Game Thread

[hawkrule152]

Chris Vivlamore ‏@ajchawks

Hawks will start Teague, Korver, Stevenson, Smith and Horford vs. Heat. #ATLHawks

Have to say im not surprised. Zaza would not be able to defend Bosh. And Josh or Stephenson can both take their shots at LBJ this way.

Thoughts?

[MrMeltdown]

Putting a bow on the last game. The Hawks used a team effort to beat the Pacers at home without Granger and with a struggling Hibbert. The Hawks had to come behind from a 14 pt deficit in the 4th quarter due to a horrible 3rd quarter and the starting lineup giving the lead back after the bench built it in the 2nd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PM8Wq34PXQ The Hawks already won in impressive faction this year on the road vs OKC whom many consider the 2nd best team in the league now they will try and conquer the best team in the league the Miami Heat. The Heat are a -5.5 point favorite and frankly that seems a little low to me. Seems like the line should be more like Heat -8. This is a huge test one in which I can not see the Hawks advantage at any position. The whole team concept will be thoroughly tested. 7:30 EST tip. I have managed to miss the first quarters of both home games thus far. Hopefully that changes tonight.

[MrMeltdown]

Gives us a tougher look to begin with the same would go for the big lineup. The small backcourt lineup is the one I am totally against at this point.By the way, if you can mods combine my game thread with this one.

[DatWerkk]

Ha! I JUST posted this on my blog like ten minutes ago before I came here and read this thread. Can't tell from that tweet who is playing 2 and who is playing 3, but it looks like they went with one of the two I suggested.

http://chasingjoejoh...-for-the-hawks/

One of the more interesting early season storylines about the Hawks is the ever shifting starting lineup. With nine new players, two departed starters, and a whole bunch of guys filling new roles, it’s become clear to me that LD is still trying to figure out what he has on his hands. So let’s play a game of Who’s On First for the Hawks?

Barring injury, this is likely to be the Heat’s starting lineup:

PG – Mario Chalmers

SG – Dwyane Wade

SF – Shane Battier

SF – LeBron James

PF – Chris Bosh

…with Ray Allen coming off the bench and playing more minutes than Battier and probably also more than Chalmers.

So, to best match-up with that, here’s who I think will be on first for the Hawks:

PG – Jeff Teague

SG – DeShawn Stevenson

SF – Kyle Korver

PF – Josh Smith

PF – Al Horford

The backcourt was a no-brainer for me. Teague firmly planted as our starting point guard, and with Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen lining up as the opposing 2, Stevenson is the clear choice for the starting SG role.

The frontcourt is where it gets tricky. I was tempted to imitate the starting lineup the Hawks used against the Pacers and put Josh Smith at the 3, Al Horford at the 4, and Zaza Pachulia at the 5. This bigger lineup worked pretty well for the Hawks. Plus I’m a big proponent of playing Josh at the 3, and I’m an official card-carrying member of The Committee To Start Zaza. So that lineup, in most situations, would be my favorite.

However, with Kyle Korver finishing so strong against the Pacers a couple nights ago, and with LeBron James presumably playing at the 4, I thought this lineup to be a better match-up. Korver may not be able to shut Battier down completely, but it’ll be a decent head-to-head battle. More importantly, if LeBron is at the 4, the only frontcourt player on the Hawks’ roster with any hope of sticking with him Josh Smith. Al Horford on Chris Bosh is a wash, or at the very least is unpredictable. Both players are capable of having big nights offensively, defensively, and on the boards. It’s probably the closest head-to-head match-up we’ll see between these two clubs.

DeShawn Stevenson is actually a pretty good LeBron stopper. In fact, after his performance against LeBron in the 2011 NBA Finals, some were calling him the G.O.A.T. LeBron stopper. So if we decided that we wanted to match those two up, that would give us another potential lineup of:

PG – Jeff Teague

SG – Kyle Korver

SF – DeShawn Stevenson

PF – Josh Smith

PF – Al Horford

…which is almost exactly the same as what I’ve picked (only Korver and Stevenson would places). This would potentially create a Josh Smith-Shane Battier match-up which I think Smith gets the better of. Problem is, this also creates match-ups of Korver-Wade and Korver-Allen, and that just ain’t gonna work. So I’m sticking to my original pick.

Edited November 9, 2012 by DatWerkk

[lethalweapon3]

The reigning kings of the Southeast Division will be all up in the Highlight Factory tonight. And, oh, don’t forget, the Miami HEAT will be here, too! “Bring ‘Em Out! Bring ‘Em Out!”The Atlanta Hawks boasted the top intra-division record last season (11-3)... thanks, all you other teams!... while the HEAT were whiffing Atlanta’s fumes at 9-5. Despite going 1-3 against the eventual NBA champions, the Hawks proved competitive in three of their four matchups last season, falling short by three at South Beach in their final meeting without either Joe Johnson or Al Horford. So even without Joe this season, can the Hawks continue to troll their fellow one-loss division mates?Dwyane Wade, you know you can do “Whatever You Like” if the Hawks try to keep Kyle Korver in front of you for extended stretches. DeShawn Stevenson will get the nod tonight to deal with Samsung phone salesman LeBron James, but will slide to the SG spot if Wade goes off early.On defense, LeBron is not going to waste time with either of these guys (Stevenson or Korver) if he has to help double up Josh Smith and Al Horford inside. So if the bigs can successfully kick the ball back outside to shooters (including Morrow and Johnny Jenkins in the mix), they could rack up the assists, forcing Wade and Mario Chalmers and even Shane Battier (if he trades places with LeBron at SF) to chase the ball as Atlanta swings it around the arc. In turn, as the HEAT guards leave their man, players like Louis “Napsack” Williams, Devin "Don't Call Me Tip" Harris, and Jeff Teague will make for some nice targets cutting to the basket.Miami has been a model of offensive efficiency: the only NBA team hitting at clips above 45% from the field, 50% from three-point range, and 80% from the line. Their Big Three (James, Wade, Chris Bosh) are among the NBA’s top 15 in PER, with All-Everything LeBron leading the league in that stat.Plus, with LeBron as a top-ten three-point shooter these days (57%), how nice is it to have added the NBA’s All-Time 3-Point Scorer as a luxury? Ray Allen (59 FG%, league leader in True Shooting percentage) needs no introduction, and neither do Rashard Lewis, James Jones, and Mike Miller when it comes to perimeter sniping. Just when we thought Lewis’ sharpshooting exploits were “Dead and Gone,” he comes out shooting over 3 treys a game and hitting at about 47%. He’s had glimpses of defensive interest as well, earning more time on the floor.The Hawks are already quite accustomed to opponents lofting threes on them, as teams are taking an NBA-leading 31.7% of their shots from beyond the three-point line. Fortunately, the iron has been thus far unkind to Atlanta’s rivals (32.1 FG% on threes, seventh-lowest). Is it tightened perimeter D? Packing the paint and letting poor shooters shoot, as A.I. might suggest? Underestimating the Hawks’ guards based on their size? Or are the Hawks just living dangerously? The HEAT will help reveal how effective the Hawks really are.Almost conversely, by settling for outside jumpers, Hawk opponents not named James Harden aren’t getting to the free throw line much (21.5 FT Shots per 100 FG Attempts). But when they do (88.3 FT%, tops in the league), they’ve been almost automatic. Hawk fans will need to break out the Thundersticks, as The HEAT are top-5 in free throw shooting (82.2%).Horford will have his hands full with Christopher Wesson Bosh shooting from every square inch of the floor. Bosh is working to establish himself as “1-B” on offense ahead of Wade. Unlike his last two seasons in Miami, he is shooting above 50% so far this season, and would be shooting even higher if he wasn’t taking wasteful threes. While Bosh is enjoying early career highs in per game blocks and steals, he has not been crashing the defensive boards as he used to (17.5 Defensive Rebound percentage, above only his rookie season), and has only had 4 total rebounds in each of his last two games, so whichever Hawk draws him has to go after the putbacks and extra possessions.Johan Petro (back) is questionable for tonight. Anthony Tolliver is always questionable. But, if Miami bothers to rely on their reserves up front (Lewis, Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony, and/or Jhorts Harrellson), matchup advantages abound in the form of Ivan Johnson and Zaza Pachulia. Both are absolutely crashing the boards right now (each at 12.0 rebounds per-36 minutes), and can help stem Miami’s second-chance opportunities.By game’s end, here’s hoping Miami fans will be shouting “Good Job! Good Effort!” to their heroes. (What you know about that?)Go Hawks!~lw3

Edited November 9, 2012 by lethalweapon3

[HawkItus]

The reigning kings of the Southeast Division will be all up in the Highlight Factory tonight. And, oh, don’t forget, the Miami HEAT will be here, too! “Bring ‘Em Out! Bring ‘Em Out!” The Atlanta Hawks boasted the top intra-division record last season (11-3)... thanks, all you other teams!... while the HEAT were whiffing Atlanta’s fumes at 9-5. Despite going 1-3 against the eventual NBA champions, the Hawks proved competitive in three of their four matchups last season, falling short by three at South Beach in their final meeting without either Joe Johnson or Al Horford. So even without Joe this season, can the Hawks continue to troll their fellow one-loss division mates? Dwyane Wade, you know you can do “Whatever You Like” if the Hawks try to keep Kyle Korver in front of you for extended stretches. DeShawn Stevenson will get the nod tonight to deal with Samsung phone salesman LeBron James, but will slide to the SG spot if Wade goes off early. On defense, LeBron is not going to waste time with either of these guys (Stevenson or Korver) if he has to help double up Josh Smith and Al Horford inside. So if the bigs can successfully kick the ball back outside to shooters (including Morrow and Johnny Jenkins in the mix), they could rack up the assists, forcing Wade and Mario Chalmers and even Shane Battier (if he trades places with LeBron at SF) to chase the ball as Atlanta swings it around the arc. In turn, as the HEAT guards leave their man, players like Louis “Napsack” Williams, Devin "Don't Call Me Tip" Harris, and Jeff Teague will make for some nice targets cutting to the basket. Miami has been a model of offensive efficiency: the only NBA team hitting at clips above 45% from the field, 50% from three-point range, and 80% from the line. Their Big Three (James, Wade, Chris Bosh) are among the NBA’s top 15 in PER, with All-Everything LeBron leading the league in that stat. Plus, with LeBron as a top-ten three-point shooter these days (57%), how nice is it to have added the NBA’s All-Time 3-Point Scorer as a luxury? Ray Allen (59 FG%, league leader in True Shooting percentage) needs no introduction, and neither do Rashard Lewis, James Jones, and Mike Miller when it comes to perimeter sniping. Just when we thought Lewis’ sharpshooting exploits were “Dead and Gone,” he comes out shooting over 3 treys a game and hitting at about 47%. He’s had glimpses of defensive interest as well, earning more time on the floor. The Hawks are already quite accustomed to opponents lofting threes on them, as teams are taking an NBA-leading 31.7% of their shots from beyond the three-point line. Fortunately, the iron has been thus far unkind to Atlanta’s rivals (32.1 FG% on threes, seventh-lowest). Is it tightened perimeter D? Packing the paint and letting poor shooters shoot, as A.I. might suggest? Underestimating the Hawks’ guards based on their size? Or are the Hawks just living dangerously? The HEAT will help reveal how effective the Hawks really are. Almost conversely, by settling for outside jumpers, Hawk opponents not named James Harden aren’t getting to the free throw line much (21.5 FT Shots per 100 FG Attempts). But when they do (88.3 FT%, tops in the league), they’ve been almost automatic. Hawk fans will need to break out the Thundersticks, as The HEAT are top-5 in free throw shooting (82.2%). Horford will have his hands full with Christopher Wesson Bosh shooting from every square inch of the floor. Bosh is working to establish himself as “1-B” on offense ahead of Wade. Unlike his last two seasons in Miami, he is shooting above 50% so far this season, and would be shooting even higher if he wasn’t taking wasteful threes. While Bosh is enjoying early career highs in per game blocks and steals, he has not been crashing the defensive boards as he used to (17.5 Defensive Rebound percentage, above only his rookie season), and has only had 4 total rebounds in each of his last two games, so whichever Hawk draws him has to go after the putbacks and extra possessions. Johan Petro (back) is questionable for tonight. Anthony Tolliver is always questionable. But, if Miami bothers to rely on their reserves up front (Lewis, Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony, and/or Jhorts Harrellson), matchup advantages abound in the form of Ivan Johnson and Zaza Pachulia. Both are absolutely crashing the boards right now (each at 12.0 rebounds per-36 minutes), and can help stem Miami’s second-chance opportunities. By game’s end, here’s hoping Miami fans will be shouting “Good Job! Good Effort!” to their heroes. (What you know about that?) Go Hawks! ~lw3

I see what you did here. Well done.

[ag82]

Looks like Wade is out tonight.

[AHawks89]

Wade out due to Ivan Johnson's appearance tonight.

Edited November 9, 2012 by AHawks89

[lethalweapon3]

From LD Pregame: "With no Wade tonight, we're keeping the starting lineup as is - I like the matchups tonight"

I guess Shuttlesworth moves up in the lineup for Miami? ~lw3 Edited November 9, 2012 by lethalweapon3

[lethalweapon3]

Hope Wade didn't pass that cold around last night!

http://www.inflexwet...n-atlanta/?wt=3

(That's Club Vanquish on Peachtree Street in Midtown, for those of you keeping score at home)

~lwachoo

Edited November 9, 2012 by lethalweapon3

[jezmund]

Where can I watch this game online?

[IheartVolt]

gaammmeeeee day

[DatWerkk]

I guess Shuttlesworth moves up in the lineup for Miami? ~lw3

Nope, looks like Mike Miller instead.

[Azodl]

Tolliver looks like if Nick Van Exel and John Salley had a baby. (nice to see Morrow in the game)

[DatWerkk]

Very small sample size, but Anthony Morrow has yet to miss a shot this year. I think he's 3-for-3 from 3, and 5-for-5 overall. Wish he'd get more playing time, but I'm willing to wait a few games before I REALLY start complaining. lol

[benhillboy]

F&@k we should be up 2 at the end of the first. Damn you Lou! Let's Go.

[Bonkers]

Morrow!

[Q45T]

Hopefully LD starts playin' him regularly.

[benhillboy]

Stevenson looking like All-Defensive against LeBron. Our team athleticism and running is really looking good.

[APE]

Hopefully LD starts playin' him regularly.

I'm liking every one of your posts for the Cell picture.