020 Bubble. I will suggest here that, while there were worthy questions about the Swiss center’s health heading into the 2020 Playoffs, the Capela deal was probably the first warning to the rest of the organization – to D’Antoni, Harden, Westbrook, P.J. Tucker – that it was finally time to get out while the getting’s good. Scratch that… we can maybe go back a few months more, to Eric Gordon’s four-year, $76 million extension in August 2019, for the first sign. Capela’s expulsion, excused with the D’Antonian desire to go all-out with the so-called “small ball” in a playoff run that almost ended prematurely against Westbrook’s former club, was probably just the loudest clarion call. “I’m still p*ssed,” tweeted Eric Gordon, in reply to McMahon highlighting Capela’s blocks triple-double in one of this past January’s wins over the T’Wolves. Gordo knows that Capela, when healthy and playing to his strengths, is among the more efficient bigs in the league, and his presence at both ends of the hardwood makes otherwise good guards look great. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/ As an example, look at bball-ref’s list of Houston’s “Top 12 All-Time Players”, based on cumulative Win Shares, a nearly elite list of Hall of Famers and NBA notables. Look who is sitting there, in Hawks gear, at #12 (Atlanta’s “#12” is Atlanta’s Own, Josh Smith, pictured in Rockets gear. Life is a circle). You can’t convince me that, had he ridden out most of the five-year, $90 million deal he inked from Morey and Fertitta in the summer of 2018, and had he again been playing to his strengths, that Clint (13th in Win Shares this season) wouldn’t be sitting there to the left of Otis Thorpe by the time he left Houston. Thorpe played in that town from age 26 until his age-32 season. Capela doesn’t hit 32 until 2026, coincidentally, the year Atlanta’s second-rounder to Houston comes due. Building a little more wisely around the All-NBA talent they reeled in, the Rockets could very well have kept going at title runs for the better part of the next half-decade. Instead, everyone, from the GM and coach to the stars, either jumped ship or demanded a life raft. Left behind, Fertitta is determined to convince us he’s on the Good Ship Lollipop. How else can Fertitta feel? That I-just-threw-up feeling after overindulging for too long can come with an odd touch of relief. Stone and Silas are providing the right amounts of plop-plop-fizz-fizz until Fertitta is capable of saddling back up to the table. With a combined $63.5 million in guaranteed cash due next year, John Wall and Gordon get to sit out the back half of this season with injuries. Joining them on the shelf, today, are as many as nine other players, including Booby Trapper Sterling Brown, Bubble buster Danuel House, 2020 offseason prize Christian Wood, and Harden consolation prize David Nwaba. That leaves Kelly Olynyk, out to pump up his 2021 free agency profile, and D.J. Augustin as the sole recognizable veterans in the season finale on Silas’ roster. Otherwise, it’s been plug-and-play for Silas with a host of two-way players, ten-day dudes, can-tank-erous castaways, other teams’ second-rounders, hardship pickups and unsigned free agents. Here’s the thing, though. No one who plays is encumbered with the unspoken obligation of losing ballgames. Thanks largely to a 20-game midseason freefall after starting out 11-10, Houston (17-54) has secured the #1 pre-Lottery slot, and nothing they do today imperils or improves their Top-4 Lottery odds. Everyone on the floor is encouraged to go for the 20-and-10 boxscore line of their choosing. The Clippers, who sat virtually all of their starters on Friday while satisfied with their Top-4 playoff standing, learned this the hard way as Kelly Olynyk went almost Westbrook (20 points, 11 ASSISTS, 9 rebounds) on Jay Scrubb and the Clipper scrubs in Houston’s home finale. Our old friend Khyri Thomas (that Snell-Dedmon deal still looks pretty good, btw) got snatched up recently on a ten-day deal, and has averaged 16.4 PPG, including 17 in the 122-115 win over the Clips. Brown’s Booby Trap buddy Kevin Porter, Jr. (22 points and 8 assists vs. ATL on Mar. 16) is having himself a ball. Milwaukee lost Giannis less than a minute into their game in Houston just a couple weeks ago, and KPJ decided to assert himself as the star of the game, pouring on an obvious career-high 50 points and 11 assists as Tucker’s Bucks found themselves fresh out of answers. The Rockets won that game, too. Silas has his Rockets dousing the net with three-point attempts early and attacking the rim late. If they can find hot hands at the outset, they then hope to get enough and-1’s and foul calls to break opponents’ will. The show hasn’t translated well on the road, with Orlando and Minnesota being their sole away-game wins since February 4, and a lack of quality defensive communication (119.2 road D-Rating post-All-Star-Break, worst in NBA) is a big factor. But whether it’s fireplug forward Jae’Sean Tate (20 points, 3-for-5 3FGs vs. LAC), highlight hunter KJ Martin (career highs of 27 points and 10 boards @ UTA on May 8; 26 points the night before @ MIL), or April pickup Armoni Brooks (18.5 PPG in last six games), you can’t know who is going to show up to State Farm Arena feeling dangerous. Under interim coach Nate McMillan, the Hawks reached the .500 plateau with a 119-107 win in H-Town on March 16, and never looked back. They fended off a third-quarter charge from Tate 25 points, 4-for-7 3FGs vs. ATL), a showcased Victor Oladipo, and momentary Rocket Mason Jones to pull away in the final frame. Leading the charge off the bench on that evening was rookie big Nathan Knight (season-high 6 FGs), his 15 points one off of the season-high he tallied two nights before in Cleveland. One more productive outing from Knight can help Atlanta give Capela and Onyeka Okongwu (questionable, sore shoulder) a breather before the Hawks barrel into the NBA Playoffs for the first time in four years. Has it only been four years? The Hawks’ “Recess”, under Schlenk’s watch, wasn’t all that painful, especially compared to other NBA so-called rebuilds, like the one Houston has initiated. While there was a lot of stress over mantras like “Play Badly for Bagley!”, “Stop Tryin’ for Zion!”, and “Fall ‘til you Ball!”, Atlanta dipped their toe intentionally into Lottery waters on three occasions, failed to finish Top-2 in any of them, and basically came away with Trae Young, Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter, and Okongwu. Not quite a Murderer’s Row of certified future All-Stars, but a solid Pickpockets’. While not all had gone perfect with these young Hawks’ development from the jump, with one-time All-Star Trae by far the closest to instant stardom, the aforementioned panaceas on the Pelicans and Kings, as of today, are still looking forward to clinching their first playoff trips, while guys like Ball and Ja Morant still have a lot of work to do on that front this week. Thanks to some ownership-encouraged expedition on the Recess, smart additions like Capela, and a well-timed coaching shift, Atlanta has already built themselves back better than they were when Coach Bud was stuck with the GM duties. This is already a more comprehensive, cohesive, and competitive collective than the crew Bud endured in 2017, Atlanta’s final postseason go-round to date. Whether it proves to be any more successful at playoff-time than when Dwight and Dennis’ goofball goonie gang bowed out to Wall’s Wizards will depend on how things play out, today and in the coming weeks. Fertitta, who has never gone the Recess route before, is taking a much longer tack, echoing management views held by one of Morey’s predecessors in Philly. “I can tell you this: I’m going to be patient,” he vowed to McMahon. “We’re not going to go do something stupid to try to get into the playoffs next year,” (are you writing this down, Messrs. Gordon and Wall?), “that then will prevent us from competing for a championship in a couple years.” Houston’s got a 52.1 percent shot at keeping their pick in the Top 4 this year, otherwise it heads to OKC as part of Morey’s Westbrook rental scheme. For the same reason, they’ll get to play that game again in 2024 and 2026. But they’ll get their hands on Portland and Brooklyn’s first-rounders this year, and possibly the Nets, Pistons, Wizards and Bucks in future ones. What’s the rush? “It could be 2027,” Fertitta exclaims, “that we get a Top-5 pick that ends up being the next greatest player.” This is true. He could also end up being the next Kris Dunn. Either way, you rising 7th Graders in AAU and tweens around the world, consider yourself put on notice. Work on Your Game. Because, let’s face it, there’s a chance you’re already on some Rocket scout’s Top-50 watch list. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

I still got "MAULED BY A PACK OF GNOMES" and "STUNG BY MURDER HORNETS" on his bingo card. ~lw3

“…starring CHRISTIAN WOOD, in a Very Special episode of The Fresh Prince of Bellaire.” Houston… y’all done been had problems! This is all the Astros’ fault, you know. Those sheisty sign-stealers’ rendition of “Bang the Can Slowly (2017)” brought Houston their long-coveted World Series trophy. But the price for that is bad mojo, in the form of a litany of mopey stars, and their coaches, hightailing out of town as fast as they can. 2017 Series MVP George Springer can’t even go to Toronto, yet he still inked a deal with the Blue Jays to try getting the stink of the Stros’ side-eyed successes off of him. Trading off Nuk Hopkins from the Texans was sure to cost Bill O’Brien all his jobs, eventually. But O’Brien’s antics also cost the team J.J. Watt, who demanded out only to wind up with Hopkins in Arizona, and the soul of franchise QB Deshaun Watkins, who continues to play hardball holdout until he gets the exit he desires. Even the Dynamo, according to MLSsoccer.com, “experienced as much roster turnover as anyone in the league.” Longtime star Alberth Elis wound up getting put in mothballs to end 2020’s season as the futbol club negotiated his sale to a Portuguese side. And then, there’s the Rockets. What’s left of them, anyway. When Clint Capela last played at Toyota Center, he was holding the fort inside the paint for two former league MVPs, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, playing together in the backcourt. Then, team exec Daryl Morey made good on his wish to make Mike D’Antoni’s Rockets fullcourt fast, trading Clint to Atlanta and pushing 34-year-old undersized P.J. Tucker into the five-slot full-time. For their trouble, the Rockets got a seven-game series win over Russ’ and James’ former team, and a gentleman’s sweep at the hands of the eventual world champs. In the offseason, Morey read the writing on the wall and bailed for Philly. Harden went COVID-clubbing, snuck a fat suit under his jersey, and made it clear to everyone without saying it aloud he wanted no part of continuing to play for broke-boi owner Tilman Fertitta. The new management swapped out Westbrook for the injury-recovered John Wall in hopes of appeasing their biggest star, but to no avail. Now, Harden’s with the Nets’ new assistant coach -- D’Antoni, who feigned an interest in retiring before showing up in Brooklyn. The obligatory tribute video commemorating the useful tenure of Capela (questionable, heel pain) will appear on the Jumbotron this evening while his Hawks and his former team, the Rockets (8 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in HTX) are in a timeout. Meanwhile, you can bet there’ll be one Houston player jabbing another in the ribs while looking up and asking, “psst… hey, that guy used to play here, for real?” Hopefully, that jab doesn’t bruise anybody’s tender ribs, because head coach Stephen Silas is down to fielding objectively tall volunteers from the Toyota Center stands. Backcourt holdovers from Capela’s last games here, Eric Gordon (out, groin strain) and Ben McLemore (out, ankle sprain) are sidelined, while Bubble-COVID-tester fan Danuel House is questionable with a sprained knee. Traded from Cleveland in the Harden deal that also begat Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum remains in a walking boot. Wall banged up his knee in practice and will miss his fourth consecutive game. The club cut loose Wall’s UK pal, DeMarcus Cousins, who can’t quite boogie like he used to. Tucker is getting the Elis treatment, the new regime figuring out, in addition to second-rounders, how much cash they can allocate to Tillman’s pockets in exchange for the sneakerhead. Former Net Rodions Kurucs was clinging to limited minutes until a strained oblique put him on ice. Would-be leading scorer Christian Wood (listed as doubtful) shined for 17 games before going down with a severe ankle sprain, and now he is eager to follow the lead set by David Nwaba (out, sprained wrist, put off surgery and played last two games injured) and return ahead-of-schedule. That’s to help out Silas, in part, because their Rockets, tonight, could tie the record 17-game losing streak set back during the franchise’s maiden voyage, in San Diego in 1968, during an era when NBA teams played virtually every day. With a lanky kid named Pat Riley coming off the bench, those Rockets snapped their skid with a single win over juggernaut Philly, only to close out that season with 15 more losses in a row. That was also the pre-Lottery era, so coming away with Elvin “The Big E” Hayes in the subsequent Draft worked out pretty nicely (all you six-foot-two middle-schoolers named Enyeka, don’t even try it). San Diego turned it around with Hayes, fellow rookie Rick Adelman and Riley to guide the Rockets to a playoff series with the Hawks the following season. Houston (11-26) did the whole Wile E. Coyote gag of feeling pretty good about themselves after running off a cliff (“Harden, Schmarden!”) before peering down. After winning seven of eight games, the Rockets have not won since Wood departed in the third-quarter of their win at Memphis on February 4. The average losing margin over the past 16 games has been 18.25. In the rematch with the Grizzlies just 24 days later, host Houston was waxed by 49 points. Now, Silas has no choice but to push the pace (4th in NBA) and the on-ball pressure (15.3 opponent TO%, 6th in NBA; 19.4 points off TOs, 4th in NBA) as much as possible and hope for the best, while shifting the team’s re-development into overdrive, beginning with their latest star at point guard… Kevin Porter, Jr.? Porter was a pouter in Cleveland, the troubled guard hissy-fitting his way out of town for a conditional second-round pick. The Rockets promptly sent him over to the Glubble with their Rio Grande Valley outfit, re-fashioning him as a ball-dominant point guard. Now back with the “big” squad, and starting in two of his past three games, the results have been nice (17.4 PPG and 8.3 APG in 32.4 minutes/game), particularly when he’s not jacking pull-up threes (19.0 3FG% on 7.0 tries/game). “We’re not going to overstate anything,” Silas told the Houston Chronicle after KPJ dropped 27-and-8 on the Jazz in Utah last Friday, “But we think we got something there.” Aiding Oladipo (last 6 games: 24.3 PPG, 30.8 3FG%, 1.7 SPG), for whom the Trade Deadline sharks are already circling, Porter will likely share the floor with fellow default starters Jae’Sean Tate (only Rocket to appear in every game this season), esteemed Hawk-Killer Sterling “Black Lightning” Brown, and two-way center Justin Patton. The rookie Tate, Patton and another recent pickup, high-flying two-way forward Anthony Lamb, are the only Rockets exceeding 220 pounds, part of the urge for Wood to usher his way back onto the floor as soon as possible. If Wood gets his way and plays tonight, Atlanta may feel inclined to counter with the resting Capela. But it sure helps Hawks coach Nate McMillan to know he has a fellow Nate ready to help domi-Nate, too. Nathan Knight balled within control during Atlanta’s fifth-straight victory, Sunday’s refreshing 100-82 win over the Cavaliers. Knight was active on the boards, showing off a dash of handles, splashing a three and drawing trips to the line (9-for-10 FTs) to eclipse his rookie highs with 16 points and 9 rebounds. That was sorely needed by a Hawks club that was competing without first-rounder Onyeka “The Dream” Okongwu and Capela. Especially given the league’s relaxed two-way rules, Nate Mac shouldn’t hesitate to mix Knight into rotations more going forward. On National “John 3:16” Day, John Collins (last ten games: 18.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG; team-highs of 22 points and season-high 13 boards vs. CLE) recalls the embarrassment of letting Cleveland off the hook with their ten-game slide last month (should be noted he left that pivotal game, a 112-111 loss, before halftime for concussion protocols). Collins isn’t not eager to experience anything similar today in H-Town, especially considering the Hawks (19-20) need to get above .500 any way they can in the final warmups before their weeks-long West Coast road trip, and that the Rockets have to save something up for a visit by Golden State tomorrow. Trae Young and the Hawks suppressing the turnovers (16.7 TO% in March, second-highest only to Cleveland) while getting back consistently in transition would go a long way toward keeping the groove going tonight. This year, Atlanta surpassed Houston (and Boston, and DC), to become America’s seventh-largest media market. After fits and starts (lay off social media replies for now, LP) the Hawks are finally beginning to give its growing legion of eyeballs more reasons to tune in. Conversely, no matter where you turn, Houston’s teams have given its sports fans more reasons to zone out, one departing franchise player at a time. But, hey, Stros, enjoy your Commissioner’s Trophy. Hope it’s still shiny! Last Houston sports superstar left in the room, please, turn out the lights! That is, after all the windmills get de-iced. Too Soon? Erin go Bragh! Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

~lw3

Holadipo, Batman! ~lw3

"And, at Center, from UCLA! Trevo -- excuse me, what? He refuses to come out of the locker room? Come on out here, Trevor! It's not gonna be so bad!" ~lw3

~lw3

~lw3

~lw3

Is there a Big Momma involved in this House? ~lw3

~lw3

“Fear the ‘Band! No, wait, Fear the Braid! Nah, how ‘bout…” No, don’t sit THAT former MVP guard on the Houston Rockets! After getting overwhelmed by Nikola Jokic and the reasonably full-strength Denver Nuggets, our Atlanta Hawks close out their three-game homestand catching a bit of a break. The Rockets will only field one of their two recent Podoloff Trophy bearers tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in HTX). Trouble is, it’s probably not the one we’d prefer. I can’t recall a recent opponent who arrived at State Farm Arena after playing the night before. But Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni is cognizant his team has a bigger road game tomorrow in Oklahoma City. So he’ll sit one former Thunder star, Russell Westbrook, and start Eric Gordon (14.7 PPG, 40.9 3FG% in last 3 games) in hopes of getting him up to speed after he missed 22 games due to arthroscopic knee surgery. Running neck-and-neck with Denver in the West behind the Lakers, the Rockets (24-11) have mostly been true to form. But there have been slip-ups versus lesser foes, especially in the past month or so. We all remember our weary Hawks’ H-Town Funk back on November 30, when the only human alive capable of averting James Harden’s red glare off three days’ rest (60 points, 20-for-23 FTs, 8-for-14 3FGs, 8 assists) was Coach D’Antoni. But since that 158-111 deep-frying, while the Rockets have gone 11-5, the Ls did not come against some Murderer’s Row of opponents, not even some Jaywalker’s Row. Granted three MORE days off after lambasting the Hawks, Harden dropped 50 in San Antonio. Yet the Spurs, who played without LaMarcus Aldridge, weren’t having it. Harden went a perfect 24-for-24 from the line, but just 11-for-37 from the field. Shooting a collective 37.8 percent from the floor, Houston also let Lonnie Walker go wild in the 4th quarter and blew a 16-point lead, dragged into a double-overtime defeat. A week later, back at Toyota Center, Clint Capela and P.J. Tucker were rebounding out of their minds against Sacramento. They’d have finished with more boards if somebody had helped them box out. Late struggles to control the glass or force turnovers set the Rockets up to be crowned by the Kings’ three-point bombers, first Buddy Hield and then Nemanja Bjelica, as Sactown earned a rare good-feel ending in a one-point win. Barely a week after that, D’Antoni rested Westbrook on the second night of a back-to-back, coming off a resounding win in Orlando. Even with Blake Griffin stumbling through a knee-dless 0-for-7 FGs in the space of 15 minutes, even with Harden pouring in 39 points one night after making 54, the Pistons pummeled the Rockets’ shorthanded bench and cruised through the second half toward a 115-107 victory. Many of us were looking up through our plates of stuffing on Christmas Day to ask aloud, “Hold up… the Warriors WON?” The Dubs found Harden being held to one free throw, and missing it, in their stocking, and had our old friend Damion Lee more looking like David. Before a shocked home crowd, the league’s then-worst team, Golden State, pulled off the surprise of the day, beating by 12 a Rockers team that beat them by 17 the prior month. As foreboding as the Rockets want to seem, a win tonight over the Hawks would make Atlanta the first team the Rockets have swept this season. That includes the Pelicans, whom Houston already beat twice. This time around, D’Antoni sat both Westbrook and Harden in N’Awlins, one night after beating the Nets back home. One of My Main Men, Isaiah Hartentstein, got the start as Capela continued resting a bruised heel. Even with Gordon suiting back up, Danuel House, Hartenstein and the remaining Rockets couldn’t manage the load against the renascent Pels, who had four 20-point scorers and enjoyed a 41-point fourth quarter that would make even the Hawks chuckle. Although they’re now 5.0 games behind LeBrongeles, D’Antoni still has high hopes. “We are tied for second (in the NBA West), if I’m not mistaken,” he told The Athletic’s Alykhan Bijani and reporters after Monday’s practice, before the Nuggets inched ahead of them in the standings. “Not bad. We want to be first. We still have a goal to finish first. Definitely doable.” He’s not wrong. You never know when an untimely bad fall or two have the Lakers crashing back to Earth. But the Rockets understand that having two of the last three MVPs on the roster is a luxury. When one, or both, get DNP’d, others have to step up and take care of business versus lesser opponents if they want a real shot at homecourt throughout the Western playoffs. The team the Hawks last beat, Indiana, was coincidentally the team they lost to in November, before having to fly south in the dead of night, right into Harden’s flailing arms. They beat the Pacers here at The Farm despite coming off a back-to-back, despite missing a few useful components, like Jabari Parker (shoulder), who will be sidelined for at least a couple more weeks, and John Collins. The latter has returned to help Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and the Hawks confront the Rockets with a more balanced offense, which is precisely what Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce desires. Pierce tried to throw everything and the kitchen sink at Jokic on Wednesday, daring the Pillsbury Passboy to seek out teammates, and he tried to keep every other Nugget from beating them. Jokic got his career high in points, yet the Hawks (8-29) were just one motivated Birthday Boy away from putting another late scare into the Nuggets. Fortunately for Atlanta, aside from the inactive Gerald Green (foot, out until at least the All-Star Break), the nearest Rocket with a birthday coming up is Comeback Player candidate Ben McLemore. He won’t blow out any candles for another month, but Ben Mac will be eager to celebrate his contract becoming effectively guaranteed for the full season yesterday (Gary Clark, alternatively, was placed on waivers). Harden (HOU 13-1 when he scores 40 or more) is bound to get his buckets no matter who the Hawks throw at him, and with Cam Reddish and Huerter (both DNP @ HOU in November) available, the Hawks will have fresher legs to throw his way. But as the Spurs and Pistons showed, if you keep him cool from three-point range without falling for his foul-drawing tricks, and have him almost as likely to turn the ball over as he successfully pass for assists, you can keep your offense in the game. The Rockets have generally been fortunate to sit or rehab most of their older players, like Nene (adductor, out indefinitely), Thabo Sefolosha (9.9 minutes/game) and Tyson Chandler (8.7 minutes/game). The exception is Tucker, the 34-year-old who logs 36 minutes per game and has yet to be load-managed. The Hawks would do well to keep Tucker on a swivel tonight, sometimes helping Harden, Gordon and Austin Rivers to keep Young (10-for-16 FGs, 7 assists and 3 TOs @ HOU, teammates 28-for-72 and 10 TOs) in check, often helping block-happy Capela secure the rebounds in the paint against Collins and the re-energized Alex Len, always trying to keep teammates from over-exerting and short-circuiting themselves with foul trouble. Entrusted with the backup center minutes, Hartenstein can also slide over to the 4-spot in a pinch. But if Tucker has to sit for extended time, it’s more likely fans at The Farm could enjoy the long-awaited power forward battle between ex-Hawk Thabo and Vince Carter. Talk about Land of the Lost! Enough talk about Tyrannosauruses. Let’s talk Tokyo. “It’s one of my goals to represent this beautiful country.” That was James Harden’s sentiment towards the beautiful US of A, in September of this past year, no winks or crossed toes involved. Our purple mountain majesties weren’t enough to sway The Bearded One, 2012 Gold Medalist and 2014 FIBA World Cup MVP, from competing in 2016’s Summer Games or last year’s Olympic-qualifying World Cup. “This decision was a painstaking one that I did not take lightly,” Harden had written for him, about the announcement to withdraw a couple months before the 2016 Games in Rio, coincidentally hours after Westbrook did the same. The NBA season, which had ended with a first-round loss to Golden State, saw him log an NBA-high 3,125 minutes in the regular season and nearly 200 more in the playoffs. Averaging more minutes this season (37.8 MPG) than he has at any time since 2015-16 (38.1), one wonders whether Harden again tells a desperate Jerry Colangelo, “not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.” Team USA’s president may not be as much of a hardliner as he portrayed when he was miffed by the 2019 World Cup defections. Colangelo did say he wouldn’t forget those “who you thought you were going to war with (bad time for figuratives, I know) and who didn’t show up.” But he didn’t exactly embrace those he rode to a seventh-place finish last year in China, with all due respect to Mason Plumlee. Consider that the gold medalists of 2016 had names like Boogie, DeAndre, Draymond, Kyrie, Melo leading the way. Players who sat out this NBA season (KD, Klay) to rehab for the next. Players who might be deep into the postseason when the time comes to confirm a re-up (Lowry, PG, Jimmy). Then, add players who sat out of 2016 who have free agency to think about this summer (AD), or LeBron, or Steph. Frankly, with the opponents on the world stage improving by the day, you can only trot out Harrison Barnes and DeMar DeRozan so many times. Harden may indeed avoid a change of heart this time, although it would be nice for him to know who is joining him in the backcourt. Whether he makes the commitment or not, shouldn’t Colangelo give a call to the only American, aside from Harden or Damian Lillard, to have already logged 200 assists, 100 threes, and 200 free throw makes? A young man, a probable NBA All-Star, who will have some free time between, say, mid-April and July, to help Team USA go for the gold? Now I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know my men’s and women’s basketball teams can run others out the building, when they’re properly staffed. And I think it would be quite fun to have Gregg Popovich calling a timeout and chewing out Trae Young for bouncing the ball off some poor Iranian’s head before stroking a three or lobbing a dime, all while assistant Lloyd Pierce is smooth-talking us out of an international incident. The way things are going halfway around the globe, the decision for anyone to even go in the first place might be made well before Young gets to rock any shows from here to d*mn Japan. But as long as we’re still on, Jerry, for the sake of this great land of ours, have your people call Trae’s people. Domo arigato! Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3

"It's why I always clean my plates, Daryl. Haven't you heard, there are children starving in Africa?" Still trippin' on the tryptophan today, so I'm gonna give Daryl Morey and his MIT Sloan Analytics peer-inspired empathetic activism a break today. Our Atlanta Hawks (4-something or other) will try to gin up enough energy, following last night's overtime close call in Indy, to keep up with James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the Houston Rockets (8 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in HTX). "Don't Foul Harden, and Box Out" remains the prime objectives as D'Antoniball is still in effect (NBA-highs of 45.4 3FGAs and 29.6 FTAs per game, NBA-low 44.7 2FGAs per game). Yet I do wonder whether D'Antoni and the Rockets (105.6 Pace, 2nd in NBA) are trying to pull a fast one on opponents in more ways than one. While foes are preoccupied with the downhill drives of Harden (everyone's favorite Hawk at the moment, DeAndre' Bembry lives for this matchup, but he will get to watch rookie De'Andre Hunter face off with Harden more today) and Westbrook, and all the volume perimeter shooting. But they're making barely a third of their three-point attempts (33.4 3FG%, 26th in NBA), producing more field goal offense by pummeling the interior (55.7 2FG%, 2nd in NBA) and drawing favorable whistles. With their most accurate shooter in the rotation, Danuel House (illness), doubtful to play, the Hawks can afford to treat Harden's stepback threes and Westbrook's open takes as a white flag of sorts. The Hawks' on-ball defenders just cannot allow them to go around, or through them. Clint Capela (illness) is also unlikely to participate tonight, and Nene (abductor) remains out of commission. So you can imagine Westbrook and Harden will be doing the most to compensate offensively with paint drives and dishes. The Hawks' swingmen will want to keep Westbrook and Harden from enjoying straight-line trips into the paint, keeping the ballhandler in front or alongside them, and they may be rewarded with one of those mid-range shots D'Antoni despises. When alleviated from guarding Westbrook, point guards Trae Young, Tyrone Wallace and Evan Turner will need to help secure rebounds and spark fastbreak chances for Atlanta (note to Bembry: when going 1-on-3, consider passing every once in a blue moon). Houston allows the league's second-most fastbreak points (16.7) per-48. Young and Jabari Parker will have to trade off roles of help-rebounding and sticking with P.J. Tucker (52.6 corner 3FG%) in the corners. Keeping the short-staffed front line of Houston (12-6, beat Miami on Wednesday at Toyota Center to stop a three-game slide) on their toes -- Tyson Chandler starts... more minutes for Thabo Sefolosha at the 4-spot? -- and potentially in foul trouble will require the triple-double-hunting Rockets stars to be more than mere rebounders on defense. That's all I got! Time to go reheat some mac 'n cheese. Let's Go Hawks! ~lw3

~lw3

~lw3

“But, it was just charades! I yelled… LOW CUT SOCKS!... not, HOLTKAMP SUCKS!” Here’s hoping for a thoroughly uneventful game for the Atlanta Hawks, for a change! Their West Coast swing continues with a visit to the Houston Rockets (8:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in H-Town), who are out to secure their first-ever (???) 60-win season tonight. The main question is, how easy can the Hawks make this for the Rockets? Houston (59-14) won handily last night at the Toyota Center, a 114-91 victory over the playoff-probable Pelicans that was only contentious as far as the barbs and fouling on the court. Conference Finals Virgin Chris Paul (sore hamstring) was rested for the past two games, and coach Mike D’Antoni would like to DNP a few more key components. But James Harden isn’t inclined to go along with that plan. Harden (NBA-high 30.9 PPG, 36.2 Usage%, 30.1 PER and .293 WS/48) remains in front of the pack contending for the Maurice Podoloff Trophy. But when the Beard peeks over his shoulder, he sees a hairy situation: MVP candidates Cavs’ LeBron James, the Blazers’ Damian Lillard, and the Pels’ Anthony Davis are gaining on him as the regular season nears its end. Even with his Rockets a virtual lock for the Western Conference’s #1 seed entering the playoffs, Harden has no desire to shift to cruise-control. It’s up to D’Antoni to make sure Harden starts, and gets to lead on the floor when it’s time to salt games away. But the reigning Coach of the Year will also strategically massage his marquee player’s minutes. Impressively, Harden is likely to earn his MVP award with a downtick in per-game playing time for the second straight season (35.6 MPG, down from an NBA-high 38.1 in 2015-16). Hawks fans would have hoped for a different season where Houston would pass along their first-round draft pick. But the Rockets, unlike the Warriors, have stayed fairly healthy, and GM Daryl Morey concocted a squad deep enough with veteran role players (now including future Hawks jersey retiree Joe Johnson) that its winning collection of stars and starters don’t have to over-exert themselves, or play too far outside of their comfort zones. Just as Paul (7.9 APG, lowest since his rookie season) has effectively reduced the necessity for Harden (8.6 APG, down from an NBA-high 11.2 last season) to distribute the ball as much as last year, Clint Capela (18 points, 16 rebounds, 6 blocks, 3 steals vs. NOP) obviates the need for Harden (5.3 RPG, lowest since 2013-14) to dominate on the glass. Unlike some former MVPs, you won’t catch Harden (27 points, 8 assists, 9 TOs vs. NOP) wrestling around in the paint with the JaVale McGees and Mike Muscalas of the world when it’s time to vie for a tough rebound. Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Eric Gordon (4-for-9 3FGs vs. NOP, 4 assists, 4 TOs) serves as the sole traditional point guard in the rotation with Paul out, and he’ll need help from his Harden (1.8 SPG, 6th in NBA) and his defensive swingmen to get a bead on a rested Dennis Schröder (16 points, 7 assists, 4 TOs @ GSW on Friday; questionable with an ankle sprain). With Trevor Ariza, Joe and P.J. Tucker trying to slow Schröder’s rolls, catch-and-shoot opportunities will abound for Taurean Prince (team-high 20 points, 4-for-8 3FGs, 2 steals, 2 blocks @ GSW), Tyler Dorsey (3-for-7 3FGs @ GSW), Damion Lee and Andrew White. If Dennis is a scratch, that primary dish-and-swish facilitator role would fall to Isaiah Taylor, who moved the ball well against G-State (6 assists, 2 TOs in 19.5 minutes on Friday). Keeping the Hawks (21-52) within shouting distance late won’t be the threes, but the free throws, a factor that has worked well in the Rockets’ favor this year (75.0 opponent FT%, 3rd-lowest in NBA). Atlanta clanked an inordinate 11 freebies on 20 attempts in Oakland on Friday, as much a factor in the Hawks’ inability to continue putting the second-half scare to the Warriors (and Others) as anything else. Mike Budenholzer is fine coaching a beatable team that doesn’t beat themselves, so expect better focus by his Hawks from the charity stripe tonight. For Houston, it’s just a matter of getting the win total into the 60s, and zeroing in on sewing up the 1-seed, as quickly as possible. For Atlanta, it’ll just be nice to not be the backdrop to a lead story on SportsCenter for a little while. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3 View full record

Let’s sing it, James! “Don’t Be Tardy for The Party… oh-oh-oh-ohhh-oh-oh…” You won’t get much zippy commentary on here about the “Real” “House” “wives” “of” “Atlanta”, as the divas grace the Atlanta Hawks and the visiting Houston Rockets (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet Southwest in HOU) with their presence at Philips Arena today. I zoned out on that show for keeps years ago, back when the recently-ousted Phaedra, Kenya, and frenemies couldn’t figure out for themselves how much of a creep Apollo was. Or maybe before that, when Porsha intimated that the Underground Railroad had to have room for tracks. While RHOA is here to promote this weekend’s kickoff of Season 10 of the franchise, Hawks fans understand as well as anybody when a near-decade run of something grows a little stale. But so long as they don’t stage a(nother) one of their catfights, having to get separated by Harry and leaving behind weave remnants to get swept up off the floor, I’m cool with it. What I will delve into is how short-sighted I have been about Mike D’Antoni. Remember how we all cackled when his Phoenix Suns went all-in with their zany but successful Seven Seconds or Less offense? Well, guess who his boss was back then? Steve Kerr. It takes two to tango on the floor, and these days, Kerr, D’Antoni and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer are advocates for an overall pace of play that, today, leaves even that Steve Nash-led team in the dust. As noted recently by Kevin Arnovitz, the 2004-05 Phoenix team that won 62 games, led the Western Conference and reached the conference finals before succumbing to Coach Bud’s and Coach Pop’s Spurs in five games, led the NBA with a 95.9 pace. With more teams going smaller and pushing the rock, the ’05 Suns’ tempo (opponents included) would rank 26th in the league as of today. D'Antoniball would be panned by many, including yours truly, over the later years, but it was not designed to accommodate wholesale dysfunction, as was the case with the Melo-Amar’e Knicks and the Kobe-Dwight Lakers. But most NBA coaches and players have since bought in. Thanks to gung-ho GM Daryl Morey, D’Antoni’s Rockets (6-3) are balancing that need-for-speed with former halfcourt heavyweights James Harden, Eric Gordon and Chris Paul (the latter out for another week or so with a bruised knee) directing traffic. D’Antoni has implemented a style that compels opposing defenses to pick between two evils and think fast. “Everything that [opponents] preach defensively,” the Rockets coach told Basketball Insiders, “we try to do opposite, or try and get to a spot they don’t want to be in.” Pringles isn’t wasting time running plays, and he’s certainly not wasting time with what he perceives to be inefficient shots. Houston has taken just 5.0 mid-range two-point shot attempts per game, and the next-lowest team, Memphis, has been hoisting nearly twice as many (9.5). As with Kerr’s Warriors, if you, as a shooter, are going to settle at this range, you had better make it, and Houston leads the way with a 48.9 FG% in this zone. The gameplan is the same for many Atlanta opponents. Build up a lead by drowning the Hawks in three-point buckets in the first half (17.4 first-half opponent 3FGAs per game, 3rd in NBA), shift inside and let the Hawks wear themselves out trying to claw back in front, then put them away with daggers in the second-half, once the wing defenders are too tired to keep up and overcompensating for the shorthanded presence in the middle. D’Antoni’s Rockets (NBA-high 54.1 three-point attempt rate) seem to be built to do just that. While it’s not a problem tonight, the design of an offense that turns a good chunk of the floor into a vacuum could pose challenges for the Rockets’ most significant off-season acquisition. Paul’s mid-range runners and spot-ups were a bread-and-butter of his offense for years, but he began to fully expand his range in earnest during his final season with the Clippers, taking 5.0 three-point shots per game and hitting a career-best 41.1 3FG%. Harden (26.6 PPG, 6th in NBA; 9.2 APG, 3rd in NBA) of course dominates the playmaking (35.0 usage%, 2nd in NBA), at least until CP3 returns to the fold, and how effortlessly the pair share the ball when on-court together remains to be seen. But either of them will need castmates that can hit more successfully from long-range. Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Award winner Eric Gordon’s career-high 23.9 PPG sounds nice, until one recognizes he has lofted 11.8 attempts per game from three-point territory alone (31.9 3FG%). Despite the added three-point shot volumes, forwards Ryan Anderson (37.3 3FG%) and P.J. Tucker (35.0 3FG%) and swingman Trevor Ariza (25.0 3FG%) are all shooting at-or-below their career averages. If wings Taurean Prince and Kent Bazemore are doing their letter-best, switching onto Harden and canvassing the three-point line, then Dennis Schröder (probable, despite his sprained ankle; career-low 6.5 D-Reb%) and the Hawks’ remnant guards would do well to help their foul-prone bigs secure the rebounds produced by the many clunkers veering from the rim. Any Hawks player trying to D-up a Rocket standing around the mid-range two-point area, or even in the paint outside the restricted area, risks wasting precious time and falling into D’Antoni’s traps. The Hawks (1-7) could turn the tables anytime Houston turns a blind-eye toward the perimeter. The Rockets have allowed first-quarter opponents to hit an NBA-high 50.8 3FG% in the opening frame, the sole team to have allowed foes to sink over half of those shots. The Rockets do have defenders, like Trevor Ariza, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Tucker, and Clint Capela (NBA-high 37.8 D-Reb% and 70.7 FG%). But those players would rather be occupied trying to stem forays by Schröder (one of 11 NBA players with 45/35/90 shooting split, min. 100 minutes played) into the lane, access that should be more unfettered without CP3 around. Atlanta will need Marco Belinelli (48.9 3FG%), Luke Babbitt (season-high 16 points @ PHI on Wednesday, 2-for-4 3FGs), and Prince (48.1 3FG%) to get early perimeter touches, allowing the Hawks to play their opponent even or in front, rather than scrambling from behind later. If everyone does their tasks for the Hawks well tonight, from the outset, the only “Atlantans” scratching and clawing on the court could be the ones aiming for a boost in tweets and TV ratings. Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3 View full record

~lw3

“Once I pop, I can’t stop!” Rise Up! A heaping debt of gratitude is due to our dear Atlanta Falcons. That’s not just because they worked their tailfeathers off to make it to the “Superb Owl” in Clutch City, where our Hawks coincidentally face off tonight with the Houston Rockets (8:00 PM Eastern, TNT if you dare; better yet, mute it and set your audio to 92.9 FM in ATL). By making it all the way through January and into February, the Falcons allow Atlanta’s sports media to defer the thankless job of watching the Hawks with any real discerning eye. Usually, by the time mid-January rolls around, there are no defensive tackles to hide behind. Down in Florida, pitchers and catchers don’t even report for another week or two. Aside from the hoopla over National Signing Day, it’s a wrap for Bulldog and Jacket football, after the obligatory mid-tier bowl games. The march to March Madness rarely matters around these parts. By MLK Day, and for at least the month that follows, it’s our Clean Birds that usually get center stage in Atlanta’s sports scene to themselves, whether they’re ready or not. Thus, it’s fortunate that the ATL has little time to dwell on yet another fullcourt flub by the Hawks, at the hands of another undermanned but spirited team, this time in Miami last night. You might imagine the network that Ted Turner built won’t want to focus much time on these pitiful performances tonight, and thank goodness for that. If anything, the appetizer for tonight’s Warriors-Clippers matchup will center on the splendid campaign underway in HTX, led by MVP leading candidate James Harden (career-highs of 28.1 PPG, 11.3 APG, 8.1 RPG) on the floor, and steered by COTY candidate Mike D’Antoni off of it. Quick Hawks-related commentaries will be provided as to how much better the Rockets are doing without Dwight Howard (a first-round exit, Houston went 41-41 last season), and how much better All-Star Paul Millsap would look donning a more media-favorable jersey by month’s end. Not much attention will be directed toward the Rockets’ recent swoon. Yes, they’re at a respectable 36-16, third in the NBA behind the Dubs and Spurs. However, they’ve slowed somewhat in recent weeks. Houston beat the Hornets back on January 10 to cap off a 20-2 surge up the standings. Since then, their 5-7 record in the past 12 games includes wins over faltering Brooklyn and Milwaukee, and a very tired Sacramento team this past Tuesday. Thanks to 6th Man award candidate Eric Gordon (3rd-most 3FGs through 52 games in NBA history; career-high 54.6 eFG%) and Ryan Anderson (career-best 41.2 3FG%), the Rockets are the very example of the once-despised NBA team that Lives By The Three: first in takes (39.6 3FGAs per game) and makes (14.4 3FGs per game; 11th in 3FG%). As was the case for Miami yesterday, Houston hopes another bombardment from the arc will draw a white flag from the visitors early. But Houston depends on more than just three-point shooting to win. Buoyed by Harden’s bulldozing style as a burly ballhandler (10.5 FTAs per game; 1st in FTAs in 4 of the past 5 seasons), Houston (2nd in O-Rating) also takes the most free throw attempts (24.7 FTAs per game; 18th in FT%). The clock-stopping whistles gives the Rockets the mid-game respites they need when hooping at such a high tempo (4th in Pace). You’re likely to hear how much happier everyone is with Clint Capela and Montrezl Harrell interchangeably manning the pivot, in lieu of Howard. What you’ll hear less about is that the Rockets’ defense has softened in recent weeks. Their D-Rating (107.0) since January 1 is masked by the kind of offensive firepower and efficiency Dwight could have only dreamed about during his Texas tenure. The ball-dominating Harden turns the ball over a ton (5.8 TOs per-36, most in NBA history), and live-ball TOs often spell buckets for the opposition (18.0 opponent points per-48, 4th-most in NBA) if Patrick Beverley and Trevor Ariza don’t get back quickly enough. On the season, only Harden’s triple-double compatriot Russell Westbrook plays on a team that allows paint points (47.5 opponent points per-48, 2nd-most in NBA) more frequently. How did the Hawks coast past the Rockets to a 112-97 victory, back on November 5 at Philips Arena? Most significantly, they coaxed a season-high 22.3 TO% out of their opposition. Houston’s season-high 26 player turnovers (also most numerically by any Hawks opponent) included eight TOs from Harden himself, half of those by way of two steals each from the active hands of Millsap (5 steals vs. HOU) and Kent Bazemore (3 steals vs. HOU). Other things that helped on that day: outscoring Houston in the paint, 62-46; Harden (24 first-half points) and the Rockets going cold from outside (3-for-16 3FGs) in the second half; Bazemore and Malcolm Delaney going 4-for-4 on corner threes; and allowing the Rockets just 13 free throw shots. But forcing turnovers set the tone for the game in the Hawks’ favor. Atlanta tends to be at their defensive best when they are denying interior points (and free throws off cheap fouls) while forcing teams into mistakes and second-guessing before their planned shots can go up. They’re 9-2 (with no blowout losses) when they force TOs in more than 16.0% of opponent possessions. Such was not the case Wednesday, when the Hawks forced just 12 turnovers from heat players (10.6 TO%), allowing Miami to score seven more field goals and 18 more points-in-the-paint. The desperation to keep Hassan Whiteside from raising that paint deficit any higher is likely to cost rookie Taurean Prince some time. Prince was not even inserted into the game until the final quarter with the game already out-of-hand. But if he and Thabo Sefolosha (groin; 3 steals vs. HOU on Nov. 5) continue missing time, expect another early call to Prince’s fellow rookie wing DeAndre’ Bembry to help fill the void. His three assists off the bench was a team-high for a Hawks team that, suddenly, forgot how to move the ball. On that note, starters Dennis Schroder (14 TOs, 2-for-11 3FGs in past three games), and Bazemore (-144 plus/minus and 1.7 APG in Atlanta’s 12 double-digit defeats) ought to spend at least twice as much time on enhanced communication between the sidelines as they spend on hijinks from the bench. Fun and frivolity can go a much longer way when your team is not getting their heads beaten in on a weekly basis. Millsap at least expresses a willingness to take charge on the court (“I’ve got to do a better job of leading these guys from the start,” he told the AJC). But ultimately, it’s on the Hawks’ supposedly serious coaching staff to ensure more effort is going into floor leadership than cheerleading. When a racecar repeatedly blows a tire during the opening laps, at some point, pressure needs to be shifted away from the driver, and toward the pit crew. When it comes to defense and decision-making, will there be another all-too-familiar half-hearted effort in the opening quarter by Atlanta on Groundhog Day? Alternatively, might another furry creature familiar to Hawks fans -- the Possum -- rear its head tonight at the Toyota Center? Fortunately for the Hawks, Atlanta and the TNT booth could not care less, either way. All anyone hopes to see these days are Arthur Blank’s latest dance moves. And if all goes well this Sunday, the Hawks will enjoy another week of critical reprieve. Rise Up and Get Down, Arthur! Let’s Go Hawks! ~lw3 View full record