Official Game Thread: Hawks at Mavericks

[lethalweapon3]

“Thanks for the warning, Trae. Gorilla Glue for conditioner would’ve been a BAD idea!”

 

Are we gonna get a second-half NBA schedule soon, or nah?

It has been a tough slog for Atlanta Hawks, LLC. Modest momentum uprooted last March, shut out of 2020’s Bubble, constrained offseason practice time after months of waiting, unable to get key newcomers healthy and acclimated and on the floor simultaneously, delayed ability to sneak fans into The Farm, Karen. For Lloyd Pierce’s mostly young core of talent, the inability to immerse his team with significant practice time, in-season, remains a persistent barrier to growth, although this three-day layoff surely has helped.

Despite the on-sideline setbacks, the on-court results have been right where I had Atlanta in the preseason Lethalputer, at 11 wins (11-13, if the Suns game had gone through) ahead of today’s visit to Lukaland for a rematch with the Dallas Mavericks before a live, national audience (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Fox Sports Southwest in DFW, ESPN). The Hawks haven’t won the games I would have preferred – you know the ones. But they’ve also grabbed some Ws, over opponents like the Nets, Sixers, and Clippers under whatever circumstances, that I pegged as probable Ls. Up to now, everything has evened out.

There remains, though, this uneasy feeling, that Tony Ressler’s basketball venture is going to get screwjobbed, somehow, some way. They’ve built up goodwill with the NBA front offices, granting the league some good pub by opening The Farm as a voting venue in the leadup to 2020’s general elections, collaborating with HBCUs and local citizen advocates as part of its Unity Nights promotions. They’ve committed to cutting-edge protocols with the aid of Sharecare and Emory brainiacs to safely shoehorn fans into a limited array of seats.

As of this moment, though, any arena revenue Tony Our Tiger may be anticipating, as our populations get healthier and vaccinated, as the team gels following the returns of Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee-fracture recovery) and De’Andre Hunter (arthro-knee surgery) in the coming months, remains up in the air.

Pierce and the coaching staff were granted just 18 days to scout and prep for upcoming opponents ahead the opening half to this season, and they may not get much more with the second half currently scheduled to commence 29 days from today. We don’t have a solid sense of what the final 35-game schedule could look like, what the resultant road/home and divisional or conference balances will be, whether Atlanta’s 8^th-highest strength o’ schedule will ease like Dallas’ 2^nd-ranked schedule strength surely will.

With pandemic caseloads nationally such as they are, whether these games will be held at individual NBA home sites still feels less than certain. ESPN’s Woj reported last week that the back-end schedule rollout is still one or two weeks away. That’s a little too close, for my comfort, to the All-Star break.

After Atlanta’s homestand closing win over the Raptors this past Saturday, the Hawks have but four remaining scheduled home dates over the next four weeks. Half of those four will occur this weekend, a back-to-back with the low-draw Pacers and Spurs in town. Tony and Hawks Inc. cannot be happy with the schedule-makers.

Perhaps this unstable milieu is why The Association, and Chris Paul’s Player Union, are so adamant that an All-Star extravaganza must be held in Atlanta, a development that seemed to fall like an anchor out of the sky when it was first revealed as a probability last month. Could this be a salve for the news that’s yet to drop? Maybe they’ll use the high-profile game as a place for league media to promote the best second-half matchups, Mark Jones will announce, “when the entire NBA returns, March 11, to The Thunderdome in Tampa Bay!” I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

I’ve got no idea what Chrafty Chris is really scheming with this Trojan horse at our town’s doorstep. I’ll tell you what, though. Rick Carlisle and the other coaches had better do their darn job and make sure Trae Young is announced as one of the Eastern Conference reserves on TNT Thursday a couple weeks from now.

Don’t let me turn on Al Horford’s Internet next month to find everyone losing their minds because Luka Doncic (past 5 games: 29.4 PPG on 10.6 FTAs; 42.3 FG%; 8.8 APG, 5.4 TOs/game) is standing at center court in The A, holding up the All-Star Game MVP trophy while CP3 claps and sneers, and while Trae is biding time from his bat cave in Oklahoma.

No, not while John Collins (last 8 games: 21.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 58.0/47.5/88.2 shooting splits, as per bball-ref) is all over town schmaltzing for his first big contract as Atlanta’s ASG “ambassador”. Don’t have Collins (season-highs of 35-and-12 in the Hawks’ 122-116 loss to Dallas on Feb. 3) donning the headsets in a suit and palling with the announcers like he’s Frank Kaminsky in Charlotte while the games and sideshow contests go on with non-Hawk participants. Don’t do it!

If “winning” truly matters, if NBA advanced metrics matter, don’t let me catch Young getting snubbed with Bradley Beal (6-14 with the Wizards) starting and Jaylen Brown penciled in while Trae enters today possessing the same exact Player Impact Estimate (15.4 PIE, tied for best among NBA East guards) as those two, while Atlanta’s star has the same 11-10 record in appearances as the so-called Finals contender Celtics’ Brown.

If “context” matters, don’t paper over Young and the Hawks’ tribulations with tales of what the Wizards and Celtics have endured. I’m not Trae’s cherry-picking girlfriend, nor his butt-kissing media analyst, I just act like that sometimes on the Internet. Unlike some significant others, I know where to direct my ire if my favorites aren’t getting their just desserts.

Just do your jerb, coaches, and get Trae back in there. And please note, at least one other Hawk deserves a first-time slot, too.

He entered NBA retirement as a quadragenarian in Texas, and after winning a ring with the Spurs, he played his final game as a Mav, sharing the floor with Damien Wilkins’ Sonics in 2007. But 15 years before, he had Damien’s uncle, Dominique decreeing, “I have never seen anyone be so dominating. Ever.”

Hope you didn’t let MJ read those comments in the paper, Kevin Willis.

An aging Moses Malone left Atlanta in what passed for free agency in 1991, setting the stage for Willis’ Reign of Rebounding Terror. He couldn’t know whether the Hawks would ever return to title contention, or even the playoffs, under the watch of coach and part-time magician Bob Weiss. However, in the first year of his long-sought multi-million-dollar annual contract, Willis was committed to rebounding the mess out of the basketball. “It’s hard to say,” Willis told the media, “but I am the focal point this season and I need to apply myself.”

He began the 1991-92 season collecting double-digit rebounds in 20 consecutive games, a run not seen in Atlanta since the days of Bill Bridges in the early 1970’s. “Eight years. Eight (BLEEP!) years,” Stan Kasten would say while kicking the big man he stuck by, through thick and thin, “and he had the talent to do this, all that time.” Who knew?

Big into wearing and selling fancy and colorful leatherware fashion, Willis had become a terror to longhorns and backboards alike. Animal welfare advocate and Mavs center James Donaldson was no match for Willis when he rolled into Reunion Arena and collected his momentary career-high 31 rebounds in a Hawks victory, also finishing one point short of becoming the first 30-30 man in an NBA game since MVP Moses was fueling the Rockets for the final time in 1982.

That 20-game run of double-digit boards concluded in December when Weiss played him “only” 31 minutes in a washout loss to Cleveland. No biggie. Beginning with the very next game, Willis would rattle off 40 consecutive contests coming away with ten or more rebounds, securing All-Star awareness while shattering Bridges’ Hawks franchise record. Not long after appearing in a mid-season classic highlighted by legends Magic Johnson and Vanilla Ice, Willis came home and bit the Washington Bullets with his personal game-best of 33 rebounds.

Not even Dikembe would approach Willis’ consistent rebounding mastery in Atlanta. A 20-game stretch like that would not be seen from a Hawk again. Not, perhaps, until today. Former Rocket Clint Capela can pass Dwight Howard’s 19-game streak from 2017 and join titans Bridges and Willis in the upper pantheon of rebound streaks.

The Game Done Changed since Willis’ heyday. But need it be mentioned that Capela (NBA-highs of 14.2 RPG, 15.0 O-Reb%) is also turning back 2.4 shots per game (3^rd in NBA)? Across the floor, Clint has kept the Hawks as even-keel as possible, he and Trae guiding the constantly shorthanded Hawks to their best record through 23 games since Dwight and All-Star Paul Millsap reached the same 11-12 mark in the 2016-17 season.

All this must be said to insist, don’t let me spot Kristaps Porzingis (20.0 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.7 BPG) around here on All-Star night while Capela sits as an afterthought. Not unless the Unicorn’s boxing Nate Robinson in a halftime exhibition. Relax, Nate, I’ll throw the towel.

Fans can go goo-goo over phenomena like Luka and vote their teammates in, as we are wont to do, but the coaches aren’t obligated to follow suit. If we must have another Mav tagging along as a reserve, might I suggest former Hawk Tim Hardaway, Jr. (5-for-10 3FGs @ ATL on Feb. 3; Luka and teammates went 8-for-30)?

Despite the wishes of some capologists, Junior opted back in for this season and ranks 8^th in the league with 76 made threes. He’s putting up the best offensive figures of his Dallas tenure (17.3 PPG; 5^th-lowest TO% among NBA’ers w/ 400+ minutes) while helping everyone around the Metroplex forget about the Mavs (NBA-low 33.8 team 3FG%) letting Seth Curry walk.

11-12 may not be where some fans would have hoped the Hawks would be, ahead of what so far is the season’s only Hawks game on The Four-Letter Network. But there is some solace in that a game or two below .500, like Atlanta (1.5 games behind 3-seed Brooklyn) is a lock for at least a Play-In series in the NBA East. Going forward, it’s just a matter of holding serve and not letting losing skids get out of hand as the team hopes to get closer to full strength.

Out West, a similar record like the Mavs (11-14, percentage points above Horford’s OKC for 13^th in the conference; 2.0 games behind 8-seed Golden State), around season’s end, will have MFFL’ers here and abroad living on Tankathon. The Warriors stomped the Mavs 147-116 here at American Airlines Arena, one night after the win in Atlanta, and needed every last bit of Luka’s late heroics (42 points and 11 assists) in the rematch to ease indigestion from Steph Curry’s 57-sauce burger on ABC last Saturday night.

On the Left, I suggest, while we’re Left… Start it! The ceiling is the roof for Cam Reddish after his disastrous home outing versus the Mavs a week ago. Much is made of his shooting struggles and inconsistencies, but in his elevated role as a starter, particularly in Hunter’s extended absence, it will help Cam to get in positions on the floor where he can Set It Off.

On the left side of the floor, Reddish has made 5 of his 9 3FG attempts from the corner. Other side? 2-for-13 on the season from the right corner, and hopefully not counting. Saturday against the Raps, Cam sunk his one left-side three-point shot above-the-arc off a dime from Trae, expanding the Hawks’ second-quarter lead to five. On the right, 1-for-3, including both misses from the corner.

Small sample sizes make for great theater. But inside the arc on non-straight-away shots, as per bball-ref tracking, Cam’s been a Redd-iculous 1-for-14 on 2FGs (0-for-6 in the paint) on the right (wrong?) side, a far more rational 7-for-21 (5-for-14 in the paint) when the Dutchie gets passed on the left-hand side.

If our Hawks want to get the party started right, and quickly, finding Cam where he is most likely to produce as a jump-shooter, and encouraging him to drive and pass swiftly where he isn’t, is a sound strategy to promote a more balanced offense. In the meantime, he can work on his right-sided jumpers and floaters behind the scenes.

Getting back to .500 before the national audience, while stashing the Mavericks further below that level as Mark Cuban makes excuses, would be nice and a confidence boost for Atlanta ahead of a road-dominant schedule. But with the biggest picture we’re allowed to see looking forward, it would be ideal, to me, if the Hawks were waking up on March 11 with some post-All-Star glow and a chance to match the total number of wins (20) from one year prior. It will take a lot of work, quality coaching and focus, but it’s possible.

Will our Hawks be awakening on that March 11 morning in Atlanta, in some other NBA town, or in some hermetically sealed hoops hemisphere? I suspect only Adam Silver and CP3 knows for sure. Just like good neighbor Chris warns his State Farm agent, my Spidey senses are tingling that something’s about to go down.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

The 1:30 PM injury report suggests Rondo (out, low back pain) won't be seeking revenge for getting stiffed over Mavericks playoff money.

Mavs vets, are we're used to by now, are in picture-perfect health, with three  rarely-used youngsters on G-League assignment.

~lw3

[benhillboy]

How the Mavs traded away a guy with arguably the best value contract in the league continues to boggle the mind.  Man’s and them shooting a ho-hum 50/50/100 at 8 milly per.  For Josh Richardson?  Where they do that at.

Edited February 10, 2021 by benhillboy

[macdaddy]

35 minutes ago, benhillboy said:

How the Mavs traded away a guy with arguably the best value contract in the league continues to boggle the mind.  Man’s and them shooting a ho-hum 50/50/100 at 8 milly per.  For Josh Richardson?  Where they do that at.

Yeah.  Crazy.  don't give up shooting when you've already got a big time scorer.

[hawkman]

If the Hawks don't aggressively trap Doncic from jump I'll be really disappointed. Hawks need the new and improved Huerter and "Brooklyn" Cam present tonight to win this game. 

[JayBirdHawk]

Buckle up!

 

 

[lethalweapon3]

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

To: Teams with Stars that Get Doubled Off-Ball

From: Mavs and Spurs Defenses

RE: Your Slip is Showing

 

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

15 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

~lw3

Now please play well 

[JayBirdHawk]

3 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

To: Teams with Stars that Get Doubled Off-Ball

From: Mavs and Spurs Defenses

RE: Your Slip is Showing

 

~lw3

So  1. our guys have to cut and 2. who will be the passer from the top?

[bleachkit]

1 hour ago, benhillboy said:

How the Mavs traded away a guy with arguably the best value contract in the league continues to boggle the mind.  Man’s and them shooting a ho-hum 50/50/100 at 8 milly per.  For Josh Richardson?  Where they do that at.

Curry is arguably best value contract in the NBA among non rookie deals.

[bleachkit]

Please tell me this game isn't blocked locally.

[bleachkit]

Is Gwu off restriction?

[JayBirdHawk]

4 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Is Gwu off restriction?

16 minutes last game. I haven't seen any updates.

[aali34]

National TV game. Don't let me down.

[hawkman]

BROOKLYN CAM!

[capstone21]

How is a nationally televised game blacked out?  

[Plainview1981]

54 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Please tell me this game isn't blocked locally.

Hopefully it is.

[aali34]

Hawks are doing a good job of allowing Trae to get doubled before he steps over halfcourt which makes Dallas have to play 3 on 4. The defense could be a bit better.

[bleachkit]

Going from Nique to JVG. Like going from the Wright Brothers to Apollo Nine.