Official Game Thread: Magic at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

“Yo, R.J., chill! We only beat the Pistons!”

 

“I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE! I WANT TO RIDE MY BIKE!”

Six years ago this month, Brandon Goodwin was preparing for a trip to Orlando’s Orange County Courthouse. It wasn’t a long trip, since he lived a few miles east at the University of Central Florida. The rising junior was facing a felony charge of Grand Theft… Bicycle?

Go back to the prior summer of 2014, a time when electric rental scooters were not every doggone where. Goodwin sauntered over to a rack near the campus basketball arena to discover his bike had gone ghost. Upset about his alleged theft, and probably running late for goodness-knows-what, Brandon did what any self-respecting rising college sophomore would do, and that’s snatching away somebody else’s bike. Don’t b-bad, B-Good!

The hoops scholarship at UCF was supposed to be the culmination of a lifelong turnaround, one that at its disciplinary nadir had Goodwin expelled from suburban Atlanta’s Norcross High and relegated to “alternative school” as a freshman. His turnaround upon his return to Norcross made him Georgia’s state scholastic boys’ player of the year. This latest poor lapse in judgment was not the type of quick-trigger decision that someone in, oh, let’s say, an NBA scouting department would expect a desirous professional point guard prospect to make.

What probably saved Goodwin’s evaporating NBA chances was the decision he made next. Later explaining he “felt bad” about his geared-up reaction, Goodwin did not return the bike in its original location, but he parked it at a nearby campus building.

The bad news was that while video surveillance never caught the perp who stole Goodwin’s bike, it did catch him torch-red-handed. The bike he chose to steal was not some random cutter’s, but one left there by campus police as part of their “Bait Bike” program. Collegiate athletes committing criminal acts around Florida campuses come a dime per dozen, but if you’re not built like a Cam Newton or an Aaron Hernandez, a felony arrest is probably not going to fare well for your pro-ball dreams.

With no playoff basketball, no summertime pro teams and no more Dwightmare, there was ample space in the Sentinel sports pages to follow the fate of what was to be UCF’s next breakout basketball star. But Brandon lawyered up, and by the time of his May 2015 arraignment, he was ready to plead down, to a misdemeanor petit theft charge. He was not about to endure a season’s worth of hecklers in Colnago cycling caps at American Athletic Conference games, so the next big move he made was to take his talents to Dunk City.

The next time Goodwin returned to Orlando, he was the 2017 Atlantic Sun Conference newcomer of the year and tournament MVP, he and his 14-seed Florida Gulf Coast team scaring the mess out of Jonathan Isaac and 3-seed Florida State during March Madness at Amway Center. Who knows what might have been for Goodwin at UCF, which settled for a postseason run that year in the NIT.

Pedaling forward ever since, Goodwin is in a big closing stretch of games for the Atlanta Hawks, and for the extension of his professional career in the NBA. Tonight, with the injured Isaac’s Orlando Magic in town (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, BS Florida), then on Sunday with the visiting Houston Rockets, if all goes well, Goodwin will have prominent, and hopefully productive, roles in helping Trae Young and the Hawks close out the regular season.

Young (sore hip) is listed as probable to start against upstart rookie Cole Anthony, after outlasting Russell Westbrook and the Wizards twice over the past three days. Tony Snell (sore Achilles) will sit this one out, while Clint Capela (heel pain), Bogdan Bogdanovic (sore hammy) and Danilo Gallinari (sore back) are each listed as questionable. The sweep of the Wizards clinched a Top-6 seed for Atlanta, but the Hawks (39-31) still have a Southeast Division title and potential homecourt advantage with a 4-seed to pursue.

Even with a few unavailable players, not inclusive of the returning De’Andre Hunter, the Hawks’ starters should be capable of at least holding serve versus whatever Magic head coach Steve Clifford drums up. The Magic (21-48, 4^th-place betw. OKC and CLE in the upside-down standings) are also proceeding toward season’s end without the services of Michael Carter-Williams, James Ennis, rookie Chuma Okeke, Otto Porter, and Terrence Ross. Despite having dropped four straight games, the Magic have more wins over their past ten games (3-7) than any of the NBA’s bottom five.

Mo Bamba has played with greater confidence of late, particularly with his rebounding and rim protection, but he’s questionable to play due to a non-COVID illness. With Isaac and Markelle Fultz already out for the season, it becomes tough for Magic opponents to know who precisely should be subject to their game-planning. Heck, Coach Cliff hardly knows himself. Some nights, it’s Hampton, or Anthony, or Bamba with the breakout day. Others, it’s a newcomer, like former Knick back-bench forward Ignas Brazdeikis.

The continual inventory of injured Magic players may grant Clifford and team president Jeff Weltman yet another offseason to coalesce a dynamic core, although next year’s will be much younger once as many as two new lottery picks join forces with Anthony, Isaac, Fultz, Bamba, Carter and Okeke. The retrieval of lightly-protected future first-rounders from Chicago and Denver at 2021’s Trade Deadline may have been enough to save Weltman’s bacon.

Tuesday’s spirited but futile 114-102 defeat in Milwaukee made it seven losses in Orlando’s past ten road games, including a 112-96 loss in Atlanta on April 20. The three victories were in Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit. Anthony, Pace Academy star Wendell Carter (17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals @ ATL last month) and sixth-man R.J. Hampton will dress to impress. But Hawks coach Nate McMillan will seek to use this and the next game to urge the resumption of suppressive defensive tactics, forcing the ball to keep moving so no Magician discovers a hot hand.

The onus will be on John Collins, Hunter and rookie Onyeka Okongwu to limit Orlando from feasting on second chances as well as trips to the free throw line. Goodwin split bench duties with Lou Williams (22 points vs. ORL last month) the last time the Magic visited The Farm, and he is likely to gain a larger share of floor time tonight if he can be disruptive at the point of attack.

Goodwin shined in spot starts at Charlotte and Toronto last month, and he was encouraging during a vital win over Miami two nights after Trae exited a game against the Knicks due to injury. But the intervening games were less than impressive, and the four appearance after the heat game (21.4 FG%, 4.0 APG, 2.0 TOs/game in 21.8 minutes) led Coach Nate to limit the reserve guard to just 3.5 cleanup minutes in one game over the past six Hawks contests.

Goodwin is subject to a qualifying offer decision by the Hawks’ front office this summer, but the greater likelihood is he will put the finishing touches on the resume this week for his next employer, be it in the NBA, the G-League, both, or elsewhere.

If Atlanta defenders disrupt and create a lot of broken Magic plays, and if the Hawks can get decent offensive production out of a couple bench players to alleviate Young and the starting unit, then sweeping the season series with the Magic (first since playing Jacque Vaughn’s misfits from 2012-13) will be as easy as stealing candy from a… no, let me not give Brandon any bad ideas. It will be as easy as riding a bike! One’s own, that is to say.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

COMING SOON: The Brothers Lopez will be facing some stiff competition.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

"Hey, Mo! How about a nice, greasy pork sandwich, served in a dirty ashtray?"

~camr3dd1sh

 

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

The Notorious "G.T.D."

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

21 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Tony Snell (sore Achilles) will sit this one out,

Don’t we need him... FOR THE WIN! 

Nice thread as usual. One time I rode a bike and left it there but it was ok it was on a Google campus.  I do what I want with those clown colorful !

 

GO HAWKS!!!!

[Spud2nique]

25 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Goodwin is subject to a qualifying offer decision by the Hawks’ front office this summer, but the greater likelihood is he will put the finishing touches on the resume this week for his next employer, be it in the NBA, the G-League, both, or elsewhere.

I know we won’t get him back but I hope he lands in the NBA with somebody. He’s played his heart out this whole season.

25 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

One’s own, that is to say.

Again it was a Google picnic  

[Guest]

Should be a good night to watch the league scoreboard. 

Philly needs to beat Miami tonight to stay ahead of Brooklyn.  They will be trying to win this game.  

San Antonio needs to beat NY because their last two games are against Phoenix and they could still drop out of 10th place if they loose all three remaining games and Sacramento wins their final three (two against Memphis and one against Utah - who may have clinched the #1 seed by then and might rest guys).

[Spud2nique]

Hawks ML -650  spread -11  o/u 220

Apparently we are “expected” to win this game. 
 

Finish strong Hawks, we need these last two! 

Also for our info:

Spurs @ Knicks  Knicks -5  GO SPURS

Sixers @ Heat   Heat -2  GO SIXERS

 

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, LongTimeFan said:

Should be a good night to watch the league scoreboard. 

Hey, I read your mind 

[Guest]

Then you saw some very scary stuff ... 

[capstone21]

We can’t sit everybody... have to take this game seriously 

[Spud2nique]

Just now, LongTimeFan said:

Then you saw some very scary stuff ... 

Dark and disturbed.

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Let's hope it's not this:

 

They were just messing with us, lol.

[Dnice]

Happy 25th as the hawks broadcaster  Bob Rathbun...

 

 

Edited May 13, 2021 by Dnice

[benhillboy]

25 years of Bob Rathburn!  Love the guy to death but he’s way past due for a new haircut.  

[bleachkit]

3 minutes ago, benhillboy said:

25 years of Bob Rathburn!  Love the guy to death but he’s way past due for a new haircut.  

Have you heard 92.9 the game's Mike Bell's impression of Bob Rathbun? It's absolutely hilarious.

[kg01]

42 minutes ago, LongTimeFan said:

Then you saw some very scary stuff ... 

Then you can mark @Spud2nique down as scared.... and horny. 

[benhillboy]

I never pegged Bogi as someone who enjoys playing defense but after locking down on Westbrook last night in the second half he may be.  With his stone face on the court (but the biggest smile of all the team pictures lol) he really is a Joe Johnson redux.  I’m almost ready to call him a pure shooter and I don’t like to throw that around.

6 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Have you heard 92.9 the game's Mike Bell's impression of Bob Rathbun? It's absolutely hilarious.

Of course.  Mike is my dude!  Carl not so much.

Edited May 13, 2021 by benhillboy

[JayBirdHawk]

The KNIFE is starting.

 

 

 

7 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Have you heard 92.9 the game's Mike Bell's impression of Bob Rathbun? It's absolutely hilarious.

One of the funniest things on radio, lol.

[benhillboy]

So glad to see Trae and John grow closer after their rift.  Grown man sh@t.