Official Game Thread: Mavericks at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

And, to think… we almost had him.

 

Hell Week continues as our Atlanta Hawks trudge through a tough week with a visit from the happy-go-lucky Dallas Mavericks (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Fox Sports Southwest in DFW, SlovenlySportsNet in Ljubljana), and our opponents’ arrival begs the question: How much longer must we wait until Luka Doncic finally turns the corner and emerges to become an NBA star?

We hear about “patience” a lot. And it’s understandable. After all, former head coach Lloyd Pierce constantly reminded us about how Luka (8.8 PPG, 6.6 APG, 4.4 RPG) wouldn’t even turn 22 years of age until the end of this month. New coach Nate McMillan hasn’t wavered in confidence about Doncic’s growth curve as he slowly masters the NBA game.

For his first two seasons, 2019’s All-Rookie Second-Teamer has been a useful tool off the bench behind Taurean Prince and DeAndre’ Bembry, displaying flashes of occasional flair whenever Dennis Schröder let him handle the ball. Shadowing future Hall of Famer Vince Carter for the legend’s final seasons of his storied career was a nice touch. “I did all I could to help the young man navigate the rigors of this league,” Carter, now a gameday analyst, would say of his swingman prodigy.

Now, with Schröder doing hard time for the next 18 months, assuming good behavior, Doncic has been thrust unexpectedly from the small forward to the point guard spot. The results for the Hawks (8-13) have been fun on occasion, but mixed. In time, with better commitment to offseason conditioning and defense, he’ll be a steady influence on the top line with peripheral All-Star candidate John Collins and Kevin Huerter.

Collins (40.3 3FG%), making strides since his PED suspension as a bouncy, burly forward that can step outside and hit threes, has helped accommodate Luka, who is clever maneuvering inside for scoops and scores, but is a dreadful perimeter shooter (29.3 3FG%). Not having Schröder around has helped relieve Doncic from the burden of being parked in the corners for inefficient bailout shots at the end of the shot clock. The lobs to Collins, Jabari Parker and Jaxson Hayes are entertaining, especially when the bigs bother to finish around the rim.

But the defensive skillset, going three seasons in, is lacking, and returning from Europe out of game shape didn’t help in the transition to this season. Absent the foot speed and lateral quickness to keep up with average guards, Doncic has been useful primarily in attaching to ballhandlers’ hips, funneling drives into the paint, hope they miss, and helping secure defensive rebounds for transition chances. Schröder, Evan Turner and Jeremy Lin were all worse. But not by much. Summoning the ghosts of Josh Smith, Luka gets easily mopey when things aren’t going his way. And during this latest losing skid, there have been many such times.

Now locked down to a max-extension, Collins openly grouses when one-note Doncic wears down the shot clock and sets up chances for himself rather than his mates. Similarly, certain fans in the stands grouse when Coach Mac yanks Luka early in hopes of a defensive upgrade. McMillan deserves time to institute better principles for the Hawks’ shaky team defense, and to figure out how to pick up the pace, keeping Lukaball from slowing games to a crawl.

Despite the Hawks’ six-game slide, bringing forth chants that it’s imperative that we Suck for Suggs, Luka has been all anyone could ask of him in this perpetual-tank setting. He’s not developing any worse than fellow Hawks Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, Onyeka Okongwu, Hayes or his similarly thin mate Aleksej Pokusevski. In due time, he’ll be worth the wait.

But, gosh almighty, it would be so good to have some Traemania around here right now.

Tony Ressler desperately sought a franchise-defining player when he insisted on having GM Travis Schlenk take Doncic in 2018’s Draft (“There was only one schmuck in the room,” he says in hindsight, “and that was me.”). The Hawks owner has got his man. And, so did Mark Cuban.

The Hawks and Mavs each avoided the minefields of going all-in for tempting big men like Marvin Bagley, Jaren Jackson, Jr., and Mo Bamba. But as the ATL dithers about with Doncic and his dizzying potential, around the Metroplex, it is all about Trae Young, the brightest star in a town that is oriented year-round to the Cowboys.

Young was exactly the change of pace that Cuban and the Mavericks envisioned when they moved on from a future Hall of Famer of their own, in Dirk Nowitzki. Rumors abounded that Dallas wanted to go the Euro route again. And, after all, they just drafted their point guard of the future one season before. But Young and his Mahomes-style Big XII, big play offense is proving to be exactly what the Shark Tank star ordered.

Moving on quickly from Dennis Smith, while he was still an asset, allowed the Mavs to build the roster further. Smith’s 2019 trade to the Knicks helped bring the healed-up Kristaps Porzingis into Dallas to rekindle his unicorn reputation, along with former Hawk Tim Hardaway, Jr., producing an explosive T-n-T backcourt.

Sharp-shooting Seth Curry is sorely missed after leaving in free agency. Still, defenders Josh Richardson and Cam Reddish provide Mavs coach Rick Carlisle the balance he needs to compete every night in the wild NBA West. Dallas is 10-10, isn’t terribly deep, and is likely a first-round exit for now. But who cares? Mavs basketball is fun again.

Last year in the Bubble, Young came of age under the playoff lights, splashing buzzer threes and clutch shots to keep the Clippers stressed (pro tip: you might not want Reggie Jackson covering him with a playoff game on the line). Dallas sports fans are so enthralled with their Lubbock, Texas native, Young, that they’re even rooting for OU in the Red River Rivalry.

All of 22 years old himself, Young (27 PPG, 9 APG, season-high 16 assists on Monday) has already been minted as an All-Star caliber talent. And James Harden hitting the trail for Brooklyn has left Trae as the Lone Star State’s lone NBA superstar and high Vegas-odds MVP candidate. While national media speculates around the clock about the types of third-wheel stars, like Gordon Hayward, the free-wheeling Mavs can woo in free agency, Atlanta’s slow-growth strategy only draws short-term plugs like Wesley Iwundu.

Here at State Farm Arena, some have interpreted Luka Doncic as Slovenian for “Big Tease.” Others around town have cynically declared him “Marvin Williams Part Deux”, given his pre-draft hype has yet to materialize while a more sure-shot lead ballhandler prospect was there for the taking. They note how eager the Hawks were, with this pick, to appease a certain segment of the fanbase to come hang out downtown. In that regard, it worked! (Greetings, by the way, to all our newfound fans at our sister site, Hawksquawk.si).

At least, until the pandemic hit everyone hard. But even with what was record attendance constrained, like on Monday, there’s always the telltale Instagram model and RHOA wannabe bleating incoherently at opposing stars while drinking dark liquor, standing beside some sugar daddy that looks like an extra from a Viggo Mortensen action yarn. Win or lose, Luka has brought quite a cast of savory characters to The Funny Farm. Hopefully, they’ll all stick around to see this project through. That is, if they can avoid getting thrown out.

Gremo Jastrebi!

(Let’s Go Hawks!)

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Gwu Tang's the only up-in-the-air injury note for Atlanta, as he's questionable with his sore Achilles.

Dallas is at full-strength, missing only two-way guys Tyler Bey and Nate Hinton due to G-League assignments.

~lw3

[kg01]

Greetings from 2021, I predict we do down big tonite ... then come raging back for the win as the Mavs guy goes crying to Juliana  at all the no-calls against Cam Pippen.

[lethalweapon3]

Maxi Kleber's got his hands full.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

92.9 FM drive-time hosts ("Hey, Man!") note Porzingis may sit tonight, given the Mavs are playing a back-to-back like we are. But given the second game is back home against the frontcourt-depleted Warriors, I'd be inclined to play KP today rather than tomorrow. But we shall see.

Also, Fun Fact!

~lw3

[kg01]

12 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Maxi Kleber's got his hands full.

~lw3

 

"I got dis .... whoa, whoa, whoaaaaa ...." - M. Kleber

[terrell]

Dallas is favored by 1.5-points.

[macdaddy]

3 minutes ago, terrell said:

Dallas is favored by 1.5-points.

Wow.  Why would that be ?

[REHawksFan]

28 minutes ago, terrell said:

Dallas is favored by 1.5-points.

Yep. And ESPN's projector deal says 59% Mavs win.  I don't get it either. 

[bleachkit]

Is OO a go?

[Peoriabird]

Must win for the Hawks tonight!

[JayBirdHawk]

@lethalweapon3 'kilt' this one. 

[bleachkit]

12 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

Must win for the Hawks tonight!

Our goal should be to not fall below .500 ever again this season.

[hawkman]

As funny as this "parallel universe" game thread is, it feels so true to how things would be if the Hawks had drafted the other guy. 

[bleachkit]

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Maxi Kleber's got his hands full.

~lw3

JC has showed his 3 point shot is legit. 

[lethalweapon3]

No word yet on whether he'll be activated tonight, but the next guy to get asked at press conferences weekly about the timing for his Signature Shoe is...

(Trae, help your man out with some modeling tips. Or at least a couch.)

~lw3stripes

[JayBirdHawk]

OO is a no go!

 

 

[EazyRoc]

27 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

No word yet on whether he'll be activated tonight, but the next guy to get asked at press conferences weekly about the timing for his Signature Shoe is...

(Trae, help your man out with some modeling tips. Or at least a couch.)

~lw3stripes

Forget modeling give that boy a sandwich

[bleachkit]

34 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

No word yet on whether he'll be activated tonight, but the next guy to get asked at press conferences weekly about the timing for his Signature Shoe is...

(Trae, help your man out with some modeling tips. Or at least a couch.)

~lw3stripes

Very masculine

[hawkzlova123]

Post game reactions will be either misery or pure entertainment,  can't wait