Earning it the Hard-a-Way

[gopack10]

22 hours ago, benhillboy said:

No reason at all.

I like to think I could work in the NBA.  I would've traded Jeff or Al a month ago and been on the outside looking in at the 8th seed like a jag off.  Kinda like Cleveland currently shopping Mozgov after he changed their season last year.

That all depends on what you traded them for...

And I don't understand the Cavs shopping Mozgov either.  Getting rid of him and Love for Cousins seems stupid to me since I don't think there would be enough shots to go around in Cleveland at that point.  Move J.R. Smith and it could work a little better.

[hazer]

12 hours ago, pimp said:

THJ had a good game tonight. He was  the spark that got us back in the game after we went down by 17.
He derserved more playing time, but i guess Bud feels that he has to have Korver out there no matter what.
He has no problem benching Teauge  though lol

Yep. Energy, and 9pts/4reb/1stl/3of4 from the line in only in 16 mins. Ice cold from deep last night, but he's playing D, hustling, passing well, and making a difference. Hopefully the progress/effort continues and Hawks have their starting 2 of the future (still only 23yo).

[Watchman]

18 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I stated in chat last night that Dennis is finally adjusting to playing with Splitter as opposed to Pero. With Pero it was look for him on the perimeter, with Splitter look for him inside. All those Dennis 'knee' passes to Splitter earlier are now finding him rolling to the basket for what should be easy buckets (he misses too many though).

Scott's defense has really improve and so has his passing.

That three inch vertical leap really hurts Splitter.

[NBASupes]

53 minutes ago, Watchman said:

That three inch vertical leap really hurts Splitter.

We simply don't space the floor as well as San Antonio does. That is hurting Splitter impact 

[Guest]

With trust, Hardaway Jr. increased role with Hawks

Defense got Tim Hardaway Jr. on the floor.

Trust is keeping him there.

The guard had season-highs in six statistics as part of a balanced attack that led to the Hawks lopsided 124-86 win at the 76ers Wednesday night. It was the 16th straight game played for Hardaway after appearing in just four of the Hawks’ first 35 contests.

“You earn the trust off your teammates; you earn the trust of your coach,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said prior to the victory. “He’s doing all those little things in a way that earns that.”

Hardaway had a team-high 13 points, along with Dennis Schröder, as the Hawks had all 13 players score with eight in double-figures. The point total was a season-high for Hardaway, eclipsing the 10 points he scored at the Heat just three days earlier. He also set season-highs in minutes (25:47), field goals (5), rebounds (7) and assists (4). He tied his season-high in field goal attempts (8).

Hardaway may have broken into the rotation last month after returning from a two-game stint in the NBA Development League but he is now a consistent contributor.

“It’s just playing hard,” Hardaway said. “You have to run the floor and make the right decisions when you are out there. Just keep on competing. You are going to make mistakes on the offensive end but you can control what you do on defense. You have to make it a key to be in the right spot and the right time, box out, rebound, run the lanes when you are supposed to.”

Budenholzer has previously said it was Hardaway’s commitment to defense that earned his place in the bench rotation. Budenholzer reiterated that stance and pointed the numerous little things that Hardaway has done to earn his trust and increased playing time. That is how 12 minutes per game has turned into more than 20 minutes in each of the past three games.

“I keep saying how happy we are with his defense,” Budenholzer said. “I think he’s really improved and really committed to that end of the court, whether it be fighting through screens in pick-and-roll situations, fighting through screens in off-the-ball situations, sprinting back in transition. There is a focus, an effort, on the defensive end.

“I think people don’t appreciate his athleticism. And so you are seeing it on the defensive end of the court and now you are seeing it on the offensive end of the court. That is the thing that we’ve learned and grown the most together, I think he can really attack the basket, do things off the dribble, get to the paint and I think he’s passing it pretty well too. Obviously he can make shots, but he’s got a lot more to offer. He’s just doing all of those things in positive ways.

The Hawks obtained Hardaway during a draft-night trade with the Knicks, essentially giving up their first-round selection on a would-be rookie for the guard who had two years of experience. It took some time for Hardaway to get healthy, get into the Hawks’ player development system and grasp the defense-first mentality. And in doing so, he’s gained the Hawks’ trust.

http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/basketball/with-trust-hardaway-jr-increased-role-with-hawks/nqJtN/

 

[Gray Mule]

This is, in essence, our first round draft pick from last summer.  Some of us really wondered if

Bud had just give away our pick for next to nothing.  Guess what.  Bud is not as dumb as we thought!

Two or three things impress me in this.  One, he's recovering from an injury.  We tend to forget this.

Two, he already had two years NBA experience.  This is both good and bad as he has been required

to abandon old habits and learn "The Bud way" of playing.  Three, he is young, athletic and still has

enough basketball IQ to be willing to listen and learn.

Now we have him and Edy, trying to work themselves into the active, useful Hawk lineup.  He is much

further along than Edy, but I'm still holding out hoped for the big guy!

[skimaskway23]

Hardaway is gonna be even better by playoff time with his confidence growing.

[AHF]

He should be better than what we have seen so far.  His PER sits at 10.1 now compared to a prior career low of 12.1 last season.  We need him in the teens but at least he has eclipsed the brutal land of single digits (hopefully he won't fall back into single digits this season).  

THJr needs to take more minutes and get Kyle more rest.  Kyle needs to get himself right.  He hasn't been the same after surgery (which is not unexpected but still hurts).

[hazer]

1 hour ago, AHF said:

He should be better than what we have seen so far.  His PER sits at 10.1 now compared to a prior career low of 12.1 last season.  We need him in the teens but at least he has eclipsed the brutal land of single digits (hopefully he won't fall back into single digits this season).  

THJr needs to take more minutes and get Kyle more rest.  Kyle needs to get himself right.  He hasn't been the same after surgery (which is not unexpected but still hurts).

 

[AHF]

[BigDog90]

They're going to need him in the playoffs. We've seen how the Hawks look when the starters have an off night shooting.

[AHF]

On 2/4/2016 at 3:32 PM, AHF said:

He should be better than what we have seen so far.  His PER sits at 10.1 now compared to a prior career low of 12.1 last season.  We need him in the teens but at least he has eclipsed the brutal land of single digits (hopefully he won't fall back into single digits this season).  

THJr needs to take more minutes and get Kyle more rest.  Kyle needs to get himself right.  He hasn't been the same after surgery (which is not unexpected but still hurts).

Well, it was a good run.  At least he is close enough to recover back into non-embarrassing territory with another solid game.