Official Game Thread: Hawks at Clippers

[lethalweapon3]

“You win some… you Lue some!”

 

Tidbits From The Crypt!

So it’s the Clippers today in LA (3:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast, 92.9 FM in ATL, BS SoCal), in a Sunday matinee that we can only hope will be more watchable than the Saints and Falcons. Come on, Doity Boids, two in a row at The Benz! A heavy lift for a season finale, but I know y’all can do it. Draft position, Schmaft position. Just spoil the Aints’ season and grab us some linemen in the springtime, Capisce?

Ty Lue’s and Larry Drew’s club checks in at 19-21, yesterday afternoon’s 123-108 defeat versus Memphis being their fifth straight loss at home (where they do that at???), and third straight defeat by double digits. Yet somehow LA raised their O-Rating to 105.8 (4^th-lowest in NBA), thanks to what, again, we can only hope, was Marcus Morris’ season-high of 29 points against the Griz (last two games: 27.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 14-for-14 combined FTs, 7-for-14 combined 3FGs).

The Clip Joint is now 2-6 in the eight games since they formally lost leading scorer Paul George to an elbow ligament tear. Of course, since when does an opponent missing their leader(s), coming off a game yesterday, and/or displaying woeful offense against 20-some other teams have anything to do with Clint Capela and the Hawks’ Swiss-cheese defense? Can we at least be like Neufchatel, TLC?

Against the three NBA teams (OKC, DET, ORL) bearing a worse offensive efficiency than the Clippers, the Hawks have only allowed 103.8 PPG while going 4-1. As demonstrated in December’s loss to the Magic, Atlanta’s has a tough time versus these squads only when they have a tough time scoring themselves.

The discrepancy, for the Hawks (134 points allowed to the Clippers’ roommates on Friday; 17-21, incl. 1-14 when permitting more than 111 points), comes below the Clipper line. A six-point loss to the fifth-“worst” offense, Houston, at home, despite scoring 126 points themselves. 131 points poured on the star-short-staffed Blazers, only to watch Portland’s also-rans score a scorching 136, then not eclipse 110 when the heat and the Cavs paid them a visit. We won’t know, until this evening’s final horn, on which side of the line the Clips fall.

The one thing I wanted to see in that teensy three-team sample was whether it was a matter of us simply missing the defensive glue-guy services of one Mr. De’Andre Hunter. Alas, Hunter missed out on the Pistons game back in October, then the Thunder game in November and all three meetings with the Magic.

De’Andre’s On/Off numbers (net +5.3 opponent O-Rating this season, as per bball-ref, through 11 games played) are skewed by whatever uphill climbs we were all going through while getting sizzled during November’s Western omelette of a road trip. Yet I still wonder if, once fully back up to speed, he can individually create the team-oriented defensive synergy that was so valuable during his injury-riddled sophomore season of 2020-21 (On/Off net -6.9 opponent O-Rating in regular season; net -11.9 in the Playoffs).

One of the last games where we saw Hunter near his all-around peak performances was in his final almost-fully healthy calendar month, of January 2021, against the Clippers in Atlanta. He didn’t shoot the ball efficiently from the field, but he got to the line enough to finish second in scoring for the Hawks (22 points, behind Trae’s 38).

Beyond reaching double figures for the 16^th straight contest, and in every game of the Hawks’ 2020-21 season to that point, Hunter was also instrumental in helping make shots tough for Lou Williams and company, a depleted yet 13-4 LA team hitting threes at just a 30.8 percent Clip as they fell to the Hawks 108-99.

In that month of January, although the team floundered under coach Lloyd Pierce’s watch, Hunter individually flourished. He averaged 18.7 PPG and 4.9 RPG, shooting 53.3 FG% including 34 percent on threes, serving almost as ably as a secondary passer (2.1 APG, 1.1 TOs/game) as he was a shutdown wing. His season high of 25 points came just days before, on MLK Day against the T’Wolves, when D’Angelo Russell tried to needlessly wrestle Hunter to the hardwood for a not-loose ball at game’s end.

Russell and a hobbled Hunter would go for a jump-ball to close out those proceedings. Within just days of that tussle, Hunter would be playing against the Clippers, and others, visibly slowed by what we’d come to know was knee discomfort. Within a few more days, his regular season would be effectively over due to a surgical procedure, although a hasty March return was short-lived. Within a few weeks of Hunter’s departure, Pierce was on the outs, too. And destiny would run its course.

To Yours Truly, it just felt like, whenever a struggling Hawks team had been beginning to get its bearings straight, the sudden absence of Hunter would get this team un-glued. Defying that theory was the peak of this current season. The Hawks rattled off seven straight victories, all by double-digits and including victories over the Bucks and a not-yet-good Grizzlies team, right as Hunter (wrist surgery) was shelved upon returning from the treacherous road trip in mid-November.

Atlanta’s peak run could be chalked up to dead-cat-bounce, or Wile E. Coyote still running in place for a minute after he’s sprinted off the cliff. Mix in the added off-days and practice time at home, too. But it was during those 13 days (November 14-26) when 7-0 Atlanta, sans Hunter, posted a half-decent 105.4 D-Rating (a modest 12^th-best in NBA), and a better Net Rating than the 8-0 Suns, the 6-1 Warriors and Bucks, the 5-1 Nets, and the 4-2 Jazz.

Kevin Huerter had replaced Hunter in the starting five, and while the defensive rebounding had lapsed over those 13 days, the ability to get out and fluster would-be shooters (49.4 opponent eFG%, 12^th-lowest in NBA), or thwart transition buckets (8.9 opponent fastbreak PPG, 4^th-lowest in NBA; 12.7 opponent PPG off TOs, 2^nd-lowest) had not. Atlanta allowed a league-low 0.161 (FTA per FGA) free throw attempt rate during this vital stretch.

It was in the first half of the night after coming home from the win in Morant-less Memphis, when starter Bogi Bogdanovic and sixth-man Cam Reddish departed with injuries. Without them and Hunter, the Hawks would fall to what was deemed a “short-handed” Knicks team on national TV. The wheels seemed to fully come off, especially on defense, in the month-plus to come (117.5 D-Rating since Dec. 1, 3^rd-worst in NBA, despite 75.7 D-Reb%, 2^nd-highest in NBA).

Screwing those wheels back on has been screwy thus far. But Hunter’s return, with time to upgrade the lineups, might be the thing that finally gets Atlanta rolling again. GARA!

Speaking of rolling… by the close of this week we might have another reason to watch double-decker buses flying up Peachtree Street with a police escort. Only this time, the younger, beefier inhabitants would swing a left to the I-85 and high-tail it up Georgia Route 316 (avoid North and Fifth Avenues on this route, please, bus drivers, and thank you) for a more soundly-paced celebration in Athens.

This is usually the time of year where I preach about how, come Tuesday morning, there are no Bravos, no Falcons, no Dream, no United, no Dawgs, no football Jac, umm, Panthers and Owls, to dominate the sports-page headlines. The Hawks, I often get to say in January, have no teams to hide behind. However, this is not supposed to be the kind of Hawks team that needs to do any hiding. Can we unearth ourselves from The Crypt looking a little less scary?

 

Let’s Go DAWGS! And the Hawks, too!

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

14 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

De’Andre’s On/Off numbers (net +5.3 opponent O-Rating this season, as per bball-ref, through 11 games played) are skewed by whatever uphill climbs we were all going through while getting sizzled during November’s Western omelette of a road trip. Yet I still wonder if, once fully back up to speed, he can individually create the team-oriented defensive synergy that was so valuable during his injury-riddled sophomore season of 2020-21 (On/Off net -6.9 opponent O-Rating in regular season; net -11.9 in the Playoffs).

I hope he can. We really need it.

[Spud2nique]

15 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Tidbits From The Crypt!

 Yes!

 

15 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Come on, Doity Boids, two in a row at The Benz!

No, we need a Saints win and a Niner loss please, low chance and not a popular vote here I know.

 

15 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

134

It’s a problem, the big one.

 

15 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

But Hunter’s return, with time to upgrade the lineups, might be the thing that finally gets Atlanta rolling again. GARA!

Probably.

 

15 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Let’s Go DAWGS! And the Hawks, too!

Let’s go! Nice game preview as always lw3. I won the 2K game, hopefully that’s a good sign because the 2K indicator is 2-0 in results but 1-1 in the Hawks overall record.

No PG13 and no Kawhi (yet)..

We NEED to win this.

*jinx no jinx. Reggie cannot go off for 30 on us, Trae, that’s your assignment.

Edited January 9, 2022 by Spud2nique

[Spud2nique]

So I looked into going to this game. $500 to sit across from the Hawks bench on the floor. Includes all you can eat and parking.

I was on the fence about it and was shooting around at some park yesterday, met a Clipp fan with a B diddy jersey shooting on the other basket, he said I haven’t gone this year but I get nose bleeds and move up in the 3rd. Cool dude! 

I won’t end up going. I almost a went though, I would have engaged, believe me, I would have engaged. All good stuff to the Hawks obviously but maybe yell some things at Morris and get mangled  

GO HAWKS!

ps I’m 12 miles away from the game LIVE! 

[lethalweapon3]

 

~lw3

[Dnice]

The Reggie Jackson show, take  the over. 

[JayBirdHawk]

3 minutes ago, Dnice said:

The Reggie Jackson show, take  the over. 

Who is the guy to go nuts today Alex?

[lethalweapon3]

...No Peace!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Just now, JayBirdHawk said:

Who is the guy to go nuts today Alex?

My money's on Jackie's long-lost cousin.

~lw3

[marco102]

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Just now, marco102 said:

 

At least Jent is smart to bench TLC

[Dnice]

I hope  renee  wasn't sick, but she's  hanging out  today.

[terrell]

13 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

At least Jent is smart to bench TLC

He'd pull Bogi for Delon real quick if players start abusing he and Trae on defense if he was smart... We shall see...

Edited January 9, 2022 by terrell

[terrell]

13 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

At least Jent is smart to bench TLC

Doesnt take a brain surgeon.. You play your best players... smdh

[Dnice]

Louis is inactive again so ya'll can't blame him today. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Kevin is starting. The band is back together!! 

Loading up heavy on the Hawks today.

 

Trae:  40+ in total points / assists / rebs

Collins:  20+ in total points / rebounds

Bogi:  2+ three pointers made

Huerter:  14+ points

Hawks cover -3.5

[TheNorthCydeRises]

[terrell]

Whos the backup 5 today?

[JayBirdHawk]

Hope he's ready.

Jent says the Hawks will take a committee approach to make up for not having Capela. Mentioned Jalen Johnson could see some time at the 5.

[aali34]

Don't know why but I'm back again to be disappointed. 

This is such an abusive relationship.