Big Enough Sample

[benhillboy]

4 games in and we got heavy momentum.  These numbers jump out:

Prince, who I stupidly thought would barely play based on recent Hawks rookie history, seems to be the difference.  He's played more minutes than Dwight cause he's true shooting .710 and never turns over (okay, once a game aka nothing for a rookie)

Dennis' turnovers are very low (1.75), probably due to playing through Sap a little more (usage up 3% from regular) and Wall not pressuring as much as he should.

Only Gortat is hitting the O glass for them (18) everybody chipping in for the hometeam (7 players with 3 or much more)

If we continue to live in the paint and force the whistle I can't see how they win.  I feel confident knowing at this accelerated pace (now quickest in the playoffs after Portland's dismissal) we'd probably also have the advantage if it slowed with our far-superior front court.  Prince is denying Porter easy opportunities, everyone knows the gap between Sap and Morris, and in limited minutes Dwight is still engaged defensively with the best Defensive Rating by far at 99.  I wish we get better than .317 shooting from 3 on this road though.

[TheFuzz]

Yep, lots to be optimistic about. We've looked like the better team overall IMO, we're just missing Wall. I'm pretty confident going forward, but this Wizards squad (and Wall in particular) is way better than I gave them credit for beginning of the year. Nothing is guaranteed, we gotta keep balling.

[Guest]

Our strength vs the Whiz is Millsap and Dwight. The Whiz strength is their back court. Prince is nullifying Porter and outperforming him. Dennis is holding his own against Wall.

[Lurker]

Markieff's dummy self is actually proving me right from what I've taken from this series. He's the major reason why the tides turned for the Wizards against the Hawks after the break not this season, but LAST season. But he's dumb enough to respond to what Millsap said and talk about "double MMA" and that earned him a one way ticket out of this series mentally for now three straight games.

If you still go with two guys that pretty much move like a center from Washington's side, it's pretty much a flashback to 2015 with things outside of improvement, etc.

[REHawksFan]

21 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Our strength vs the Whiz is Millsap and Dwight. The Whiz strength is their back court. Prince is nullifying Porter and outperforming him. Dennis is holding his own against Wall.

Let's see...

D8 > Gortat

Sap > Crybaby

Prince = Otter

And D17 is holding own vs Wall.

So.....

That just leaves one starter. Hmm...

Sure would be nice to see Timmy Shimmy his way to 25+ Wednesday.

 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

Let's see...

D8 > Gortat

Sap > Crybaby

Prince = Otter

And D17 is holding own vs Wall.

So.....

That just leaves one starter. Hmm...

Sure would be nice to see Timmy Shimmy his way to 25+ Wednesday.

 

To his credit, he did say he's more focused on defending Beal than his offense. I just want him to hit more than he misses.

[REHawksFan]

1 minute ago, JayBirdHawk said:

To his credit, he did say he's more focused on defending Beal than his offense. I just want him to hit more than he misses.

I agree. I just think if the Hawks are going to win a game on the road they will need a big performance from him. 

[Peoriabird]

3 hours ago, benhillboy said:

4 games in and we got heavy momentum.  These numbers jump out:

Prince, who I stupidly thought would barely play based on recent Hawks rookie history, seems to be the difference.  He's played more minutes than Dwight cause he's true shooting .710 and never turns over (okay, once a game aka nothing for a rookie)

Dennis' turnovers are very low (1.75), probably due to playing through Sap a little more (usage up 3% from regular) and Wall not pressuring as much as he should.

Only Gortat is hitting the O glass for them (18) everybody chipping in for the hometeam (7 players with 3 or much more)

If we continue to live in the paint and force the whistle I can't see how they win.  I feel confident knowing at this accelerated pace (now quickest in the playoffs after Portland's dismissal) we'd probably also have the advantage if it slowed with our far-superior front court.  Prince is denying Porter easy opportunities, everyone knows the gap between Sap and Morris, and in limited minutes Dwight is still engaged defensively with the best Defensive Rating by far at 99.  I wish we get better than .317 shooting from 3 on this road though.

Welcome back to the Hawkside Ben Hill!

[BigDog90]

9 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

To his credit, he did say he's more focused on defending Beal than his offense. I just want him to hit more than he misses.

Lol he needs to focus harder because he's getting lit up.

[Thomas]

Beal is hitting 42 percent from the floor and a very lousy 27 percent from three. He is scoring on volume by taking a ton of perimeter shots. Tim must be having some effect with Beal's percentages being what they are. Those are poor stats. During the season Beal shot 48 and 40 percent respectively. Some credit should go to Tim for his defensive effort there.

http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6580/bradley-beal

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Thomas said:

Beal is hitting 42 percent from the floor and a very lousy 27 percent from three. He is scoring on volume by taking a ton of perimeter shots. Tim must be having some effect with Beal's percentages being what they are. Those are poor stats. During the season Beal shot 48 and 40 percent respectively. Some credit should go to Tim for his defensive effort there.

http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6580/bradley-beal

Exactly this.  Thjr isn't expected to shut him down, he's there to make it tougher on him, make him work for his shots.

[benhillboy]

Beal is an extremely tough cover that will run you ragged on offense (9th in miles ran per game) and is an underrated defender (tied for second in miles ran per game on D). I haven't studied the matchup but apparently they're both busting their ass off the ball to deny favorable touches.  

If Tim continues to be successful and we win the series his defensive play will be a landmark in his development.  He's overdue for a 25 point game but I'd rather he focus on keeping Beal well below it.  We're more apt to manufacture scoring from other places than the Wiz.