Official Game Thread: Hawks - Thunder

[lethalweapon3]

[June 2015] “So, Russell, now that it’s over, what did you think of the Hawks’ execution in this series?”

“You can get with THIS. Or you can get with THAT. I think you’ll get with THIS… for this is where it’s at!”

Mike Budenholzer’s Atlanta Hawks are flying high, making their push toward a successful homestand and a high-profile All-Star break. So it’d be way too premature for him to get all Black Sheepy with the free agents of the summer of 2015, never mind the summer of 2016, when Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, tonight’s visitors to the Highlight Factory (7:30 PM SportSouth, FoxSports Oklahoma), will be looking to break the bank.

But don’t tell the fine people of the District of Columbia and its surrounding environs. They’re pulling out all the stops to entice the reigning MVP home to the DMV – not this year, no, next year. Wednesday night’s OT-thriller between the Thunder and the hometown Wizards was a KD-schmoozefest among the fans in Washington’s stands: KD2DC banners, “Wall-Durant 2016” posters, jerseys, T-shirts. The local news photoshopped him in a Wiz jersey for a fourth-quarter weather update on the replay screen. It was as sad a spectacle as a 2012 Hawks-Magic game at Philips Arena.

But the Wizards’ front office is right there with the fans. This past summer they plucked a guy from the University of Maryland’s basketball team – the LADY Terrapins – to serve as the team’s player development assistant. What was on David Adkins’ resume that jumped off the page for the Wizards? Assistant hoops coach at Montrose Christian Academy – that’s right, he coached Durant in high school. They’re letting it be known, now: they want Kevin Durant to face the Hawks six times a year in their Bullet-esque unis, starting in 2016.

Budenferry won’t resort to making Durant’s grade school cafeteria monitor the Hawks’ chief of team nutrition, or anything like that. If the Hawks’ brain trust elects to market their team to the league’s marquee under-30 player, whenever that time comes, they’re confident they’ll have a system and a player development approach that speaks for itself, or at least a lot louder than whatever that is Randy Wittman and Ernie Grunfeld are doing. “You can get with THIS…”

The past week began with the Thunder stopping the red-hot (but Bogut-and-Iguodala-less) Golden State Warriors’ eight-game streak at The Peake, and it continued with a marvelous East Coast swing. OKC put up a franchise-record 79 points in the first half in Orlando on Sunday, expertly handled the remains of the heat in Miami (despite a woeful three-point shooting performance) on Tuesday, before Durant and his not-always-merry band received a hero’s welcome at The Phone Booth the next night.

Oklahoma City could only muster 38 first-half points in D.C., but forced OT on the strength of Durant (34 points) and his trusty sidekick Russell Westbrook (32 points), a combined 18-for-21 on free throws. As KD was double-teamed, the Wizards’ Bradley Beal bestowed the final gift of the evening, clearing a BWI-style runway for Westbrook’s game-winning layup in OT.

Before the season started, tonight’s game was to be a mere pit stop between Durant’s Homecoming and his nationally-televised head-to-head with rival LeBron James in conference-favorite Cleveland on Sunday. Atlanta was not supposed to be the first-place team gunning for a franchise-record 15^th straight NBA win. And OKC (22-20, 9^th in the West) was not supposed to be so far back in their conference standings, not before injuries to Durant, Westbrook, and multiple role players derailed the season’s start.

The top six seeds in the West are juggernauts, the 8^th-place Suns (winners of four straight themselves) refuse to set, and the 7^th-place Spurs are, well, the Spurs. Durant knows it will take a gargantuan effort from his team to breach the postseason, and a momentous victory in ATL on the Thunder’s third game in four nights would be just the propellant they need.

As the Thunder made their glorious trek to the 2012 Finals, Durant knew he had a defensive wizard by his side, tightly guarding the perimeter so he wouldn’t have to, starting in virtually every game of his OKC career. Durant and Thunder coach Scott Brooks now turn to second-year-man Andre Roberson (98.0 defensive rating, 22^nd in NBA among players w/ 30+ games and 15+ MPG) to hold the fort.

Meanwhile, left for dead by OKC after the 2014 Playoffs, Thabo Sefolosha has moved on to a reserve role in Atlanta behind DeMarre Carroll. And the 30-year-old is providing, if not his best all-around month of basketball ever, certainly his most efficient. It’s not only his defensive prowess that’s on the uptick (95.6 defensive rating, 9^th among NBA players; 1.7 SPG in January, just behind Carroll’s 1.8). Sefolosha’s shooting (7.8 PPG on 50.0 FG%, 42.9 3FG%, 83.3 FT%), rebounding (5.0 RPG, 1.1 offensive) and his 3-to-1 assist-turnover ratio this month are comfortably above what anyone has come to expect lately.

If January’s production is closer to the trendline Hawks fans can come to expect out of Thabo, under contract through 2016-17, the Swiss Mister will serve as a great selling point for Durant when he’s looking at prospective teams’ plans for an NBA player entering his 30s under their watch. It’s a compelling approach, certainly better than the cast of “Kevin Durant, This Is Your Life!” the Wizards are cobbling together.

Budenholzer’s concerns are certainly not about any of that, not tonight, not this season. Rather, he’s figuring out how to bring Sefolosha off the bench to keep Roberson (18.9 FG% on jumpshots, 17.8 3FG%, 2-for-21 above the arc) out of the paint, and how to sag him off Roberson to help defend the MVP who said Sefolosha “always believed in me, always gave me confidence”.

Thunder forwards Durant and Serge Ibaka are both able to spread the floor with their three-point shooting, in Ibaka’s case a career-high 40.8 3FG% to match KD. And thank goodness for that, because the guards aside from former Hawk Anthony Morrow (37.7 3FG%; 42.3 career 3FG%, 4^th among active NBA players) are wretched in that department.

Westbrook’s 23.9 3FG% (13.3% in January) is the worst among any of the league’s top-scoring backcourt players, and his starting backcourt mate shoots it even worse. Plus, it’s safe to say that’s not newcomer Dion Waiters’ forte (26.1 3FG% with OKC) at all. At full strength, the Thunder takes as many three-point attempts (25.4 in January) as the Hawks, but shot a paltry 31.0% from that range so far this month.

Ibaka (3.6 3FGAs per game, up from 0.7 last season) gets a little too enamored with his newfound range at times and must attack the basket more to enhance the Thunder’s offensive efficiency. Air Congo is on pace for just 61 dunks this season after 118 last year. OKC is playing at a high pace (101.3 possessions per-48 in January, 2^nd in NBA). So the three-time All-Defensive first-teamer Ibaka (2.2 BPG, 3^rd in NBA) is probably taking the Smoove approach, parking himself above the arc to preserve energy so he can get back quicker to the other end of the floor. With help from Kendrick Perkins, Steve Adams and KD, Ibaka and the Thunder rank second in the league in defensive rebounding (78.4 D-Reb%).

Brooks will throw a diverse array of defenders at Paul Millsap, who wasn’t needed for heavy lifting on offense during the Hawks’ blowout of Indiana on Wednesday. Brooks will have Ibaka and Adams to deal with Sap in the paint, Durant and Roberson coming out to help along the perimeter. Millsap may not have a huge scoring day, but may get a lot of touches as he positions himself to either spread the floor or draw extra defenders inside, freeing up his teammates for assisted shots.

It is likely the outcome of this game will hinge on the defense of two likely All-Star point guards, and their backups. Westbrook is, at once, a whirling dervish and a wrecking ball, a tightly-wound ball of yarn interweaving magnificence with insolence. Right behind KD (25.5 PPG) for 4^th in the NBA in scoring (25.1 PPG), Russ now leads the league with 2.3 SPG, and gets the third most free throw attempts in the league (8.6 FTAs/game; 80.9 FT%).

The Thunder bigs will run HORNS sets and lots of screens to try and free him up inside. But Jeff Teague (92.3 January defensive rating, 3^rd among starting NBA point guards) has done a surprisingly masterful job working through screens, and especially defusing point guards at halfcourt before they can get any momentum going toward the hoop.

Reggie Jackson filled in capably as OKC’s go-to guy (20.2 PPG and 7.8 APG as a starter in November) while Westbrook and/or Durant were sidelined, but his patience has worn thin in a reserve role since their returns to action. Averaging just 10.0 PPG this month, Jackson is looking for a bounceback game after shooting 0-for-6 in a season-low 14 minutes in Washington.

Jackson, Waiters, and Westbrook will strive to push the Hawks’ lead guards into turning the ball over, pressuring them fullcourt and channeling them into the waiting arms of Durant and Ibaka. In the case of Teague (2.2 TOs/game during the latest win streak, under 4 TOs in 21 of last 23 games), that effort has been akin to drawing blood from a turnip. But OKC will definitely look to fluster Atlanta’s Rising Star point guard, Schröder, into coughing it up and creating runouts for their stars.

Dennis (11.8 points per-48 on drives, 1^st among active NBA players and just ahead of Westbrook’s 10.5) has been stingy of late as well, committing just three turnovers in his last four appearances. But he’ll have to be craftier on defense as well, as he’s made just two steals in his last seven games.

2015 KD soared above Marcin Gortat on Wednesday, and on the way up, surely, he couldn’t help but notice the Wizards’ center is already on the decline with nagging foot problems and nearly $50 million owed to him over the next four seasons, tethered to a $65 million star point guard with a fairly predictable floor game. Why would 2016 KD get with that, when he could conceivably pal up in free agency with the guy who was drafted right after him, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week with four healthy limbs who’s on track to snatch away Gortat’s All-Star reserve spot?

Al Horford (18.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 6.2 APG, 76.5 FG% in his last five games) and the Durantula, re-joining KD’s old buddy Thabo with the stillmatic Kyle Korver, and a point guard on the rise who doesn’t snap at reporters while donning absurd outfits? Plus, cap space and a diabolical mad scientist coaching them all? What’s not to like? “You can get with THIS…”

Of course, that’s all assuming Budenferry will entertain Mr. Durant when that time comes to talk turkey. In the meantime, it's still 2015, and while Durant gives Wizard fans a taste of what they’ve been missing, the Hawks are showing him, and many others around the league, what they may have been overlooking.

“You can get with THIS. Or you can get with THAT. I think you’ll get with THIS… for this is kinda phat!”

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

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[Guest]

Budenferry, hahaha.

[curtmcgirt]

I'll be at the game tonight!

[JETSET]

I'll be at the game tonight!

Me too.  I will be causing a ruckus in the 6th man section.

[curtmcgirt]

I'll be in 114 behind the Thunder bench

[Admin]

Great stuff as usual dubs! Early in the day too to really get us fired up. I'm gonna have to catch the game tonight on replay after its over but that just means I can fast forward through commercials and feast on the good stuff.  Can't wait to get that 15th straight dubya tonight!!!

[Guest]

Ever since KD hit that game winning 3 pointer against my Hawks back in his rookie year over our own rookie Al, I haven't liked him.

I hope we pummel them.

Go Hawks!!!

[AHF]

Ever since KD hit that game winning 3 pointer against my Hawks back in his rookie year over our own rookie Al, I haven't liked him.

I hope we pummel them.

Go Hawks!!!

 

There is nothing I really dislike about KD.  I have much respect for him.

 

I hope we pummel them. Badly.

 

Go Hawks!!

[randawg91]

Great, great write up. 

[Guest]

There is nothing I really dislike about KD. I have much respect for him.

I hope we pummel them. Badly.

Go Hawks!!

That's my only reason.

[Admin]

Ever since KD hit that game winning 3 pointer against my Hawks back in his rookie year over our own rookie Al, I haven't liked him.

I hope we pummel them.

Go Hawks!!!

 

Interesting that since they were both rookies we are 5-8 vs the Thunder and they've beaten us 3 straight times. I think it's time to end that streak!

 

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=ATL&opp_id=OKC&is_playoffs=N

[PapaWillie]

Let's hope the machine keeps rolling!

[Guest]

The Hawks have sold more tickets and have had more sellouts to date this season than they've had all of last season.

Well Done!

[Randy]

I don't want to just pummel them.  I want us to smite them.  Nothin's worse than gett'n smited as far as I know. 

[Admin]

I don't want to just pummel them.  I want us to smite them.  Nothin's worse than gett'n smited as far as I know. 

 

Well we could send them back to Seattle...

[BrazilianHawk]

Since that shove on DeMarre last season I kinda lost respect for KD, I obviously don't hate him, but I couldn't care less about OKC and KD.  

 

LET'S MAKE IT FIFTEEN! GO HAWKS!

Edited January 23, 2015 by BrazilianHawk

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Hope Wussel is weady for the Hawks to wough the Thunda up!

 

[Sothron]

Two reasons to win:

 

This is the game the "experts" have been picked for a week or so that will be the end to our winning streak.

 

We need to win to set the franchise record for most consecutive wins.

 

Go Hawks!

[Guest]

Hope Wussel is weady for the Hawks to wough the Thunda up!

 

OMG..this was my reaction.....

[Guest]

I still recall when Russell threw an alley oop in garbage time (shot clock off) to Ibaka to get a triple double and Ibaka got a double double too. That team has no class, I hope we pour it on them tonight.

I'll pour some out for my squawk chat homies that can't make it to the highlight factory tonight.