2021-2022 Post/In- Between Game Thread: Thoughts, Updates, Tidbits etc.

[Peoriabird]

26th in rim accuracy

Thanks Capela!

[benhillboy]

Lou needs to instruct Trae and Bogi how to get more shots up in that 10-16 foot range.  They combine to shoot only 10% of their shots from there on 60% efficiency!

[Gray Mule]

And the beat goes on.  Hawks are now much closer to the basement than 1st place.  

Down 4 games already and only 1 1/2 games from last!

Currently, Hawks are not as good as I believed they were.  They are not as bad as they look right now (he says with confidence) but , if they meet my projection of 46-36, something had better improve.

[terrell]

5 hours ago, Gray Mule said:

And the beat goes on.  Hawks are now much closer to the basement than 1st place.  

Down 4 games already and only 1 1/2 games from last!

Currently, Hawks are not as good as I believed they were.  They are not as bad as they look right now (he says with confidence) but , if they meet my projection of 46-36, something had better improve.

Yeah I said 45-48 wins.. Which would be an achievement considering where we are right now.........

[JeffS17]

4 minutes ago, terrell said:

Yeah I said 45-48 wins.. Which would be an achievement considering where we are right now.........

Meh, I still think we will be over that Vegas estimate.  It's tough to understate how garbage the schedule has been for us this far, as @lethalweapon3 eloquently laid on in the game thread.  We're 3-1 at home right now, and our away losses are coming to the hottest teams in the league right now in addition to having absolute travel and b2bs.  We've looked good for large portions of a lot of our losses.

We've lost to:

• #1 Golden State 8-1
• #2 Jazz 8-3
• #4 Suns 6-3
• #3 Wizards 7-3
• #4 76ers 8-4
• #5 Cavs 7-4
• #6 Nets 7-4

We haven't lost to any bad teams -- even the Cavs game, which still pisses me off, wasn't THAT bad.  They're a much different and much better team this year (at least until Sextons injury).  It's tough to effectively add 4-5 rotation players and build chemistry AND win against the best teams in the NBA with the worst scheduling.  I'll feel MUCH differently if we are still struggling this badly after 30 games.  I think by 25-30 games we will be above .500

 

[terrell]

37 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Meh, I still think we will be over that Vegas estimate.  It's tough to understate how garbage the schedule has been for us this far, as @lethalweapon3 eloquently laid on in the game thread.  We're 3-1 at home right now, and our away losses are coming to the hottest teams in the league right now in addition to having absolute travel and b2bs.  We've looked good for large portions of a lot of our losses.

We've lost to:

• #1 Golden State 8-1
• #2 Jazz 8-3
• #4 Suns 6-3
• #3 Wizards 7-3
• #4 76ers 8-4
• #5 Cavs 7-4
• #6 Nets 7-4

We haven't lost to any bad teams -- even the Cavs game, which still pisses me off, wasn't THAT bad.  They're a much different and much better team this year (at least until Sextons injury).  It's tough to effectively add 4-5 rotation players and build chemistry AND win against the best teams in the NBA with the worst scheduling.  I'll feel MUCH differently if we are still struggling this badly after 30 games.  I think by 25-30 games we will be above .500

 

You know 45-48 wins is above .500 right? Whats's the Vegas estimate?

Edited November 10, 2021 by terrell

[GameTime]

Imagine getting paid 30 million a year to play 7 minutes in a game off the bench.

[JayBirdHawk]

1 hour ago, GameTime said:

Imagine getting paid 30 million a year to play 7 minutes in a game off the bench.

Who would that be?

[AHF]

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Who would that be?

Talking about $20M per year Gallo who played just under 7 minutes last game.

[JayBirdHawk]

2 hours ago, GameTime said:

Imagine getting paid 30 million a year to play 7 minutes in a game off the bench.

 

14 minutes ago, AHF said:

Talking about $20M per year Gallo who played just under 7 minutes last game.

Nate's reasoning:

 

 

[terrell]

https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-atlanta-hawks-should-look-into-ben-simmons

[JeffS17]

15 hours ago, terrell said:

You know 45-48 wins is above .500 right?

Yes?

[terrell]

7 minutes ago, JeffS17 said:

Yes?

Well your first response was to 45-48 wins was "meh"...

Meh is designed to be rude and dismissive - a sure-fire conversation-stopper. Users of the word are unequivocal in their total indifference to what is being discussed..

So how many games do you see us winning?

Edited November 11, 2021 by terrell

[JeffS17]

1 minute ago, terrell said:

Well your first response was "meh"...

Meh is designed to be rude and dismissive - a sure-fire conversation-stopper. Users of the word are unequivocal in their total indifference to what is being discussed..

Ah, I see -- I [incorrectly] use "meh" as a preface to me thinking out loud, if that makes sense.  I think the Vegas line was like 47 or 48.  I feel like we will climb over that even with the slow start.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

Quote

2. Clint Capela hasn’t been a factor on either end

What’s clear through 12 games is how Capela is nowhere near the player he was last season for the Hawks. Capela transformed the middle of the defense for Atlanta and was one of my finalists for Defensive Player of the Year. .....Capela is one of the quickest centers in the league, and it’s his ability to run the floor that separates him from lumbering big men. The explosiveness that he prides himself on is nowhere to be found right now, and it’s particularly showing on his ability to get lift on his shots at the rim. He’s made just 59 percent of his shot attempts at the rim, ranking him in the bottom quartile of all big men.......

What’s extremely concerning right now for Atlanta is how much better the team has been defensively when Capela is off the floor. The Hawks are over 16 points better per 100 possessions defensively when Capela is sitting. Now compare that to last season where the Hawks were over 8 points per 100 possessions worse when Capela sat.

Teams have been pulling Capela away from the rim with the amount of switching the Hawks have done, and it’s exacerbated the team’s issues. McMillan said it’s not by design how often the team has switched.

“That’s a call on the floor for our guys,” McMillan said. “We prefer to stay with our matchups. That’s a thing I want our guys to understand is that when we give them a matchup, we want to try to keep that matchup. There’s sometimes on the floor when you have to switch and that’s communicating. I’m not really big on switching. I think it’s easy to give your opponent the matchup they want, so we don’t do that unless it’s an emergency. There are certain rules with certain guys that we try not to switch and give teams the opponents the matchup they want.”

There’s no way to sugarcoat how bad it is right now for Capela and how brutal his performance has been for the team’s success thus far. It’s likely going to take more time for Capela to get back to 100 percent...

Better on defense without Clint...never thought I would read that.

 

Quote

3. John Collins needs to be more involved

Collins has arguably been the most consistent player for the Hawks on both ends of the floor to start the season. Offensively, he’s shooting 58 percent from the floor, 45 percent from 3, 82 percent from the free throw line, and his passing ability has noticeably improved. And yet, there are too many games where he’s just not involved in the offense. I have no explanation as to why he’s averaging 0.3 more shot attempts per game than Cam Reddish who plays 8 fewer minutes than Collins. It makes no sense to me, and it’s truly baffling.

The game against Golden State, Collins started the first half 6-of-6 from the floor and had 18 points. He finished 6-of-7 from the floor, even though the Warriors had no answer for him offensively. Even when Golden State started trapping Young and going to a box-and-one to get the ball out of his hands, it still somehow didn’t find its way into the team’s most efficient offensive player.

“It’s always tough to analyze what’s the right way to approach shot attempts,” Collins said after the Warriors loss. “We got a lot of guys on this team who can produce, add value on the offensive end and play well. I was trying to do my best to play my game while allowing others to eat as necessary because if I’m out there worried about shot attempts, I’m not playing the right way. But I also think that you work somebody in that was hot into the game. But I’m never a guy that’s worried about shot attempts. I’m worried about flow and just winning the game and sometimes shot attempts are tricky.”

Since the Lloyd Pierce days, Collins’ involvement in the offense has fluctuated it seems night-to-night. Both Pierce and McMillan have both said that they do not call many, if any, specific plays for Collins. While Collins is involved in the pick-and-roll with Young, most of his offensive game is mainly just in the flow of the game whereas others do have set actions that they’re running to get them open looks.

It just seems like it would behoove the Hawks to find a way to feature him more often when he’s playing as efficiently as he is on all three levels. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue saying it, the Hawks’ offensive hierarchy should be Young and then Collins. What’s left after that should go to the hottest shooter out of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish.

I said the blue highlighted part 2 days ago...the staple should be the Trae/JC PnR...everybody else next.

[bleachkit]

I didnt have a good feeling about re-uping Capala's contract, now we stuck with him through 2025.

[Spud2nique]

32 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

I didnt have a good feeling about re-uping Capala's contract,

Of course you didn’t (now). You will be back on his wagon soon no doubt.

[Spud2nique]

45 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I said the blue highlighted part 2 days ago...the staple should be the Trae/JC PnR...everybody else next.

Ya me too. I guess we the same person lol. Meat and potatoes is the pick n roll…

Its like we already know that works but refuse to use it.  

[Final_quest]

35 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

I didnt have a good feeling about re-uping Capala's contract, now we stuck with him through 2025.

I’m more concerned about replacing his production.  Got to give Capela more time.  This might be a temporary thing.  

[bleachkit]

26 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Of course you didn’t (now). You will be back on his wagon soon no doubt.

I said as much at the time. We should have waited another year.