Jump to content

  • Current Donation Goals

    • Monthly Donations
      Raised $390 of $700 target

Official Game Thread: Hawks - Bucks

lethalweapon3

By lethalweapon3
in Homecourt

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Moderators
lethalweapon3 Grand Master

lethalweapon3

Posted
  • Moderators
Posted (edited)

The 2012-13 version of the Atlanta Hawks, coached by Larry Drew, lost 20 of their 38 defeats by ten or more points.

The 2013-14 edition, with Mike Budenholzer at the helm, is now more than halfway through their season, and suffered just their fifth double-digit setback on Friday night. Although it’s the second straight drubbing with a deficit that exceeded ten points, that total still represents less than a fourth of their L’s this season, compared to over half of the losses last season.

After the Men in Black had their way with Atlanta along the perimeter, the Hawks hope the goring won’t continue tonight, on the road, at the antlers of the Milwaukee Bucks (8:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Wisconsin).

It’s a bit of a stretch to call tonight’s affair a vengeance match for ex-Hawks coach Drew. That's not only since Drew and GM Danny Ferry engineered a most amicable departure this past summer, but also because Drew, now in charge of the woeful Bucks (8-34), won’t need to gameplan against nearly half of the roster that he left behind from his final season with Atlanta. Al Horford (pec) and Jeff Teague (ankle) are back in Georgia recuperating, as is John Jenkins (back). So the only Hawk reunions going on will involve LD and Kyle Korver, Lou Williams, Mike Scott, and Shelvin Mack. Zaza Pachulia will be stylin’ and profilin’ as usual, but only from the bench as he continues recuperating from a fracture in his right foot.

In Milwaukee (8-34, one win in the last eleven games), Drew captains a shoddy ship loaded with veteran disillusionment and discord. The perpetually seething Larry Sanders showed everyone what happens when keepin’ it real goes wrong in a nightclub, tossing around bottles of Champale like the world’s worst juggler. Sanders’ absence (to heal a thumb on his bottle-heaving hand, crucial for his sarcastic relations with the refs) pushed Zaza into heavy minutes for Drew, perhaps too prematurely for the sake of his fragile footsies.

Caron Butler openly barbed with his team in the media, insistent that 24 minutes a night off the bench is not what the Wisconsinite signed up for. O.J. Mayo has taken Butler’s lead, insisting the team needs a “staple”, an identity, without any sense of cognizance about how he might help establish it.

The play of shooting guard Luke Ridnour (6.5 PPG, 39.6 FG%) has bordered at times dangerously close to self-parody, even as Drew insists on starting him ahead of Mayo. Fresh from the NBA Finals, free agent acquisition Gary Neal reads Spurs box scores nightly and weeps into his Miller Lite. That is, when he’s not feuding loudly with Sanders in front of the beat writers. And were it not for the size of the media market he plays in, Ersan Ilyasova (38.8 FG%, 26.4 3FG%, 9.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG), on the front end of a 5-year $40 million deal, would be fodder for late-night comedians, despite the blame placed on mid-season maladies.

It’s all a poisonous brew for Drew, who needs to play youngsters to give fans hope for the future, but not lose so badly that he can’t be included as part of that future. His Buckaroos struggled on the road in Cleveland yesterday, falling victim to big runs in the middle frames before succumbing to the subpar Cavs by 15 points.

Largely with Sanders watching much of the game from the bench, Cleveland outrebounded their venison 52-34, including 21-8 on the offensive end. Atlanta can feel their pain, playing poultry to the Spurs on Friday by getting out-boarded 54-36 (15-9 offensive).

Resigned to losing, Bucks fans are disinterested in the vets striking out, but ravenous over the potential of some of their stockpiled forwards. None moreso than The Greek Freak. Rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo lacks eye-popping nightly stats but is a tantalizing highlight reel on a short leash. He and sophomore Khris Middleton (as well as John Henson and Ekpe Udoh) are getting pegged for starts lately over the likes of Mayo, Sanders, and/or Butler. Drew has already trotted out 19 different starting lineups this season.

Aside from Greece Lightning, the only constant of late among the starters has been up-and-down point guard Brandon Knight, the player Milwaukee settled for acquiring once Teague’s offer sheet was much by Atlanta last summer. Even Knight (team-leading 15.3 PPG and 4.5 APG) had trouble getting back in the first unit when Drew became briefly enamored with rookie second-rounder Nate Wolters. Against a steady Shelvin Mack (3.26 assist-to-turnover ratio, 5th among point guards with 10+ minutes per game), Knight will need constant help from his forwards to disrupt Atlanta’s ball movement.

Ilyasova has been ineffective at power forward on both ends of the floor, and Drew has shifted him to the 3-spot in hopes it will thaw his once-reliable shooting efficiency. This will put either the rangy Alphabet or Middleton on Paul Millsap. Sap got some well-designed rest in Friday night’s blowout at the hands of the Spurs, and will be sought by the Hawks to work his way around the yung’uns and get to the hoop.

Even with Sanders (1.9 BPG) or Henson (2.2 BPG) waiting in the paint, Millsap will work to draw fouls and thin out the Bucks frontline. The Bucks take just 0.1 fewer field goals than their opponents, and despite their poor shooting (league-low 42.1 FG%; 44.7 2FG% second-lowest in NBA), the few trips they earn at the free throw line creates much of the scoring discrepancy. Opponents shoot 5.5 more free throws than Milwaukee, the third-largest differential in the league. Atlanta can use their newly-improved free throw accuracy (3.3 percentage-point differential on FT%, 5th in NBA, highest in NBA East) to pad the points when the Bucks try to slow the game down.

One guy looking for a bit of payback is Gustavo Ayón, who was cut in July not long after the Bucks picked up his team option. Ayón (14.3 offensive rebounding percentage, three O-Rebs versus the Spurs) was a key acquisition in the Tobias Harris deal with Orlando, but wound up getting yo-yo’d by Bucks management in the offseason. He’ll come into tonight’s matchup with the Bucks (70.4 defensive rebounding percentage, worst in NBA), a little better prepared after getting tenderized by Tim Duncan last night.

Closing out on shooters around the perimeter will be crucial for both teams. Absent the roving DeMarre Carroll (still questionable tonight with a hamstring strain), Atlanta failed to do so against the league’s best 3-point shooting team last night, and was buried for their lackadaisical defensive effort (Spurs 11-for-18 on 3FGs). Milwaukee is nowhere near as strong a long-range shooting team (34.5 team 3FG%, 25th in NBA), but they will jack threes as needed to stay competitive and fight the Hawks’ bigs to earn second-chance opportunities.

Go Hawks!

~lw3

View the full article

Edited by lethalweapon3
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Moderators
lethalweapon3 Grand Master

lethalweapon3

Posted
  • Author
  • Moderators
Posted (edited)

DeMarre is gonna give it a go tonight, hope it works out.

Meanwhile, did y'all hear Andre report that Larry Sanders had a near-altercation with ZAZA? And immediately following the TEAM PRAYER? #notclearontheconcept

If true, it'll be interesting to see what that might do with Sanders' minutes tonight. No Ekpe Udoh, who started at Cleveland but suffered a sprained ankle.

~lw3

Edited by lethalweapon3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted (edited)

DeMarre is gonna give it a go tonight, hope it works out. Meanwhile, did y'all hear Andre report that Larry Sanders had a near-altercation with ZAZA? And immediately following the TEAM PRAYER? #notclearontheconcept If true, it'll be interesting to see what that might do with Sanders' minutes tonight. No Ekpe Udoh, who started at Cleveland but suffered a sprained ankle. ~lw3

I missed that - Larry better becareful - Zaza's head alone weighs more than Sanders. Edited by JayBirdHawk
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted (edited)

Can someone explain the Dennis sequence to me? He came in, made a good drive and bucket, and then got pulled IMMEDIATELY. Nique said something about making rookie mistakes but what did he do wrong?!

See above, Dennis had on his practice shorts instead of his game shorts. Edited by JayBirdHawk
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Are you serious?! A lot of us were thinking this could be his breakout game with Teague out but WTF?!Anyone know if he's got another pair? Could he borrow somebody's at the end of the bench?

The replay shows him changing on the bench during the technical free throw - I guess Bud was not impressed with his quick change act.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
benhillboy Grand Master

benhillboy

Posted
Posted (edited)

I know the Bucks are the lotto frontrunners and all, but this still was an impressive team win. 76 from the line and a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio is flat out good coaching. Oddly enough, I feel good about the game against OKC. If we win that game, I'm good for the year. Lets Go.

Edited by benhillboy
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm home from the game in Milwaukee. I wore my Hawks hoodie but the crowd was very polite to me (and me to them). The stands were pretty full. The usual tee-shirt guns, trampoline acts, dancers, etc.

I've watched most of the Hawks games on my computer screen this year, now that I am back living in Chicago the past five years (after living in Atlanta for 30 years after growing up first in Chicago for 25). It was clear watching on the computer screen that the Hawks are a nicely disciplined team, spreading the floor, passing the ball well, etc.

But when you see them live, from the second row, it really is a different experience. They are constantly talking to each other and helping each other out. Their eyes are extremely active at all times. The passing is very quick. They already know where the ball is going to go before they get it. It's not "Okay, now who is open that I should pass it to?" They already know. The teamwork is a marvel. The Bucks fans were all commenting on how smart our team plays. It was like watching a symphony orchestra with no conductor. Bud rarely gets up or walks the sidelines screaming or anything. The team is that well coached.

What they lack, however, is simply height and talent. They can't get enough rebounds. And they just don't have enough guys with athleticism and ball-handling skills to make plays for themselves. They are wholly reliant on passing it around to the open man for the three or the mid-range shot. No one can really take their man off the dribble and you rarely see anyone drive to the hole.

If we had a small forward with some real one-on-one skills to go with our overall excellent team play, and if Teague didn't miss so many of his floaters (I know he wasn't playing tonight but it is something I've observed this season), and if we had a defensive seven footer, we be a team to fear. Yes, I know that seems like a lot to ask for, but I think we can acquire what we lack through trade and the upcoming draft. We may not need a true "superstar" if we can get a very good small forward, a defensive seven footer, and a more consistent Teague. I think we are close to being competitive with just about anyone.Anyway, maybe I'm too enthusiastic after seeing a blow out game up close. But it was definitely fun tonight!

Edited by LongTimeFan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...