Official Game Preview: Hawks at Mavericks -- The Season Opener!

[Thomas]

Yeah well.... Good morning Debbie. 

[Thomas]

8 hours ago, Buzzard said:

Ressler high-fiving fans while Cuban is looking very tired already, 

Cuban may be losing sleep thinking about a 2020 run for office. Be wary of who you listen to and who pats you on the back Mark. Your life would never be the same.

[Thomas]

1 hour ago, benhillboy said:

Giannis saw Al and said “why not go 12-13 in the paint?”

Yeah, the Bucks shot 50% from the floor so am wondering how many and what percentage in the paint. Pretty sure a high percentage for the usual reasons.

http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400974703

[Thomas]

1 hour ago, Diesel said:

Regardless of the late 50%

The "late" part of Dennis's 50% shooting might not have meant much in a lopsided game but this game was tied and back and forth in the last couple of minutes so that late 50% was a very good and necessary thing for us to win. Dennis ended up with a 3.5 A/T as well which I'm not sure any of us expected it to be that high, not me anyway. Lets enjoy a win. 

[Thomas]

For a comment on the Mavs, Dennis Smith is for real and is going to have a pretty huge career. He can cover space in almost no time at all, serious foot speed there. Heck, he is still a teenager for a few more weeks. A pretty crazy talent.

[JTB]

7 minutes ago, Thomas said:

The "late" part of Dennis's 50% shooting might not have meant much in a lopsided game but this game was tied and back and forth in the last couple of minutes so that late 50% was a very good and necessary thing for us to win. Dennis ended up with a 3.5 A/T as well which I'm not sure any of us expected it to be that high, not me anyway. Lets enjoy a win. 

Right and right 

[JTB]

1 hour ago, Diesel said:

You are right.  Regardless of the late 50%...  I watched Collins dominate early but not get touches.   I watched Dedmon not get touches.  This is a constant story.  Our bigs will not develop well.  It's good because we beat a poor Dallas team whose defense looked like kids on the playground.   However, it will show in the development of our bigs.  The PG has to believe that Big men are more than mere rebounders. 

 

Sounds like you’re looking for post touches for Collins and Dedmon. Hopefully Collins more so than Dedmon ....anyways  I believe that’s something we will get to eventually with Collins as the season goes on but not right now.

right now Collins is just getting a feel for the nba level. He will get his touches and his chances and opportunities to showcase his talent but right now I like what we are doing with him. 

 

On Dennis:

dennis hitting on 50% fg is good sign late or not the game came down to the very end. Plus if you watched the game ....Dennis exploded taking his man off the dribble back to back . You don’t tell him to stop doing that if the defense don’t adjust and the mavs didn’t adjust. 

[Thomas]

6 minutes ago, JTB said:

Dennis exploded taking his man off the dribble back to back . You don’t tell him to stop doing that if the defense don’t adjust and the mavs didn’t adjust. 

The theory of going with what got you there. Worked all night so if its not broke don't fix it plus the refs let Dennis get hacked on the forearms and bumped hard with no calls. Don't think Dennis is a ref favorite at this point but just the same if the reffing ever levels out Dennis can be even more effective than last night. Sometimes it takes years and years for refs to back off of their bias. Marc Davis anyone? Oh, wait a minute, he has yet to back off the Hawks. Bud that is.

[HawkItus]

That was a fun game last night.  If we could play the Mavs all season this year might not be so bad.

[ATLSmith]

Really enjoyed this win. 

Collins continues to impress and I'm glad I was wrong in my assumption that he would see next to no playtime this early in the season.  Hope that trend continues.

As for Dennis, I think looking at his assist to turnover numbers can be misleading.  Players have to take and make shots for him to get the assist.  I've tried to look for a "pass per minute" stat but it isnt readily available.  His pass per game last year was actually on par with Jeff Teagues.  I don't see how anyone can call Dennis a ball hog.

https://stats.nba.com/players/passing/?Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular Season&PlayerPosition=G&StarterBench=Starters&sort=PASSES_MADE&dir=1

By the way, I'm starting to see why Bud likes Josh Magette.  He's a great facilitator and made some really good reads.

[AHF]

Fun start to the season.  For sustainability, I sit and wonder how many games this team will shoot better than 50% FG% from the floor but might as well enjoy those nights when they come!

[High5]

Collins is missing an abnormal number of dunks, but I'm happy with him being aggressive. He's going to have so many posters. 

[sturt]

22 minutes ago, AHF said:

Fun start to the season.  For sustainability, I sit and wonder how many games this team will shoot better than 50% FG% from the floor but might as well enjoy those nights when they come!

Less a commentary on our team shooting ability, and more a commentary on how difficult it is for Dennis to be stopped when he's going to the rim, imo.

They just couldn't find an answer to discourage him.

Or, if you ask me, they found one, but he's a 5, and they only played him ~20 minutes, when he may have affected the game to a higher degree at ~30.

 

Annnnnnnd.... how's that for timing... the twitter feed reveals this nugget...

 

[DS5]

2 hours ago, Thomas said:

For a comment on the Mavs, Dennis Smith is for real and is going to have a pretty huge career. He can cover space in almost no time at all, serious foot speed there. Heck, he is still a teenager for a few more weeks. A pretty crazy talent.

I agree in that Dennis Smith is the real deal, and possibly, the steal of the draft (right up there with our own) but neither he or Yogi could stay in front of Dennis to save their lives. Our own Dennis is the real deal, for those that think that he's not a starting quality PG. 

Can't help but be very excited about this Hawks team. Like I said in my prediction, regardless of the regular season record, we'll be a hell of a fun team to watch. The only negative.... and I know we're just kicking a dead horse at this point, was Bazemore. Every time he touches the ball, I get nervous. I know it's early and all, but we need either Bembry or Belli to take the starting role from Baze. 

[DS5]

And of Course Dennis is going to get more shots. Number 1, he's our best player. Secondly, whenever Noel was on the bench, there was zero help at the rim for the Mavs...what do you think is the best decision after he's flown past his defender? 

[sturt]

42 minutes ago, High5 said:

Collins is missing an abnormal number of dunks, but I'm happy with him being aggressive. He's going to have so many posters. 

Yeah can't be sure that what I thought I saw was what was actually happening, and I'm not a lip reader, but Prince seemed to take JC aside after that last one and make the point that it counts for 2 points whether or not it makes the highlight reel.

[DBac]

Deandre' Bembry hype train is strong. Looks like he's getting the number 1 assignment on defense.

On another note, I think Malcom Delaney might have overtaken Kent as my least favorite player on the team. Both seem to think they are much better than they really are on offense but Delaney thinks he is Iverson. 

Edited October 19, 2017 by DBac

[BudBall]

I really like Dedmon, he fits our system. Dennis has a lot of heart and love how he attacks the basket. Bazemore....Ugh That 4 years on his contract wont end soon enough.

[Lurker]

I would say my main major takeaway from this game is...Josh Magette needs to somehow stay. It was for a brief period of time, but it looked like last year's #untalentedgrittyhawks2ndteamsquad with an actual pure point in. Can we switch Delaney and Magette's contracts?

Belinelli looked like the only guard that understood how to properly feed Collins in half-court offense, who should not *post* at all. Sorry. But he worked hard and looked like he didn't care about not being **fed**. 

[LamarHampton]

Dennis "German Chocolate" Schröder + Marco "Italian Stallion" Mussolini = the Hawks Backcourt "Axis of Evil"?

Too soon?