Official Game Thread: Raptors at Hawks

[JayBirdHawk]

9 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Off to Dallas.

The next few games are all against teams that will test us just like Toronto. Not elite squads, but very good, talented and well coached teams. We can win, but so can they.

We cannot afford another losing streak. We need to string together some wins. This will really tell us a lot about ourselves. How we fare against teams in our own weight class. Previously the majority of our wins have been against bottom feeders or teams missing their star players.

More than anything we need some level of consistency and production from the SG spot and the bench....AND STOP TURNING THE BALL OVER.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

The Bench

 

 

Do we ever run this kind of play with Trae?

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

10 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

 

My two favorite plays of the game. The Kev defense above. And the Trae/Collins defense below.

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

In the world of selective stats, still impressive.

 

 

 

[bleachkit]

If Cam could emerge as our slasher, that would add an element to our offense we really don't have. Unfortunately, he gets stripped of the ball quite a bit, or misses the shot. But he has the physical/athletic profile to be that guy.

[bird_dirt]

10 hours ago, hawkman said:

That's what won this game. Toronto relies heavily on their backcourt for most of their offense. The Hawks' backcourt more than held their own defensively against Lowry and Van Fleet. They shot horribly tonight and that's due to Trae and Huerter. 

Check that next to things I'd never expect to read in this lifetime. 

Man, I really think something happened in 2020 that threw us into some other parallel universe. 

[kg01]

27 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

My two favorite plays of the game. The Kev defense above. And the Trae/Collins defense below.

 

 

Awwww yeah ... that's the one.  Had to smoke a cigarette after that defensive sequence.

Thread still feels sparse.   Where is everybody?

Wait ..... did Thanos snap his fingers again? 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

10 hours ago, hawkman said:

That was the defensive sequence that got me off the couch. He didn't bite on the fakes and leave his feet. All Fred was trying to do was get to the line and Huerter didn't let him off the hook. 

This from a Raptors fan:

Can't win them all. Kevin Huerter aka White Scottie Pippen locked up our 85 million dollar man. 

[kg01]

11 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

 

Look close .... you can pinpoint the exact second Van Vleet realized he hates #RedVelvetCake

7 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

This from a Raptors fan:

Can't win them all. Kevin Huerter aka White Scottie Pippen locked up our 85 million dollar man. 

I must see this for myself.  Realgm?

[JayBirdHawk]

I love the pettiness:

 

1 minute ago, kg01 said:

Look close .... you can pinpoint the exact second Van Vleet realized he hates #RedVelvetCake

I must see this for myself.  Realgm?

Raps board, post game thread.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

10 hours ago, bleachkit said:

How are the Spurs 13-10 with that roster? Pop really is a genius. 

Pop understands the value of keeping a lineup balanced .  You don't play people at spots that they're not used to playing.

Also, Demar DeRozan is still a top 30 player in this league and statistically the best playmaking forward outside of Lebron and Draymond Green.

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

11 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Facts! We also need Cam to continue to hit threes. 50% from three, shit 40% moving forward is what we need. He was shot ready tonight as well. 

I just want Cam to take good shots, not try to force his offense.  I have no confidence in Cam being a high percentage 3 point shooter, so just take and make the easiest shots possible.

[kg01]

12 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Raps board, post game thread.

Eggscuse me ... I gotta go .... do somethin'. 

[RedDawg#8]

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

My two favorite plays of the game. The Kev defense above. And the Trae/Collins defense below.

 

 

What I dont like is how Kev completely loses his man on that possession.

JC saved his butt. Big time.

Either commit to the double team or keep your eyes on man and ball. Look at how JC and Cam keep their eyes moving the whole time, never forgetting their man. That could have been an easy 2 or FT's if not for a great play by John.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

LP is continuing to understand the value of playing Collins and Capela together.  Earlier in the season, his rotations only had them playing 12 minutes a game together, which was ridiculous.  Last night, they played around 23 minutes with each other.  And that's even with the foul trouble.  Those 2 have more than proved that they can play with each other on the court. 

Having Gallinari has not only helped the offense, it has helped keep LP keep Solomon Hill from playing extended minutes at the 4.  Neither Hill, nor Hunter should be playing the 4, because they don't defensively rebound well enough at the position and it's harder to get their offense shooting over taller guys.  This is the same reason why Collins shouldn't be playing the 5.

I've consistently said that as long as the Hawks stay BIG, they'll be OK in most games.  It's when we try to revert to small ball to try to get back into a game, is when we get in trouble.

[kg01]

38 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

LP is continuing to understand the value of playing Collins and Capela together.  Earlier in the season, his rotations only had them playing 12 minutes a game together, which was ridiculous.  Last night, they played around 23 minutes with each other.  And that's even with the foul trouble.  Those 2 have more than proved that they can play with each other on the court. 

Having Gallinari has not only helped the offense, it has helped keep LP keep Solomon Hill from playing extended minutes at the 4.  Neither Hill, nor Hunter should be playing the 4, because they don't defensively rebound well enough at the position and it's harder to get their offense shooting over taller guys.  This is the same reason why Collins shouldn't be playing the 5.

I've consistently said that as long as the Hawks stay BIG, they'll be OK in most games.  It's when we try to revert to small ball to try to get back into a game, is when we get in trouble.

Does this factor in who was/wasn't available?

[TheNorthCydeRises]

3 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Does this factor in who was/wasn't available?

Yes and no.

LP was trying to force feed playing Hunter and Hill at the 4, in order to get all of his prized wing shooters on the floor at the same time.  When the shooters made shots, we were good.  But during that time, we were one of the worst 3 point shooting teams in the league.  Shooters missed shots, and there was no one other than Capela or JC, that could grab rebounds.  On the other end, teams got extra possessions because we were too small ( or not tough enough to mix it up and get rebounds ), and we got punished for it.

In the game vs the Knicks, the lack of not staying big absolutely destroyed us in the end.

Here's the thing about basketball ( and we see this with the Brooklyn Nets ) . . you have to have to play the players that keeps the team most balanced and do the things necessary for winning.  Playing your most talented offensive players does not = winning.  Playing Jeff Green at center, just to justify having an offensive threat at all 5 positions, is not conducive to winning. The best teams have that balance of offense and defense.  And they don't devalue rebounding, because lack of rebounding during key points of the game can absolutely kill you..

[kg01]

29 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Yes and no.

LP was trying to force feed playing Hunter and Hill at the 4, in order to get all of his prized wing shooters on the floor at the same time.  When the shooters made shots, we were good.  But during that time, we were one of the worst 3 point shooting teams in the league.  Shooters missed shots, and there was no one other than Capela or JC, that could grab rebounds.  On the other end, teams got extra possessions because we were too small ( or not tough enough to mix it up and get rebounds ), and we got punished for it.

In the game vs the Knicks, the lack of not staying big absolutely destroyed us in the end.

Here's the thing about basketball ( and we see this with the Brooklyn Nets ) . . you have to have to play the players that keeps the team most balanced and do the things necessary for winning.  Playing your most talented offensive players does not = winning.  Playing Jeff Green at center, just to justify having an offensive threat at all 5 positions, is not conducive to winning. The best teams have that balance of offense and defense.  And they don't devalue rebounding, because lack of rebounding during key points of the game can absolutely kill you..

So the actual answer is 'no'.

Anything that happened when we were short-handed should be assessed based in the fact that we were short-handed.

[RedDawg#8]

One thing I hope to see more of is the 2-4 side pick and roll with JC and Kev. It's an excellent counter to the high pick and roll with Trae and Clint. 
I saw it again last night and a few other times this year, and I wish we would go to it more.

It's a nice secondary action that gets the ball out of Trae's hands and uses his gravity to open up the paint. Kev doesn't have the best touch on his lobs but his bounce pass is usually pretty accurate. 

With JC not having to sky for the lob, he could dump the ball off to Clint or the weakside shooters which would be Trae and hopefully Hunter, but Cam for now. 

But honestly, every time we have run it, it has been wide open as all eyes are usually following Trae.