Official Game Thread: (Some) Hawks - heat

[lethalweapon3]

“Believe it or not, I’m walkin’ on air!”

For a moment, it was looking like the Atlanta Hawks’ hosts tonight, the Miami heat (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, SUN Sports) may have produced The Big 3, ver. 2.0, right on time for a playoff run.

The reigning all-NBA third-teamer and Most Improved Player, Goran Dragic (16.2 PPG, 4.1 APG) finally tired of doing Little Jack Horner impressions in the corners, watching his summertime free agent value recede while getting crowded out of Phoenix’s multi-point-guard offense. He moped his way right out of the Valley of the Sun and into the Sunshine State, bringing his consonant brother Zoran along with him.

For the price of Norris Cole, Danny Granger, Justin Hamilton, Shawne Williams, and a pair of future first-rounders, The Dragon now gets to do what Mario Chalmers, Cole, Shabazz Napier, Tyler Johnson, Shannon Brown, and Andre Dawkins could not conceivably do for Pat Riley all season – provide a legit backcourt mate that allows Dwyane Wade to be Dwyane Wade. Throw in the Hassanity that arrived with the stunning emergence of Hassan Whiteside, and Riley’s crew was looking like a surefire contender no one would want to wrangle with in an Eastern Conference playoff series.

Suddenly, the heat’s postseason prospects took quite the liver punch.

Miami’s All-Star leading scorer Chris Bosh (21.1 PPG and 2.2 APG, highest of his Miami career; 7.0 RPG, career-high 1.4 3FGs per game) had been struggling with discomfort through the All-Star Break. Once it was checked out, he was found to have dangerous blood clots in his lungs. Thankfully, it appears he’ll recover after surgery, but his 2014-15 hoops campaign is over.

That untimely news put the ki-Bosh on visions of a poetic NBA Finals dancing in heat fans’ heads. But they shouldn’t necessarily run out of American Airlines Arena prematurely.

Goran should be able to offset Bosh’s team-high scoring, while his passing skills will allow Wade and Luol Deng to shift more into supplemental rebounding roles. He’s not the strongest distance-shooter (35.0 3FG%), but has an uncanny ability for a guard to get into the paint and finish. This season, Dragic is shooting 55.8% on two-pointers (6^th among NBA players -- all of them) on the strength of getting over 40% of his shots within 3 feet of the rim (70.3 at-rim FG%, almost all layups).

Dragic may be capable of doubling Miami’s 8.8 fastbreak PPG (3^rd fewest in NBA) on his own. Jeff Teague, who came alive offensively in the second half (14 points) against Orlando last night, and Dennis Schröder will have their hands full trying to get The Dragon to give up the rock along the way to the hoop.

Bosh’s departure ushers Mr. Miami, Udonis Haslem, up to the top line. The 34-year-old came into the season behind Bosh and sidelined free agent Josh McRoberts on the depth chart, and could not have anticipated being in such high demand at this point of the season. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra will also need steadier production from 36-year-old walking mural Chris Andersen off the bench.

Deng (9-1 when he scores 20+ points) played nearly 40 minutes Friday night in Miami’s close-shave loss in New Orleans, but is still dealing with a sore neck suffered on Wednesday night. D-Wade played but continues dealing with a sore body that belongs to D-Wade.

“I’ll make some shots soon,” Wade apologized to fans via Twitter after going just 4-for-16 last night and helping fumble away a late lead against the Pelicans. He admitted he was “still trying to find my rhythm since coming back” from his third hiatus this season to deal with soreness and strains in both hamstrings. On the second night of a back-to-back Spoelstra may turn to two rookies, the undrafted “Funky Music” Johnson and 2013 Hawks second-round draftee James Ennis, to give Wade and Deng a longer spell.

Wade is still a steady defensive player, but he is not going to be chasing Kyle Korver back and forth across the court. Deng will be occupied between helping Wade with Korver and Haslem with Millsap (11 first-quarter points vs. ORL yesterday), likely freeing up DeMarre Carroll (15 points, 3-for-6 3FGs vs. ORL) for open shots all across the court.

All of the banged-up bodies and unfamiliar faces work together fine on a Miami team that relies on the most plodding pace in the league (92.3 possessions per 48, 30^th in NBA). For Goran, the biggest adjustment will be slowing the tempo after years of hooping for Phoenix (99.4 pace, 2^nd in NBA). But he will also serve to counteract teams like the Hawks that want to run the heat out of the gym. Building a strong rapport on pick-and-rolls with Whiteside (last 13 games: 14.7 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 3.0 BPG, 59.6 FG%) will be key to keeping Miami competitive going forward.

Monday is the deadline for active players to nail down spots on playoff rosters, and two former K-Staters on 10-day contracts are doing all they can to hang on. Michael Beasley is having his third cup of tea with Miami, and he averaged 7.9 PPG last season while shooting a career-high 7.9 PPG. Spending the interim period with the Shanghai Sharks, Beasley went full Westbrook at the CBA All-Star Game, going for a SuperCool 59 points (albeit mostly on wide-open dunks). If nothing else, he’ll keep his longtime bud-dy Chalmers in good spirits.

Perennial D-League swingman Henry (nee Bill) Walker has been out of the Association since 2012, and it’s clear he’s still trying to transition his game from high-jumper to high-volume-jump-shooter. On Wednesday night, Walker went 0-for-7 on threes for the first 95% of the game in Orlando, but his two treys within the final 22 seconds negated a five-point Magic lead and forced a successful overtime.

While Walker missed two more threes, his steal and rebound in the closing seconds sealed the deal for the heat. Last night, his 16 points on 4-for-9 3FG shooting kept Miami in front up until the very end.

While the Hawks (46-12) continue to look tantalizingly at one particular team’s status in the standings, the heat (25-32) find themselves in a predicament relating to own their place in the standings.

When Miami acquired LeBron James for the Not Three, Not Four title run, they handed a first-round draft pick to Cleveland as compensation. James returned home last summer and, to supplement his title run there, the Cavs tossed the first-rounder to pick-hoarding Philly, in the multiplayer deal that sprang Kevin Love from Minnesota. That draft pick could come due this summer for the Sixers… but it’s Top 10 protected.

That puts Miami in a precarious position where they need to make the playoffs and hand Philly a mid-tier pick or, alternatively fall short of the postseason but finish with a Bottom 10 record, earning themselves a top-notch rookie for 2015-16. Where they don’t want to be is on the outside looking in on both the playoffs and the lottery. The current difference between their current 7-seed and the 10^th worst NBA team... is merely 1.5 games, seven NBA teams jockeying for position.

Dragic’s addition certainly signaled a strong run for a playoff spot for the heat. But the loss of Bosh suggests Miami won’t have commanding control over that outcome. A losing streak or two could very well encourage Miami to put Wade in hibernation and shift into a full-swing tank job.

None of that, of course, is Atlanta’s issue. They simply need to take care of business and use their relative cohesiveness and high-paced defensive intensity to keep the heat at arm’s length tonight. Wade, Deng, and/or Dragic may go off, and Whiteside may be beasting with blocks and boards. But with a lack of reliable depth, it’s hard to see Miami finding sufficient offense to keep up on the second night of a back-to-back. The heat have been a tepid 5-8 this season when playing on zero days rest, averaging just 91.5 PPG (next-to-last in NBA).

Miami does get sloppy (15.9 TOs per 100 possessions and 1.38 assist/turnover ratio, 6^th-worst in NBA) in the process of trying to play scrappy. Wade is not the chasedown artist he once was, and the heat don’t get back down the court as effectively as the reconstituted Magic did yesterday. Hawks players must make their free throws (80.5 FT% on zero days rest, 2nd in NBA), and also beat their opponents down the floor and finish in transition (17.7 points off TOs, 2^nd in East) to secure the edge.

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

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[RandomFan]

Love the picture. Remember that show from when I was a kid.

[Kadienuss]

I will watch that game allthough it will be 1:30 am when the game starts in germany.I hope i wont regret it

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

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[Guest]

Chris Vivlamore        ✔ @CVivlamoreAJC

Teague, Carroll, Horford, Antić all out vs. Heat.

 

 

Hawks starters: Schröder, Korver, Bazemore, Millsap and Brand

[lethalweapon3]

In addition to Brand, hope we get some good minutes from Moose tonight!

 

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Also, pretty cool way to get Al a little in-season paternity leave.

 

~lw3

[Dnice]

Chris Vivlamore ✔ @CVivlamoreAJC

Teague, Carroll, Horford, Antić all out vs. Heat.

say wha..?

Hawks starters: Schröder, Korver, Bazemore, Millsap and Brand

[lethalweapon3]

There's a joke in there, somewhere...

 

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~lw3

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Yay, more Mack tonight.

[benhillboy]

Cool. That was scary.

[lethalweapon3]

Bird flu?

 

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~lw3

[frosgrim]

Strange line-up for the Hawks tonight. I will be on a plane to Asia, so i hope when i land I'll see another W, but I'm not sure that line-up will do it for us. The Hawks really need to get another wing...

[Guest]

Sexy game thread as usual lw3!!! Wade continued playing with a sore body that belonged to Wade...lol ...and did you say Hassanity? I love that :-)

LETS GO HAWKS!!!!!

[benhillboy]

I get nervous about Dennis logging heavy minutes. He hits the floor too much. Clearly he doesn't give a damn but I do. Luckily he's one of the best screen navigators in the league so he doesn't take nearly as much damage there as opponents would like.

Edited March 1, 2015 by benhillboy

[Dnice]

I wonder where bazemore ranks as a shot blocker among guards.

Edited March 1, 2015 by Dnice

[Dnice]

Whiteside has 5 boards?

[Guest]

Whiteside has 5 boards?

8 now

[Dnice]

A career night lol

[TheTruth]

Whiteside is gonna drop Wilt Chamberlain type rebounding numbers on us if this keeps up.

Edited March 1, 2015 by TheTruth