Official Game Thread: Rockets at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

“What wood would Christian Wood’s woodpecker peck, if Christian Wood’s woodpecker pecked wood? Go ahead, say it three times, fast!”

 

Well before a fellow named Zuckerberg became a self-styled zen-master, several Institutes of Technology that I attended each had students and staff expressing some inspirational maxim along the lines of “Move Fast and Break Things,” with a high degree of variance around usage of the word, “Things.” That’s the best way I could describe the approach being taken by coach Stephen Silas’ once-haphazard Houston Rockets.

Fully rebuilding a franchise might come slowly, and all indications are that owner Tilman Fertitta is willing to be patient, at least with the front office led by Rafael Stone. As a head coach, Silas recognizes that you might succeed with the assets currently at your disposal, and you might even succeed fast. But if you are to set up to fail, fail fast, and learn quickly from the “things” that break along the way before the next trials come.

Silas’ Rockets are that other team at State Farm Arena tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in HTX) eager to prove that their recent seven-game winning streak wasn’t fool’s gold. They’re pushing the pill at a pace (NBA-high 101.31 possessions per-48) that they know is hard for opponents to keep up with, given they can barely maintain control of the ball themselves (NBA-worst 17.5 TO%).

Two key starters, each sub-age-22 and sub-40-percent from the floor, have blown gaskets (hammies, to be more precise) and have struggled to get back onto the floor. But as fan pressure mounted on Silas to stem a 15-game freefall without the services of lotto rookie Jalen Green or Kevin Porter, the coach was able to find players on his roster willing to pick up the pace, and the slack, consistently. Including one particular “G.M.” that has been doing much of the bailouts.

Well on their way to a 16^th-consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of an upright Chicago Bulls team back on November 24, Green exited due to injury in the first quarter, and neither of D.J. Augustin nor Armoni Brooks could adequately fill the bill. The hamstrung Silas turned instead to two-way swingman Garrison Mathews.

In his second game of the season since getting called up from Rio Grande Valley, Mathews sparked the turnaround with three drawn offensive fouls in the space of eight minutes. Later, he hit a pair of crucial fourth-quarter treys, including a game-clincher with under 30 seconds remaining.

The pride of Lipscomb University (home of the Fightin’ Mick Jaggers), picked up before the season began from Boston after a pair of two-way seasons with Washington, the developmental Mathews has been a fixture in Houston’s starting unit ever since, the Rockets rattling off six more wins (16.8 PPG, 1.2 SPG, 44.4 3FG% during that streak). Garrison has been joined in the breakout by veteran guard Eric Gordon, who has played like a man that knows he’s in a race to beat the mothballed John Wall out of town to a contender (20.5 PPG in past 4 appearances, 57.7 FG%, sinking half of his 6.0 3FGAs/game), just in time for the leaguewide trade market to widen.

Few would blame the Rockets’ red glare coming to a close versus Milwaukee last Friday, or Houston losing the next evening at Memphis on Z-Bo Night while Gordon was granted rest. Further, it’s fair to notice the 8-18 outfit that fell 113-106 on Saturday has been far more competitive, in losses, than the one that dropped to 1-13 at the FedEx Forum on November 15 by a 136-102 margin.

Even when leading scorer Christian Wood (20+ points & 10+ boards in six of last 8 games) had to depart a December 1 game at OKC early, oblong forward Jae’Sean Tate and Brooks filled in ably, scoring 23 of Houston’s 41 fourth-quarter points to keep the streak from ending prematurely. That comeback win over the Thunder was, and remains, the only road victory of the season (1-12 on the road) for the Rockets. Doubling Houston’s away-game total tonight would require the host Atlanta Hawks blowing their fifth straight game at The Farm.

Youth has been served, much to the detriment of Hawk opponents at this stage of the season. Having played 8 of the 11 NBA clubs listed by SpoTrac as averaging 25 years of age or less, Atlanta has gone 8-1 so far. Houston will be young team #9.

One of those teams already played, Orlando will await the Hawks’ arrival in a couple days seeking payback from a loss last month, and whatever suits up for Chicago will engage Atlanta in a home-and-home after the Crimmuh games. The sole slippage by Nate McMillan’s crew came after pussyfooting for too long with LaMelo-less Charlotte, coincidentally the team bearing the NBA’s second-highest tempo.

At the risk of conflating youth with experience here, the Hawks (13-13) have feasted off of under-experienced clubs like Houston all season long. But they have found themselves susceptible versus players more experienced with performing in the clutch and/or teams capable of controlling the pace of play, at either extreme, to their liking.

“You’ve got to learn to win,” McMillan told the AJC’s Sarah Sanders and reporters after shootaround today. His remarks were a departure from his defensiveness of the Hawks’ late-game execution following Friday’s 14-point final-frame in a loss to grubby Kevin Durant and the Nets. “You have to get stops and you have to make buckets. Some of our fourth quarters, we haven’t done that.” Brooklyn went 0-for-8 on threes in that pivotal fourth quarter, yet the Nets, led by players old and young, managed to outscore an Atlanta team arguably too dependent on Trae Young by ten points.

James Harden, who lost to his old team, Houston, in the Nets’ prior game, committed Brooklyn’s only turnover in the entire quarter, a steal by Trae that was cleaned up niftily at the other end by Durant for a four-point swing. Thanks to Atlanta’s lack of offensive game-planning, be it plays run with Young off-ball or getting down the floor in transition, compounded by a sure-hope-they-miss defensive attitude, the East’s best team went from looking like a club begging to be put out of its misery to one giddy about extending Atlanta’s.

Houston is the only team permitting opponents to score more than 20 points per-48 off of their turnovers, and the sole team ceding more than 15 fastbreak points per-48. As deflating as the Hawks have been executing transition plays (to say nothing of defending them), Houston’s the only NBA offense scoring under a point per transition possession, turning over the ball on roughly one of every six transition trips.

Sustained defensive pressure ought to be enough to keep the Rockets misfiring and leaking fuel by game’s end. But it’s the lengthy lapses, and the coaching staff’s unwillingness to adjust lineups to address them, that keeps the Hawks making mountains out of what should be molehill climbs toward victory, and up the standings.

It's reasonable for fans to anticipate, tonight, a sloppy affair that ought to be concluded, one way or another, by the time the clock strikes 9:30 PM. Things will move fast and, hopefully, good Hawk franchise records will be the only things broken along the way. Funk will be given to ya tonight. The only question remains: will it be A-Town’s, or H-Town’s?

 

Hearts out to our Mid-South Squawkers and Fam. Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

8 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Garrison Mathews.

Is he the new Kyle Korver? 

 

8 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

1.2 SPG

Ok nevermind lol.

 

9 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

pussyfooting

Hehe

 

10 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Hearts out to our Mid-South Squawkers and Fam. Let’s Go Hawks!

Indeed. Saw a lady speaking about her house being wrecked and all her memories shattered. Really sad .Prayers.

Nice write up lw3!  
 

Go Hawks!

[JayBirdHawk]

15 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

“What wood would Christian Wood’s woodpecker peck, if Christian Wood’s woodpecker pecked wood? Go ahead, say it three times, fast!”

[hawkman]

Must win game. Absolutely no excuse to lose tonight.

[JayBirdHawk]

So Cam was on a minutes restriction last game, none tonight.

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

This is very interesting.  Earn your money in the 4th quarter Nate.

 

 

[Sothron]

This is a must win game. As such I am going back to my jersey closet for a player that I loved watching so much and was taken from us way too soon.  He is the best pure shooter in the history of basketball and his split fingered released is who a young Sothron based his entire shooting form on. 

Can anyone guess who this is? He did not play for the Hawks. My only clue.

[Dnice]

Drazen?

[Sothron]

1 minute ago, Dnice said:

Drazen?

 

[hawkman]

19 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

This is very interesting.  Earn your money in the 4th quarter Nate.

 

 

Thank goodness. The young guys haven't shown a lot of poise in the 4th during close games. The decision making has been way too inconsistent. They showed grit and determination and executed well in the clutch during their comeback wins in the Playoffs last season but I haven't seen that carry over into this season yet.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Sothron]

53 minutes ago, Dnice said:

Drazen?

So how did you know? Great guess. 

[JayBirdHawk]

the look that JC gave him 

 

 

[Peoriabird]

TLC is awful

Trae and his turnovers!

[Peoriabird]

This fing defense!!!

[terrell]

Hawks are hard to watch right now..I enjoyed watching the Falcons better. That says alot..... smh..Luckily The Cavs and Heat are on...Good game so far..

Edited December 14, 2021 by terrell

[terrell]

8 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

TLC is awful

Trae and his turnovers!

Turnovers drive me nuts...Most are for no reason at all.....Ugh...3 already..

Edited December 14, 2021 by terrell

[terrell]

Cam hit a 3...Wrist might be feeling better..

[Peoriabird]

ridiculous that TLC is starting over Reddish

[terrell]

Do this shit in the 4th qtr tonight please....