Official Game Thread: Lakers at Hawks

[JayBirdHawk]

14 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

I think the mistake was having Trae, JC and Capela out for an extended period to start the 4th. We went down 10 and never recovered. If Bron or AD is out there, we have to match with one of our big guns, especially with Hunter out.

 

11 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Tied the game shortly after though, no?

It didn't work out, obv., so he'd probably do it differently today.  But it wasn't a game-losing decision, I don't think.

Exactly. We were down 10 with 8:40 left. LP brings the starters back in, we got to within 4 with 4:18 left. LAL went on a run, back up by 10 with 3:42 left, Hawks got within 1 point with 1:40 left. 

The the ref happened with that horrible foul call on JC vs AD with 1.4 seconds left in the play clock. Then LBJ hits two 3s, game over.

To end the 3rd when we took the lead playing Trae, Rondo, Hill, Gallo and Collins. To start the 4th we had Rondo, Huerter, Hill, Gallo and Fernando....the problem wasn't the all bench (that was my initial thought) , it was more so that Gallo missed EVERY shot and turned the ball over 2/3 times - so those were empty possessions and we got down 10 really fast. Gallo is supposed to be better that what he showed those first 4 minutes of the 4th quarter.

Huerter miss, Gallo TO, Gallo miss, Gallo miss, Gallo TO, Gallo TO, Bruno TO...that's how we started the 4th.

[bleachkit]

5 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

Exactly. We were down 10 with 8:40 left. LP brings the starters back in, we got to within 4 with 4:18 left. LAL went on a run, back up by 10 with 3:42 left, Hawks got within 1 point with 1:40 left. 

The the ref happened with that horrible foul call on JC vs AD with 1.4 seconds left in the play clock. Then LBJ hits two 3s, game over.

To end the 3rd when we took the lead playing Trae, Rondo, Hill, Gallo and Collins. To start the 4th we had Rondo, Huerter, Hill, Gallo and Fernando....the problem wasn't the all bench (that was my initial thought) , it was more so that Gallo missed EVERY shot and turned the ball over 2/3 times - so those were empty possessions and we got down 10 really fast. Gallo is supposed to be better that what he showed those first 4 minutes of the 4th quarter.

Huerter miss, Gallo TO, Gallo miss, Gallo miss, Gallo TO, Gallo TO, Bruno TO...that's how we started the 4th.

Gallo had his worst game as a Hawk. They were keying in on him. And Bruno was just awful to be honest.

Thanks for the detailed run down. 

Edited February 2, 2021 by bleachkit

[JayBirdHawk]

8 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Gallo had his worst game as a Hawk. They were keying in on him. And Bruno was just awful to be honest.

Thanks for the detailed run down. 

This is what someone wrote about Bruno:

Fernando made a lot of subtle, terrible plays in this game. Pretty much an uninterrupted string of low IQ plays for his entire time on the court. 

[macdaddy]

26 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

Exactly. We were down 10 with 8:40 left. LP brings the starters back in, we got to within 4 with 4:18 left. LAL went on a run, back up by 10 with 3:42 left, Hawks got within 1 point with 1:40 left. 

The the ref happened with that horrible foul call on JC vs AD with 1.4 seconds left in the play clock. Then LBJ hits two 3s, game over.

To end the 3rd when we took the lead playing Trae, Rondo, Hill, Gallo and Collins. To start the 4th we had Rondo, Huerter, Hill, Gallo and Fernando....the problem wasn't the all bench (that was my initial thought) , it was more so that Gallo missed EVERY shot and turned the ball over 2/3 times - so those were empty possessions and we got down 10 really fast. Gallo is supposed to be better that what he showed those first 4 minutes of the 4th quarter.

Huerter miss, Gallo TO, Gallo miss, Gallo miss, Gallo TO, Gallo TO, Bruno TO...that's how we started the 4th.

Thank you!  

Making a big deal out of Trae/JC sitting for 3 minutes to start the 4th and Capela for about 1.5 minutes.   

If Rondo/Huerter/Gallo can't manage a bucket in 3 minutes of play then we have waaaay bigger problems than coaching.   

[REHawksFan]

2 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

Thank you!  

Making a big deal out of Trae/JC sitting for 3 minutes to start the 4th and Capela for about 1.5 minutes.   

If Rondo/Huerter/Gallo can't manage a bucket in 3 minutes of play then we have waaaay bigger problems than coaching.   

It's not being blown out of proportion. In a game that close, it's not a bad strategy to stagger your subs with your best players.  Having JC in instead of Bruno would have made more sense.  Jaybird can say that having Trae/JC/Capela out wasn't the problem, it was Gallo but she's just using different words to say the same thing.  It was having Gallo and Bruno in for too long at the same time and their combo of misses and TOs got the team in a whole they never fully climbed out of.  That's factual.  

I'm not in the fire LP club and I don't rail on him every game, but last night was a tough decision that didn't work and it looks worse with the way the game played out.

Up 1: Sit Trae/JC/Capela

3 Min later: Down 10, bring in Trae/JC (Capela came in after 2:30)

3.5 Min later: 3 pt game

[AHF]

2 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

It's not being blown out of proportion. In a game that close, it's not a bad strategy to stagger your subs with your best players.  Having JC in instead of Bruno would have made more sense.  Jaybird can say that having Trae/JC/Capela out wasn't the problem, it was Gallo but she's just using different words to say the same thing.  It was having Gallo and Bruno in for too long at the same time and their combo of misses and TOs got the team in a whole they never fully climbed out of.  That's factual.  

I'm not in the fire LP club and I don't rail on him every game, but last night was a tough decision that didn't work and it looks worse with the way the game played out.

Up 1: Sit Trae/JC/Capela

3 Min later: Down 10, bring in Trae/JC (Capela came in after 2:30)

3.5 Min later: 3 pt game

Gallo is a starter quality player when he is available.  He has been the most efficient offensive player this season even with his terrible game yesterday.  It is a false equivalency to put him in the same breath as Bruno by saying having him and Bruno on the floor "at the same time" is an issue.  He is every bit as sturdy as the other starters offensively and having Bruno on the floor with JC or another starter doesn't present a different dynamic.

He just happened to have a terrible game and a terrible few minutes.  All the starters have had some rough outings or rough minutes in variance dimensions.  That is just the nature of basketball.  You can't be at your peak all the time.

It might have changed things last night since Gallo had a terrible few minutes there but he has been a premium offensive option for years so condemning a coach for not foreseeing that would be letting things be driven by an unreasonably small sample size relying on the benefit of hindsight.

[REHawksFan]

5 minutes ago, AHF said:

Gallo is a starter quality player when he is available.  He has been the most efficient offensive player this season even with his terrible game yesterday.  It is a false equivalency to put him in the same breath as Bruno by saying having him and Bruno on the floor "at the same time" is an issue.  He is every bit as sturdy as the other starters offensively and having Bruno on the floor with JC or another starter doesn't present a different dynamic.

He just happened to have a terrible game and a terrible few minutes.  All the starters have had some rough outings or rough minutes in variance dimensions.  That is just the nature of basketball.  You can't be at your peak all the time.

It might have changed things last night since Gallo had a terrible few minutes there but he has been a premium offensive option for years so condemning a coach for not foreseeing that would be letting things be driven by an unreasonably small sample size relying on the benefit of hindsight.

Disagree. He had not played well all game. And JC had been sitting out around 3:30 of the last 5:30 of the 3rd quarter. Capela was sitting out the last part of the 3rd as well. Neither should have been worn out at that point. There was no reason not to have one of them in the game. If you want to say have Gallo with Capela or JC, fine.  I won't argue that, but it still speaks to a poor decision by LP on the rotations. No need for 3 minutes of rest when JC had 3:30 of rest at the end of the 3rd plus the break between quarters.  

[macdaddy]

1 minute ago, REHawksFan said:

Disagree. He had not played well all game. And JC had been sitting out around 3:30 of the last 5:30 of the 3rd quarter. Capela was sitting out the last part of the 3rd as well. Neither should have been worn out at that point. There was no reason not to have one of them in the game. If you want to say have Gallo with Capela or JC, fine.  I won't argue that, but it still speaks to a poor decision by LP on the rotations. No need for 3 minutes of rest when JC had 3:30 of rest at the end of the 3rd plus the break between quarters.  

I get it.  But you could play this in every game.   It only looks like a huge mistake because those guys laid an egg which can't be expected.  If the starters come back and win then everyone is saying how smart it was to have them fresh for the final 9 minutes.  

I agree with your point about rotating them one at a time but again this is only some glaring mistake because the bench seriously underperformed for that stretch.  Rondo/Heurter/Gallo are all supposed to be starter quality players.   It's not like he threw goodwin/snell/knight out there to get feasted.

Anyway, I get your point.  we've beat it to death.  

[bleachkit]

Hopefully we can put together a winning streak at some point. Houston and Memphis quietly are both on winning steaks. 

[macdaddy]

Right now i'd actually rather beat the Mavs than the Lakers.   That maybe irrational. 

[REHawksFan]

 

9 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

I agree with your point about rotating them one at a time but again this is only some glaring mistake because the bench seriously underperformed for that stretch.  Rondo/Heurter/Gallo are all supposed to be starter quality players. 

I agree that we've beaten this to death so I'll try to make this my last comment on it.  

But I just have to push back a little on this one comment. 

The Hawks bench ranks:

• 29th in the NBA in pts per game
• 30th in FG%
• 27th in Reb
• 21st in Pt Diff

Given this, I'm not sure how it's anything other than a glaring mistake to put all bench players in a lineup for extended minutes against the defending Champs in a tight game in the 4th quarter.  

 

Ok, I'm done.  I think.  LOL

 

[bleachkit]

17 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

Right now i'd actually rather beat the Mavs than the Lakers.   That maybe irrational. 

One the one hand, beating the Lakers could have been a statement game, on the other hand losing to the struggling Mavs wouldn't be a good look.

[AHF]

23 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

 

I agree that we've beaten this to death so I'll try to make this my last comment on it.  

But I just have to push back a little on this one comment. 

The Hawks bench ranks:

• 29th in the NBA in pts per game
• 30th in FG%
• 27th in Reb
• 21st in Pt Diff

Given this, I'm not sure how it's anything other than a glaring mistake to put all bench players in a lineup for extended minutes against the defending Champs in a tight game in the 4th quarter.  

 

Ok, I'm done.  I think.  LOL

 

Gallo is:

#1 on the team in TS%

#2 on the team in points per minute

Top 5 on the team in point differential

 

He is the one of those things that is not like the others.  Just had a bad few minutes.

[terrell]

7 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

One the one hand, beating the Lakers could have been a statement game, on the other hand losing to the struggling Mavs wouldn't be a good look.

I dont think the Mavs are as bad as their record. They've been hit with covid and/or injuries like a lot of teams..They shouldve beat Phoenix last night..lol

[REHawksFan]

2 minutes ago, AHF said:

Gallo is:

#1 on the team in TS%

#2 on the team in points per minute

Top 5 on the team in point differential

 

He is the one of those things that is not like the others.  Just had a bad few minutes.

I acknowledged that if you want Gallo on the court in that situation then I wouldn't argue the point.  But you can't, imo, have an entire bench lineup in that situation.  You are arguing Gallo when I've conceded that point.  What about the other 4?  What about having JC or Clint instead of Bruno?  

[REHawksFan]

1 minute ago, terrell said:

I dont think the Mavs are as bad as their record. They've been hit with covid and/or injuries like a lot of teams..They shouldve beat Phoenix last night..lol

The unicorn has NOT played well this year and their rotation players don't seem to be anything special.  They just got Kleber back from COVID and he's a good 3pt guy, so maybe they get better now that he's back.  But overall, they seem like a team with one all star and a bunch of meh players.  But I'll also admit I haven't watched them a ton this year.  Just a few times and then followed their scores.  

[High5]

20 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

 

I agree that we've beaten this to death so I'll try to make this my last comment on it.  

But I just have to push back a little on this one comment. 

The Hawks bench ranks:

• 29th in the NBA in pts per game
• 30th in FG%
• 27th in Reb
• 21st in Pt Diff

Given this, I'm not sure how it's anything other than a glaring mistake to put all bench players in a lineup for extended minutes against the defending Champs in a tight game in the 4th quarter.  

 

Ok, I'm done.  I think.  LOL

 

How many times have Rondo and Gallo been available together? We're paying them a lot of money to help keep us afloat while Trae and JC are on the bench. Plus Huerter is a starter and he has been a great 4th quarter performer recently. If they hit a couple of shots during that stretch no one would have been surprised and we would have been in a great position to win the game with our starters powering through the last 9 minutes together.

[macdaddy]

I think one thing we can all agree on is we need more from the bench.  Frankly it's amazing what the starters have done  this year.   Getting some guys back will be huge but they also have to develop some chemistry, especially without trae in the game.

[AHF]

40 minutes ago, REHawksFan said:

I acknowledged that if you want Gallo on the court in that situation then I wouldn't argue the point.  But you can't, imo, have an entire bench lineup in that situation.  You are arguing Gallo when I've conceded that point.  What about the other 4?  What about having JC or Clint instead of Bruno?  

"Entire bench" is not relevant when talking about Gallo is all I'm saying.  If you want to say we need two of our starter quality players in there at all times then that is worth talking about, although I suspect you'd find plenty of times we do pretty well in that situation over the course of a season.  It just isn't something I'm going to roast LP for like I would if he was running a Goodwin / Rondo backcourt in that situation or something.

[AHF]

1 hour ago, bleachkit said:

Hopefully we can put together a winning streak at some point. Houston and Memphis quietly are both on winning steaks. 

A streak requires consistency.  I think for this team that consistency will require depth.  So I don't think any type of extended streak will happen until we are healthier.  Hunter, Bogi and Dunn are all potential difference makers and it is much easier to have a guy struggling and be able to swap those guys in than to have Huerter or Cam or Trae having an off-game and expect to overcome it to extend a winning streak.