Official Game Thread: Hawks at Knicks

[ShooterSays]

A lot of these issues just come down to injuries. These injuries force Huerter and Cam into roles where they don't belong at this point in their young careers. They should be leading the second unit. We're seeing just how bad the injuries to Bogi and ESPECIALLY Hunter are in this 10 game stretch. 

The next biggest issue to me is backup PG. This might be one of the bigger misses of TS time in ATL so far. Yes, Rondo and Dunn have been hurt, but even when Rondo has been healthy, he's looked terrible. I wanted OO17 in the draft, but looking back, Hali and Deadmon would be making a huge impact for us this year. I'm not giving up on OO17, but the Rondo/Dunn signings have been huge duds so far.

I wish we could move Rondo and make a trade for a quality backup PG. Then get our guys healthy, and I think we're in much better shape. But obviously, you can't control injuries. Has Trae looked a little worse this year? Yeah, I'm not too worried about it though. I don't think LP has coached the best either, but I think the injuries and backup PG are the 2 biggest factors that have gotten us to this point of 11-16.

[macdaddy]

I'm starting to think the plan for Rondo all along was to flip him at the deadline.   

[bleachkit]

18 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

I'm starting to think the plan for Rondo all along was to flip him at the deadline.   

Flip him for what? He has almost no value. 

[JayBirdHawk]

22 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

I'm starting to think the plan for Rondo all along was to flip him at the deadline.   

Well, we better get 'something' worthwhile (doubtful) to make it worth the effort and aggravation. Or this was a big fat fail, particularly because of how bad the team is without Trae. All last seadon, into the offseason  - we begged for a capable backup to Trae, yet here we are.

[JayBirdHawk]

3 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Flip him for what? He has almost no value. 

We'd probably have to add a 2nd since his 2nd year is guaranteed unless we are taking back more salary for next season. Sigh.

[bleachkit]

Every Tuesday morning TS does a live radio interview on 92.9. Could anyone post the interview from today?

[macdaddy]

5 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Every Tuesday morning TS does a live radio interview on 92.9. Could anyone post the interview from today?

He may not make the interview because of achilles soreness.  

[bleachkit]

8 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

He may not make the interview because of achilles soreness.  

Well he is a hefty guy. He's gotta be careful.

[terrell]

12 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Anyone down for trading JC/Snell to GS for MIN pick and Oubre.

Collins to Charlotte for PJ and Devonte works on trade machine..lol

Melo/Hayward/Collins might get MJ excited..lol

Hawks get a young replacement for Collins and a backup PG..

[terrell]

5 hours ago, REHawksFan said:

I've been trying to figure out what's different between last year and this year. How he can go from elite last year to meh this year. And how he's missing so many shots that he routinely made last year.  Here's all I came up with:

1. Being off for 8 months without really playing competitively, he's gotten rusty and out of shape (remember, between his rookie and 2nd year he played ALL SUMMER in those competitive pickup games); no competitive play for so long COULD have an impact
2. Clint Capela - I'm hesitant to say anything negative about Capela and this really isn't on him directly, but rather on his presence in the lane. He poses no threat from the outside so defenders don't have to hedge against a jumper and can camp out in the lane; this has led to defenders being able to break up the lob to Capela AND to Trae having another defender in the lane to disrupt the floater. No idea if this theory has merit, but the presence of Capela in the lane is one difference between last year and this year.
3. Injury; Maybe Trae is nursing some injury that has impacted his shot in some way?  But then he's improved his 3Pt shot this year so that doesn't really make sense. It's really just his floater that is way off. 
4. Rhythm; maybe Trae is a guy that needs a lot of shots to get into a rhythm? He's always been better in the 2nd half than the 1st half so maybe he needs to be more aggressive to get into a rhythm. Maybe trying to distribute to better teammates has actually kept him for getting into a rhythm?  

I don't know. I'm grasping at straws here.  We all want the Hawks to win and, in my opinion, Trae the the biggest X Factor to achieving that goal.  Injuries have played a part, sure. We can blame the regression of Cam and Kevin playing a part too.  But ultimately, the biggest reason the team has sucked the last few weeks is because Trae has not played at the level we have all come to expect him to play.  

Trae was still playing in pick up games during pandemic..I remember because I couldnt believe it when I saw him in packed Gyms..

[terrell]

5 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

No.  What makes you believe Hunter is a guy to build your team around - he's had a solid season but please tell me what says 'Build around him'.  He's a guy you build WITH!

 

 - I'll give you a pass since I'm gonna assume this is the frustration after a loss.

 

You talked incessantly about how the offense was going to change since we will have more offensive options besides the  Trae and JC PnR since we added Capela, Gallo, Bogi etc. - well you are seeing it play out.  You were really excited, I guess you only thought it would affect JC, it's also affecting Trae.  He's trying to balance his natural ability to score so easily versus running the team, so far it's not a well balance effort.  EVERYTHING still revolves around him and no one ELSE can get an easy bucket without him or get him an easy bucket.

He plays both ways..And hes not at Charmin soft as the others imo...Defense has disappeared since he went out..Hes our MVP..Glue guy..Just a smart player.I like smart players..lol.He's also clutch..I think building around a 6'0 pg who cant guard anybody is and was always a bad idea..I just dont believe we can win with Trae as our best player..Just my opinion..

Edited February 16, 2021 by terrell

[terrell]

5 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

There actually was an article I posted that touched on this very thing, with Capela being in the lane so is his defender, which adds another layer of defense for Trae's floater.   Lot's of time I can't tell if Trae is looking to shoot the floater or lob to Capela - lot's of indecision there which I think has disrupted the timing on his floater. Last year we had Len, Dedmon and JC as centers that could stretch the center, leaving the middle open for the floater easier particularly over a non center on defense.

Now this makes sense...Houston traded Capela for this reason..Clogging the lane for Westbrick. lol

Edited February 16, 2021 by terrell

[terrell]

5 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

That's just not true since most times Trae is being doubled, teams don't have to guard Capela outside the paint when he sets a screen - they stick with Trae and send a rotation to Capela on a lob (which rarely happens since Trae's passing is usually on point, NYL sniffed those out last night though).

I called this right after the Capela trade..Him not being able to shoot might be a problem in our offense.But we need him for rebounding and defense so bad...So pick your poison I guess...

Edited February 16, 2021 by terrell

[terrell]

Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce tells @TheUndefeated he is returning to Atlanta for the expected birth of his second child over the coming days. Pierce expects to miss the next two games both at Boston. Associate head coach Nate McMillan will coach in Pierce’s absence.

[Carmine]

3 hours ago, Watchman said:

That pretty much describes everyone on our roster.  Why single Collins out?

Who on our roster turned down $90M

[Wretch]

56 minutes ago, terrell said:

Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce tells @TheUndefeated he is returning to Atlanta for the expected birth of his second child over the coming days. Pierce expects to miss the next two games both at Boston. Associate head coach Nate McMillan will coach in Pierce’s absence.

[NBASupes]

1 hour ago, terrell said:

I called this right after the Capela trade..Him not being able to shoot might be a problem in our offense.But we need him for rebounding and defense so bad...So pick your poison I guess...

It's not like we were scoring when Gallo replaces him 

[JayBirdHawk]

Per Travis Schlenk this morning on 92.9 The Game radio:

"We're close, for 3 quarters we're right there, we have 4-5 minutes stretches where things don't go our way.  3 or 4 guys playing well and another guy not. We have to find ways to put the pieces together"....Travis Schlenk.

 

 

Quote

The Hawks were down two with 3:29 left in the game, and the team’s most important player did not attempt a shot. The team’s second-most important player attempted one shot during that stretch, with the Hawks down 11 with 11 seconds to play. The latter player, John Collins, attempted one shot in the final 14 minutes of the game, in which he was 8-of-13 before the final meaningless shot attempt..................Young said he felt like the Knicks were being aggressive in their pick-and-roll defense and dropping back toward the rim to take away lobs, layups and floaters. He also said the Knicks were trying to make him kick out to shooters to make shots. Collins didn’t have an explanation for why he attempted only one shot in the fourth quarter.

“I just try to play within the flow of the offense, you know what I mean?” Collins said. “Go with what Coach is running and with what’s working for the team. I try not to think about shot attempts. It’s not really in my mental (headspace) when I’m playing. Obviously, it’s something, maybe, I could shoot a couple more times but nothing I’m stressing about. It’s really about team effort and just trying to win the game. Whatever that may be.”

 

Quote

What is very apparent is De’Andre Hunter is sorely missed. The Hawks are 2-7 in games Hunter has missed. When Hunter isn’t on the floor, the Hawks have a 115.2 defensive rating, which would rank as second worst in the NBA, ahead of only Sacramento. They miss having a secondary creator on the floor with Young to limit those double-teams and traps he’s consistently seeing. They miss his ability to lock up the opposing team’s best perimeter player.

“When you miss a key player, you are a different club,” Pierce said. “You’re going to have different guys step up and be effective in their way. Clint is our anchor of the defense. Dre’s probably our most solid and consistent defender. You take that out and it’s the same deal. I know all of the metrics and analytics when Trae comes out of the game, your offense isn’t as good. It’s not rocket science. He’s pretty damn good offensively, so you’re going to miss that when he’s not on the floor, which is what we miss when Dre is not on the floor on the defensive end and on the offensive end. You’re asking other guys to do something in a different capacity and in a greater capacity. You’re not asking him to be Dre, but you’re asking other guys to step up, which is always the next-man-up mentality. We will miss Dre when he’s not on the floor, as we miss (Rajon) Rondo and his leadership when he’s not out on the floor and (Bogdanovic Bogdanovic) and his shooting and leadership when he’s not on the floor. We’re just asking other guys to fill those roles in their capacity and play to the best of it.”

Collins summed up his feelings on where things stand with the Hawks.

“Basketball is a very random game, an imperfect game.”

 

[Watchman]

4 hours ago, Carmine said:

Who on our roster turned down $90M

You don't think Trae's going to ask for the max when his contract winds down?  Talk about empty calories.