Official Game Thread: Spurs at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

“No foul call. No peace!”

 

Just four home games remain before the “Break”, and our Atlanta Hawks have to make the most of it with a back-to-back, tonight, versus the San Antonio Spurs (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Whoo-Whee It’s Cold in SATX), and tomorrow, against Nate McMillan’s prior employer, the Indiana Pacers.

In a theme similar to several of our Hell Week visitors from just over a week ago, the Spurs (14-10, 1.5 games behind 4-seed Phoenix) have hardly had to move before arriving at State Farm Arena. Much has been made of their ability to, yet again, stay afloat in the uber-competitive NBA West, earning coaching legend Gregg Popovich plaudits he isn’t even seeking at this stage of his career. But the biggest beneficiary to his team’s record, to date, has been the schedule.

Until arriving in Atlanta ahead of today’s contest, the Spurs haven’t left the Lone Star State this month. In fact, they haven’t seen an NBA game outside of Texas since Steph Curry delivered one of his Y’all Must’ve Forgot performances back on January 20 in Oakland. After that, seven consecutive home games at AT&T Center, then a horse ride over to Houston, then a gallop home for a series split with Steph’s Dubs.

Twenty-five games in, and the Hawks (11-13) are the first Eastern Conference team the Spurs have visited all season. Their last road win came in Portland back on January 18, a victory made less impressive by the fact the Blazers were readjusting after losing CJ McCollum in the game versus Atlanta two days prior. Over three weeks of home cooking, and the Spurs have done, well, a’ight for themselves.

LaMarcus Aldridge left midway through a blowout loss against Memphis back on February 1, and he remains out while getting treatment for a hip flexor, the same sore hip he had season-ending surgery on back in 2012. In his absence, San Antonio has gone 3-1, earning close victories over the Wolves, Rockets, and Warriors before a third-quarter combo of Curry and Kent Bazemore (24 combined points in that quarter) did them in during their last game on Tuesday.

After showing some promise in the twilight of his career as a remodeled stretch-five last season, helping San Antonio nearly extend their absurd playoff streak to 23 seasons, Aldridge has the look of a 35-year-old pro hooper who now shoots threes primarily because his post-play faculties (career-low 8.4 rebound%) are betraying him. In his absence, Coach Pop has had to jump-start Jakob Poeltl, a 2016 discarded ninth-overall pick who has been (stop me if you’ve heard this before about young second-tier lotto picks, Hawks fans) wildly inconsistent.

Coach Pop has also had to turn to a starting unit that often appears to have three swingmen on it. Poeltl, who signed a three-year deal in the offseason to stick around, arrived in the Kawhi deal that also brought DeMar DeRozan and a future pick that became Keldon Johnson into Popovich’s stead.

DeRozan no longer treats three-pointers with the disdain Manhattan maids have toward windows (33.3 3FG%, nearly a career-high on 2.0 tries per game). But the 6-foot-6 forward is basically thrust into Aldridge’s former stretch-big role, due to San Antonio’s creakily constructed frontcourt. DeMar mans the 4-spot ahead of occasional Hawk Killer Rudy Gay who, like Aldridge, is in his 15^th NBA season.

Johnson, the 6-foot-5 second-year pro out of UK (y’all remember Kentucky Basketball?), is the Spurs’ leading rebounder, at 7.1 RPG. That’s just a shade ahead of Dejounte Murray (7.0 RPG), San Antonio’s starting point guard who is their secondary playmaker behind DeRozan (career-high 6.7 APG, just 1.7 TOs/game). Lots of players doing uncustomary things is how Coach Pop hopes to spur confusion for opponents preparing game plans.

After playing in just 17 games for the entirety of his rookie season, Johnson has started in all 25 Spurs games so far. Similarly, My Main Man from 2021’s Draft, Devin Vassell, has to be shocked the slow-growth Popovich tabbed him for his first NBA start on Tuesday.

Peachtree Ridge’s Finest was put on the top line as Derrick White’s long-awaited return from a toe injury proved a bit shaky. Until the point guard can put his best foot forward, Coach Pop is going with a Lands of Always Winter pairing of White-Walker off the bench.

With Tre Jones and Luka Samanic on G-League assignments, and with Trey Lyles and Drew Eubanks used sparingly, Popovich runs out lineups that run at best nine-deep. Players know they’ll get quick hooks if they turn the ball over (NBA-low 10.9 TO%), don’t scamper back into defensive positioning in transition (NBA-high 38.8 opponent D-Rebs per-48; NBA-low 13.5 opponent points per-48 off TOs), don’t help secure boards off opponent misses (75.2 D-Reb%, 4^th in NBA), or get too hack-happy (NBA-low 17.0 personal fouls per-48).

Beyond their friendly schedule, it’s Popovich being a stickler with fundamentals that has San Antonio sitting comfortably above .500 even without Aldridge around for this seven-game road swing. Against mediocre competition, quality possession control keeps them in the running just long enough to grant Murray and DeRozan (career-high 89.2 FT%) chances to save the day.

It has also helped the Spurs they’ve been lucky. Either that, or they’re savvy enough to know precisely whom to foul. San Antonio opponents’ 72.7 FT% (lowest in NBA) is diametrically opposed to Atlanta foes shooting an NBA-best 82.1 FT% (incl. 83.2% here at “home”. We sure could use some Thundersticks!).

Hell Week concluded on Saturday for the Hawks’ players, but it continues unabated for head coach Lloyd Pierce. The challenge of climbing uphill, for coaches like Pierce, now in his third NBA season holding the whiteboard, is figuring out ways to out-strategize and outwit old-timers and long-haulers like Coach Pop and Dallas’ Rick Carlisle.

We’re eternally grateful that LP figured out how to do this 13 months ago, when Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish conspired to mercifully end The Curse in Alamo City. Then, there are games like Wednesday’s in Dallas, where the Hawks’ backcourt failed to close out on perimeter shooters and the game alike. The league’s worst three-point shooting team went 7-for-9 from Deep Ellum on many open looks in a 118-117 win over the Hawks, leading many fans to become far less gracious of LP’s tactics.

Pierce’s schedule has faceoffs forthcoming versus Defense Over Everything Tom Thibodeau, Big Brain Brad Stevens, and Smarmy Face Erik Spoelstra. Getting repeatedly hoodwinked and bamboozled won’t help LP’s cause, nor will further complaints of a lack of “defensive urgency” by his own team stifle criticism of his own adequacy.

My Man 20 Grand, Trae (25 points, 15 assists @ DAL) must find ways to excel in this game knowing his scoring output won’t likely come from pleas and idle threats for whistles. The Spurs will give him a multitude of pressures and traps, from a variety of angles and players, and he will have to make smart decisions with the ball in his hands and smarter choices away from the ball. He and the Hawks guards have to help secure long rebounds and keep the open-looks from Patty Mills and the Spurs’ shooters to a minimum.

On offense, the ball must wind its way, preferably up high, to John Collins (33 points, 8 rebounds) and Clint Capela (21 minutes @ DAL due to foul trouble, 19-game double-digit rebounding streak ends), who should find size advantages galore to exploit. Similarly, the ball should hardly touch the floor for Danilo Gallinari (2-for-12 FGs @ DAL), who is due for a bounceback game after his would-be game-saving shot fell short in Dallas.

Atlanta’s frontcourt leaders should be able to up-periscope most defenders the Spurs throw their way, and by boatracing San Antonio’s “bigs” in transition, they can alleviate pressure on Young and Atlanta’s perimeter shooters, enlivening the Hawks’ stale transition offense (10.2 fastbreak points per-48, 5^th-worst in NBA; 14.2 points per-48 off TOs, 3^rd-worst in NBA).

We all recall how close Popovich himself came to getting usurped in his third season at the helm, probably by ex-Hawk and ex-Spur turned TV analyst Doc Rivers, after a 56-26 season and disappointing playoff run was followed by a drab 6-8 start for the perpetual also-rans to 1998-99. Coach Pop was rapidly running out of fingers with which he could point at other people.

“The Admiral’s and Tim Duncan’s prime years are being wasted!”, was the hawt take of the time. Without the stick-to-it-iveness by the franchise with their self-appointed head honcho to see things through, there is likely no 31-5 finish to the strike season, no Memorial Day Miracle, no kickstart to an impressive NBA Finals and trophy run for the Spurs. Certainly, at least, not for him.

Sometimes, for these neophyte NBA coaches, all it takes is some Big Fundamentals to turn the trick. Until then, instilling small fundamentals will do enough to pass the time.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Water's still wet as per the 5:30 injury report. No Rondo (pain in the, umm, back). Spurs again are without LMA.

~lw3

[bleachkit]

Give Skylar Mays a little burn tonight.

[lethalweapon3]

Winter has come for the White-Walker second line. Welcome back, small-guard starting lineup!

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Buzzard]

Lets get a win! Go Hawks!

[terrell]

Smh.Not a good start so far...

[Dnice]

3 turnovers al damn ready...

[Dnice]

DeRozan is cam's nightmare. 

[Cwell]

Cam can't make a 1 handed dunk to save his life. That scares me

[terrell]

8 minutes ago, Cwell said:

Cam can't make a 1 handed dunk to save his life. That scares me

Cam cant make hardly anything right now..He and Trae fg% are shit atm.

Edited February 13, 2021 by terrell

[hawkman]

Nice steal there by Trae. He hasn't done enough of that this season. Keep playing those passing lanes.

[Dnice]

Trae's going off, but so are the spurs...going to be a long night. 

[DS5]

Okongwu is so lost... 

[Buzzard]

Just now, Dnice said:

Trae's going off, but so are the spurs...going to be a long night. 

It will probably be a close game again. Can the Hawks close out a 4th quarter for a change will be the question of the night.

[MaceCase]

Did I see Gallo hit the Shamgod and then airball?

[Dnice]

Defense optional for ATL..

[Atlantaholic]

need to pick up the defense or we won't win.

[terrell]

Sure would be nice to have a good backup PG..

[REHawksFan]

6 minutes ago, Buzzard said:

It will probably be a close game again. Can the Hawks close out a 4th quarter for a change will be the question of the night.

Thats the question most nights. Hawks seem to be good for 3 quarters.