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Official Game Thread: Hawks - Bobcats

lethalweapon3

By lethalweapon3
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lethalweapon3 Grand Master

lethalweapon3

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He goes hard in the... yeah, you know. "Cover the Earth!"


Surely you remember that hapless kid, back in the day, who was a pushover patsy in the sandlot and a boundless source for extra lunch money? What’s that? “Sounds like a personal problem,” you say? Fine then, never mind.

But you do recall those Charlotte Bobcats, don’t you? The ones formerly led by Meddling Michael in the player personnel office? The guys that took Sean May and Adam Morrison in the lottery? The team that finally clawed their way into the playoffs, then promptly undertook a fire sale the next season? The team that drafted Tobias Harris, then traded him, and their leading scorer, for Bismack Biyombo? The franchise that spectacularly tanked their way to the worst record in NBA history… and got Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for their troubles?

No matter how wretched the Hawks got during the Al Horford Era, they could always count on their ne’er-do-well cousins up I-85 to know their role as Atlanta’s underlings and play it well. That’s especially been true in recent years, as the Cats have lost eleven straight to the Hawks over the past three seasons.

Well, I hope you’ve had your fun, Hawks. Because, those Bad News Bobcats? Well, they’ve been drinking milk, and getting stronger! They’ve been like Cam Newton’s scheming young protégé, just loosening up their arms this whole time. And take a look at them now, all big and strong (strong as you are, for whatever that’s worth) and clinging to their first playoff spot in ages as if it were some voluptuous senior prom queen. Hercules! Hercules!

Much like Atlanta, Charlotte (41-39) has slipped up just once in their past six games. While Charlotte gets a completely new makeover next season, re-clad in purple-and-teal as the Hornets, the Bobcats are eager to validate their evolution out of longtime-laughingstock status with a victory tonight at the Highlight Factory (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth in ATL, FoxSports South in CLT).

The Hawks (37-43) almost got served their homecourt comeuppance back on December 28, before Pero Antić heard his inner Mister Miyagi and sunk his only shot of the game, a one-legged corner three with seconds remaining in regulation. Ten straight free throws from Lou Williams in the extra frame sealed the deal and kept Charlotte winless in Atlanta ever since Stephen Jackson’s buzzer-beater back in February 2011. On St. Patty’s Day in Carolina, a paltry 31 second-half points doomed the Bobcats’ chances at ending the streak, as there was no defensive answer for Paul Millsap (28 points, 12-for-20 shooting).

A win tonight would not only grant the Cats their second winning season in their ten seasons of existence, it might earn them a more advantageous playoff position in the first-round. Washington is one game ahead of them in the standings with two games to play. If the 2-seed and 3-seed spots hold up, the 6-seed would face an inexperienced Toronto Raptors squad, leaving the 7-seed to deal with the defending NBA champion Miami HEAT. The Bobcats own the tiebreaker with the Wizards, if it comes to that.

Atlanta, meanwhile, has nothing of significance associated with a victory tonight, save for a petty chance to remind the Bobcats once more who the older brother is in this division, while possibly dooming them to a tougher first-round matchup. The Hawks are the sole Eastern Conference team that knows its exact playoff seed, waiting to see how Miami and the Pacers shake out.
Accordingly, Head Coach Mike Budenholzer intends to grant Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, and DeMarre Carroll some well-earned rest on the pine. Don’t be surprised to see other vets like starters Jeff Teague, Lou Williams, and Antić to get a short hook as well, along with Twyman-Stokes nominee Elton Brand later in the game.

At the outset, this game will likely feature two candidates for Conference Player of the Week. Teague (20.3 PPG, 5.8 APG, 1.5 TO/G, 50.9 FG%, 91.8 FT% last four games) will go up against the improving Kemba Walker (likely to play despite missing some action last week with a groin strain). Teague (35.2 assist percentage, 2nd in NBA East), whose assertiveness arrived just in time for the Hawks to beat three top-seeded teams in the past eight days, may be one of the few candidates to keep Al Jefferson (27.0 PPG, 13.3 RPG last three games) from winning his third Conference Player award in the past five weeks. (UPDATE: Oh, lookie there! Way to go, Jeffrey DeMarco! Make sure Lil' Bro gets to touch the trophy.)

With few top-line forwards in the game for Atlanta, look for attempts at big games from Josh McRoberts and Gerald Henderson, both of whom have been wildly inconsistent. Ex-Hawk Anthony Tolliver (41.7 3FG%, 13th in NBA) may be rediscovering his long-range shooting stroke (11.7 PPG, 10-for-17 on threes last three games) after an awful month of March. Kidd-Gilchrist remains an offensive threat only insofar as when he gets angles to the rim (25.3 FG% away from the rim).

Although Teague will start, Dennis Schröder and Shelvin Mack will get ample opportunities to continue keeping Walker (28.6 FG% in last 3 games vs. Atlanta, including 7-for-35 on 2FGs) under wraps. SMack remains a decent ballhandling option (1.3 TOs per game in March/April), but his poor shot selection (36.7 FG%, 30.6 3FG% since March; 0-for-6 vs. Miami) and inability to draw trips to the line (1.0 FTAs per game, 95.0 FT%) have lately resulted in de facto wasted possessions for the Hawks.

German Chocolate will be the likely offering from Budenholzer in the second half. Schröder rested against Miami and contributed four dimes in 12 productive minutes versus Brooklyn. Clifford would like to counter with veteran trade-deadline acquisition Luke Ridnour. The force hasn’t been with this Luke in quite some time, and Schröder can make hay for his team by persistently beating Ridnour off the dribble.

George is possibly the only surnamed “Jefferson” that has taken more adversaries to the cleaners than Al, who is about as sure-handed an offensive talent as the league has to offer. “El Jefe” has stepped up his veteran leadership for rookie Head Coach Steve Clifford, ranking 5th in the NBA in total field goals and 7th in rebounds per game while steadily improving his offensive output (26.5 PPG in April, up from 15.8 in October/November).

The Other Big Al (with apologies to Mr. Harrington) joins All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge as the only NBA players ranked in the top ten for usage (29.4%, 6th in NBA) and turnover percentage (7.6%, 7th lowest in NBA). He has proven himself an ideal fit for a franchise trademarked by wayward shooting and reckless ballhandling in seasons past, elements now corralled under Clifford’s low-paced (94.9 possessions per-48, 10th lowest in NBA), low-risk system.

Not known for his defensive acumen, Jefferson’s career-high 8.6 defensive RPG has him enjoying his career-lowest defensive rating on a team that ranks sixth in the league (101.3 opponent points per 100 possessions). While his former frontcourt mate Millsap received All-Star accolades, look for some All-NBA Third Team votes coming Jefferson’s way.

The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month as well, Jefferson is an ideal late-season matchup for starter Mike Scott tonight, specifically when Clifford goes big and plays Jefferson at the 4-spot. Scott gives up some 30 pounds to Jefferson, but secured some tough rebounds amidst the trees against Miami, in perhaps his most effective outing in the two months since his jumpshooting accuracy went south (20-for-42 on 3FGs in February, 10-for-55 in March/April). For the truly desperate viewers, rookie second-rounder Mike Muscala against last year’s #4-overall pick Cody Zeller (and/or Biyombo) should be fun to watch.

Go Hawks!

~lw3

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Gray Mule Grand Master

Gray Mule

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Hawks are #8 and there is no chance of this changing in the final 2 games.

Charlotte, on the other hand, just might move up from #7 to #6.

Tonight, the further down the bench a player is, the more minutes he will

probably get to play tonight and our starters getting token minutes.

We might think that these players really have nothing to prove or play for.

Wrong. Two things stands out. One, how much time will they gander when

the Hawks go into the playoffs and, two, where will they stand in the off

season when we are making up our roster for next season. If they are not

here, perhaps another team will be impressed enough to want them.

These two games should be exciting. Individuals trying to impress and the

Hawks trying to get a team win.

GO ATL HAWKS !!

PS - Braves are in Philly tonight. - GO BRAVES !!

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noble Explorer

noble

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This could be a preview of a 2nd round playoff series.

OMG You made me swallow my coke wrong, that is a really funny joke. You got me there.

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Guest

Guest

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Add to that list DMC sit him too

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I knew I forgot someone. :-) How could I forget our lockdown defender. GO HAWKS!!!!

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