Official Game Preview: Hawks at Lakers

[lethalweapon3]

“Blood Type: Mamba!”

 

A Weekend in Hollywood! Sure sounds like fun, on the surface. But after squandering a big opportunity laid before them in Oakland, the Atlanta Hawks are looking at the upcoming pair of games at Staples Center more as an Escape From L.A.

The Hawks want to keep this back-to-back set, beginning with Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast, 92.9 FM in ATL, ESPN, TimeWarner Cable SportsNet) and ending with the Clippers, from feeling more like a Weekend at Bernie’s. To do that, they’ll have to shed the deadweights of “Can’t Make Clutch Shots” and “Can’t Grab Crucial Rebounds” off of their shoulders.

Okay, so by now you’ve certainly tired of hearing how Hawks opponents are coming into games shorthanded and hobbling, so let’s get the Lakers’ health issues out of the way with the quickness.

Dealing with soreness in his right shoulder, Kobe Bryant was made to sit after one quarter in Denver on Wednesday, one day after sitting out L.A.’s last home win against the Nyets. Jordan Clarkson dropped 11 points on the Nuggets in that first quarter, but exited in the third with a patellar tendon strain. Both guards are listed as questionable, but I’d expect Kobe to make at least a brief appearance early in the game.

Snellville’s Finest, Lou Williams was a scratch in the Denver game is will remain out for at least a week due to a strained hammy. One of the great NBA Juniors, Larry Nance, Jr. is probable to return after sitting out of the Denver game with a sore knee.

As bad and broken down as the Lakers (12-50) have been, it’s worth noting that they held a fourth-quarter lead in Denver on the second night of a back-to-back, courtesy of a Nick Young three-pointer with just over nine minutes to go in the contest. They’re also reasonably rested. The games versus Brooklyn and Denver came after a three-day layoff.

You’ve got to admit that Lakers coach Byron Scott has played his cards well. The win against Brooklyn was the sole victory in L.A.’s past ten games. Yet, Scott will survive this season, because the Lakers’ brass understands that this is merely a Farewell Tour disguised as a competitive NBA campaign. Besides, the most valuable thing Scott can do for the Lakers, while certainly on his way out the door this spring, is to maximize the preservation of their first-rounder, which goes to Tankadelphia if it somehow falls out from the Top 3.

Coach Scott has heard the catcalls for a fuller commitment to the youth movement. That means releasing a link or two from the leashes holding back D’Angelo Russell (41.5 FG% pre-Break, 51.6% post-Break) and Julius Randle (41.7 FG% pre-Break, 46.8% post-Break; 31.5 D-Reb%, 4^th in NBA). But to Scott, that also means seeing more of what SoCal high school star guard Anthony Brown and center Tarik Black can bring to the table. The rookie Brown is getting trial-by-fire as the first option off the bench in place of Kobe. In his second season, Black has been a stout rebounder and rim-protecting center to spell Roy Hibbert, despite his 6-foot-9 frame. To close out the season, expect less of Bryant, Hibbert, Young, and Metta World Peace, and more of these guys.

If Bryant, Clarkson, and LouWill cannot go, that’s just more opportunity for the budding rookie Russell to shine. On Tuesday, Russell poured 39 points on Brooklyn in his certifiably best perimeter shooting contribution (8-for-12 3FGs) this season. For his next act, he led the way with 24 points in Denver, and while his jumper wasn’t as wet (3-for-9 3FGs), he did distribute the ball well (6 assists, 1 TO) while going head-to-head with Emmanuel Mudiay.

The same could be said of Russell’s backup, 32-year-old Brazilian rookie Marcelo Huertas (8 assists, 1 TO). Ultimately, when it came down to defense, neither guard could handle Nuggets’ newest arrival: D.J. Augustin, formerly of the Thunder, tore the Lakers asunder with 26 points in 23 minutes (22 in the fourth quarter!) to top Mudiay’s 22 points.

D.J. kept playing that song with the kind of balanced offensive performance that should have Atlanta’s Dennis Schröder (17 points, season-high 8 FT attempts @ GSW) licking his chops. Schröder spelled Jeff Teague with five minutes to go in regulation with the Hawks down ten points on Tuesday, and never looked back. Teague will be well-rested, but the more coach Mike Budenholzer can preserve his starter for Saturday’s follow-up game against Chris Paul and the Clippers, the better. Tonight’s game is a good chance for the Hawks to see what Kirk Hinrich can contribute off the bench.

As a whole, the Lakers have been the league’s worst shooters (41.6 team FG%) and the worst inside-the-perimeter defenders (51.9 opponent 2FG%). But they can stay in the thick of things if they can keep opponents cool from outside (34.9 opponent 3FG%, 12^th-best in NBA), force trips to the free throw line (25.2 FT attempts/game, 4^th in NBA), and rebound the heck out of the ball (8-16 in games with more than 45 rebounds, 4-34 otherwise).

In a close-to-the-vest fourth-quarter contest, the Lakers have gunners (Kobe, Russell, Clarkson, Lou, Young) who are more than happy to take a big shot. It’s exactly the type of scenario the Hawks (33-28), now losers of three overtimes in their last eight games, are desperate to avoid.

From Derrick Favors to Nik Vucevic, from Jarrett Jack and Damjan Rudez, to Carmelo Anthony and Archie Goodwin, from Mario Hezonja and Evan Fournier to Greg Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams, from Luol Deng to Klay Thompson and Steph Curry and now, Draymond Green, the Hawks have made a habit out of being present for opponents’ fourth-quarter-and-OT highlight reels.

Their foes’ varied prayers get answered eventually because the Hawks fail to close the door with execution, usually after they’ve worked so hard to get themselves a lead. Atlanta’s spiffy little defensive rating (99.6 opponent points per 100 possessions, 2^nd in NBA) drops to a league-worst 135.8 in overtime, the offensive rating of 73.1 (28^th in NBA) not much better.

The Hawks have found themselves in clutch scenarios (last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime; teams within five points of the lead at some point) in 36 games this season, tied with the Raptors and Pelicans for the fourth-most occasions in the league. Yet in those circumstances, the Hawks have shot just 31.5% on three-pointers, contributing to a 17-19 record, whereas Toronto’s 37.7 3FG% has them at 23-13. The league leader in clutch threes? Draymond can tell you. Golden State’s 40.8% shooting from deep has them at 22-1 on the season.

Suffice to say, you don’t want to be down or up a few points in the closing minutes of regulation, with Nick Young in house shoes hoping to get himself on SportsCenter. And you don’t want to be up all night wrangling with the Lakers while the Clippers are chilling in their adobes and taking notes from home.

Left mostly on Alcatraz Island for almost 40 minutes (the only other sorta-center, Mike Muscala, logged less than three minutes @ GSW), Al Horford (23 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals) will need a big breather ahead of tomorrow’s contest with DeAndre Jordan and company. Muscala is not in the best of moods right now (nobody ask him about Holy Cross last night) and ought to be itching for a productive game fending off L.A.’s myriad of big men. Like Hinrich, this is an ideal time to get Kris Humphries into the rotation.

The weak defense by the Lakers’ guards and wings should present ample opportunities for Kent Bazemore and Thabo Sefolosha to get on the board, particularly on cuts and transition opportunities. Kyle Korver, Tim Hardaway, Jr., and Mike Scott (combined 7-for-13 3FGs @ GSW) should find the water just fine from downtown at Staples.

Paul Millsap (1-for-6 3FGs @ GSW) can afford to lay off the three-pointers for awhile and focus on getting his post game back, against a Laker frontline that will much prefer to have Sap earn his points at the line. If he must stretch the floor, Millsap can instead try some mid-range shots when they come in the flow of the offense. If Randle and Bass come out to challenge, Millsap can take them inside off the dribble to finish plays.

Atlanta has only forced 17 turnovers from opposing players in the past two games. Meanwhile, with the ball less in Kobe’s hands and more in the hands of shooters and putback players, the Lakers have only piled up double-digit turnovers in six of their past 12 games, compared to 45 times in their first 50. Forcing Russell and the younger Lakers into mistakes with the basketball will revive the transition offense engine for Atlanta (19.3 points off turnovers, 2^nd in NBA). However the Hawks get it done tonight, they need not keep everybody up late.

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

 

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[Guest]

Great game thread as always lw3!!! Sounds like a lot of injuries for the Lackers lol. I'm kind of getting tired of this Kobe farewell tour. Hoping to win this one tonight. I'm in the area and was thinking about gettin tix for tonight but I'm prolly gonna just watch it on BSPN and maybe try to hit up the Clippers game tomorrow. 

 

LETS GO HAWKS!!!

 

Hawks 114

Lakers 91

[Lurker]

Tough to have the Clippers on the back end of this b2b, hopefully this is a blowout win.

[Gray Mule]

Just wondering.  Guess there's only one way to find out.  Watch and see.

Will Captain Kirk and Kris Humphries, either of both, get to see the floor tonight?

We can only hope, I suppose!

GO ATL HAWKS !!

[lethalweapon3]

Bad news for the Hawks confirmed! ;-)

Kobe, Clarkson, and Lou Williams, the three leading Laker scorers on the season, all out tonight.

Don't go off on us, Huertas!

~lw3

 

[DJlaysitup]

Great stuff as usual lw3!

I've been "off my game" recently but I'm gonna try to hang in there for the stretch run and the drive to our Hawks first NBA Championship in Atlanta.

GO HAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hawkman]

Punchface or not, this dude is legit. Great pick up Bud.

[Gray Mule]

Wow!  Tonight, at least in the first half, newcomer Kris Humphries has been exactly

what our Hawks needed.  I know.  It's just the Lakers. (Imagine saying that a few years ago)

Still, this is GREAT!!!

 

GO ATL HAWKS

[Hawkmoor]

Amazing...............Look what changes to a game that a REBOUNDER and shot blocker can make. Now, think back to all the games the Hawks couldve won if they already had Humphries.   Gotta give credit where credit is due, they signed him.  Thats a STEP in the right direction.  Now,  the decision will come down to keeping Splitter or Moose next season. Suddenly, im seeing depth up front. I like it.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Hawkmoor

[Gray Mule]

THEY'RE IN !!

[capstone21]

Who would have thought a Kardashian could have a positive impact on something .... 

 

For his debut he played really well ... Love his hustle and willingness to bang and to get offensive rebounds

[Spursfanpeacemaker]

Good win

Humpries answered hawks lack of rebounding, he contributed well, looking forward game against clippers

[ATLHawks3]

Humphries is what I hoped Tiago would be for us when we traded for him. Glad we picked him up. 14 and 8 in his first game as a Hawk.

[EWeezy]

Wow, Humphries is into it. What a great debut. Offensive boards, hustle, everything. Awesome. 

As an aside, does Ron-Ron have it out for Humphries? He's been trying to knock his head off... It looks personal or something.

[NBASupes]

This was a Developmental team we beat. Time for some better Ws

[benhillboy]

6 hours ago, ATLHawks3 said:

Humphries is what I hoped Tiago would be for us when we traded for him. Glad we picked him up. 14 and 8 in his first game as a Hawk.

He's stronger than Al and Splitter combined.  No way either could push and arm bar Hibbert around as easily as he did.  His temperament is great too.  Gets under players' skin yet keeps his cool in front of the refs like Steven Adams.

Bud is so tight-lipped and cliched you have to always try to read into his comments.  When asked what Humphries brings he quickly and emphatically (for him) said "toughness."  Almost implying we didn't have it before.  Glad he noticed.

He looked great tonight but of course there's nuch more to be gleaned when we play versus Jordan and an actual collection of NBA talent.  We knew he could shoot a bit, but I was quite impressed by him putting it on the floor a couple times and filling the lane.

This past draft was poor, I haven't heard of any of those second rounders.  But when there are about 9 or 10 players already better than Russell it's not a good look for the Lakers.  How you gonna be a slow rookie PG with poor attitude?  

I've never heard of Huertas but he looked decent compared to Russell.  I know he's only 19 but he plays much smaller than 6'5" and shooting under .700 from the line just screams the makings of a bust.  Playing for that current Lakers regime will turbo accelerate his progress as such.  Dennis attacks everyone, but Russell is like a wounded calf to him.  

Let's Go.

[GameTime]

44 minutes ago, benhillboy said:

He's stronger than Al and Splitter combined.  No way either could push and arm bar Hibbert around as easily as he did.  His temperament is great too.  Gets under players' skin yet keeps his cool in front of the refs like Steven Adams.

Bud is so tight-lipped and cliched you have to always try to read into his comments.  When asked what Humphries brings he quickly and emphatically (for him) said "toughness."  Almost implying we didn't have it before.  Glad he noticed.

Interesting quote from Al Horford:

"I felt like we really pushed the tempo and we were able to get some easy baskets in transition. Once Kris came in the game, it changed completely. We started to be more aggressive.” 

[Guest]

11 hours ago, DJlaysitup said:

Great stuff as usual lw3!

I've been "off my game" recently but I'm gonna try to hang in there for the stretch run and the drive to our Hawks first NBA Championship in Atlanta.

GO HAWKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get your f***ing head in the game, DJ.

[rd79]

Wonder what Dennis told Huertas before he got the T?

Watch the vid, listen carfully and you will know. Since it matches with Huerta's crying I remember, it really might be Dennis...

 

 

[NBASupes]

Just finished watching the Laker replay. 

 

1. The Lakers are too young and terrible at pro Basketball

2. PG's dominated again but this was our best performance from our wings. 

3. Our bigs clearly outplayed their bigs. 

4. Bud didn't really have to do much coaching in this one except trust Hump which he didn't. Kris was excellent and got some really good hustle boards we haven't gotten since Carroll was here. Kris is giving us that toughness and drive we lost when Carroll left.