Official Game Thread: Hawks at Hornets

[lethalweapon3]

“SHHH! Nobody knows I’m really Caleb. Second crack, Trae, let’s go!”

 

Go on ahead and have a Ball, Atlanta Hawks! Just one, though.

There will be no LaMelo-Lonzo back-to-back, as the injured Chicago Bulls guard will miss tomorrow’s follow-up of (ERRATA CITY! see bleachkit's and JayBird's notes below) today’s Hawks game versus the Charlotte Hornets (7 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast; 92.9 FM in ATL). Another break for Atlanta involves the Schedule Gods laying out the next two games like they got some sense.

Ten days ago, the Hawks traveled down to Miami for a Friday night rematch with the heat, an inexplicable 8 PM tip for two clubs in the Eastern time zone. Already waiting for their return to The A were the Knicks, who hadn’t played since the prior Wednesday, but got to chill out in town ahead of the Hawks’ back-to-back. Two tip-offs in the space of 23 hours, in 2022, was wholly unnecessary, especially when one team had a couple preceding rest days.

This front-end FIRGABABA for Atlanta has a more reasonable start time. For coach Nate McMillan, it allows him to comfortably ramp up minutes for center Clint Capela, while easing Hawk elders Danilo Gallinari (questionable, sore Achilles), Gorgui Dieng (happy belated 32^nd birthday!) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (out, sore knee) back into his unimpeachable rotations.

There won’t be a creature double feature of Ball brothers. But we can still look forward to Trae Young (last 3 games: 31.7 PPG, 10.7 APG, 44.4 3FG%, 92.5 FT%; 5.3 TOs but 1.0 Ws/game) trying to complete the shaking and stirring of a double Martini this weekend. Cody Martin (1.4 SPG) follows in the footsteps of his twin bro, Miami’s Caleb, coming off the bench to try and help LaMelo Ball (team-high 1.6 SPG; last 7 games, 38.2 FG% but 8+ assists in six of them) check Atlanta’s supernova.

Scoring 19 bench points and adding a pair of steals, Cody and the Hornets caught the Hawks on the downslide during their last meeting at State Farm Arena, a 130-127 Charlotte win without Terry Rozier or LaMelo back on December 5. Throughout the season, as both teams leaned into their offenses to save their hides, Atlanta (up to 28^th in D-Rating, thanks to Portland and Houston) could always count on Charlotte holding it down in the cellar of defensive teams. But not anymore!

Charlotte (8.9 team SPG, 4^th in NBA; top-6 players average at least 1.0 SPG) has long been scrappy, their defenders reaching and getting taught by an array of perimeter catch-and-shooters (NBA-highs 14.2 3FGs/game allowed and 26.3 opponent APG thru first 33 games). They’ve improved modestly in that area, but the true sea change is on the interior.

James Borrego did this neat trick called Adjustments. His team realized Miles Plumlee desperately needed help, the Hornets getting gashed along the boards (30.2 opponent O-Reb% thru first 33, tie-2^nd-worst in NBA). Parking Miles Bridges closer to the defensive basket (3 double-digit D-Reb games over past ten; one in his first 34 games) has been transformational.

Bridges eclipsed his career-best scores against the Hawks with 38 points, plus 12 rebounds (11 defensive) last week to help the Hornets, absent LaMelo, dust off the Knicks at MSG. His season-high of 12 D-Rebs aided Charlotte in easily plundering the visiting Thunder on Friday night. His interior presence has taken pressure off of not just Plumlee, but LaMelo, to scrap with for boards in order to ignite the Hornets’ transition offense.

Over their past 13 games, Charlotte opponents’ 26.9 O-Reb% has been among the league’s ten lowest. So has the opponent free throw attempt rate, Borrego’s Hornets getting stingier with their fouls. The net effect has Charlotte (26-20; 16-0 when allowing under 110 points) going from 117.3 points-per-48 allowed in December (better than only Houston) to a respectable 107.4 this month. Atlanta (117.8 January opponent points per-48) has taken Charlotte’s place in front of the Rockets in terms of not firing on all cylinders.

The Hawks suffer through lapses during games, whereas the Hornets’ lapses occur for whole games during what would be winning streaks. Ending a Western road swing right before the Christmas break, Charlotte kicked off a 3-game winning streak by allowing a valley-low 107 points in the Mile High City. Just as the Hornets seemed to gain some defensive consistency, they allowed 133 points in a blowout home loss to Phoenix to kickstart the January schedule, and 124 in Washington the next night.

Redoubling their efforts, Charlotte secured a two-game home sweep of the Bucks, holding Milwaukee to 106 and 99 points in the space of three days, then traveled to Philly and held the Sixers to 98. Thinking the were the bees’ knees, Borrego’s Bugs returned home only to allow the Wagner Boyz to come up from Orlando, the Magic tuning the Hornets up for 116 points in a seven-point loss.

Nine days later, Charlotte’s back at it again with yet another streak, threatening to crack the NBA East’s Top-6. 87 points allowed in MSG, 102 in Boston, 98 back here at Spectrum Center versus OKC, all Ws. Could Atlanta be the next team to slow the Hornets’ mini-roll?

While the reassembling Hawks will have their hands full with Bridges (35 points @ ATL on Nov. 20, 32 @ ATL on Dec. 5), who has likely surpassed John Collins (countering with 31 points and 12 rebounds on Dec. 5) in the race for Eastern All-Star frontcourt vacancies, the lion’s share of reserve frontcourt minutes in the last two Hawks-Hornets meetings went to Gallinari. This time around, Atlanta ought to have better balance upfront.

Despite some slips in Atlanta’s 110-108 thriller win over Miami on Friday, Onyeka Okongwu has been a defensive revelation since his long-anticipated return from injury. De’Andre Hunter, also absent from those two games, has been a solid help rebounder, snagging 10 D-Rebs in the win over the heat.

Finding the proper blend of paint-scoring threats, including Young’s floaters, will keep the Hornet guards cheating away from the perimeter the whole game. The guard Borrego really hopes he will not have to plan for is Kevin Huerter (questionable, bruised hip; 63.8 career TS% vs. CHA, highest vs. any Eastern club).

Averaging 22.5 PPG in two games head-to-head this season, Red Velvet followed up a 4-for-7 3FG performance against the Hornets, during Atlanta’s November hot streak, with a 7-for-11 splash-fest in the Hawks’ December loss. His five timely triples were just enough on Friday to stifle the heat.

As with Trae and the other Hawks roving the backcourt, Atlanta needs Huerter to step up and find ways to create stops, whether it involves deflecting and picking off passes, winning 50/50 balls in the vicinity, or securing long rebounds off of Charlotte’s three-point barrage. The increasingly active Delon Wright (last ten games: 32 assists and 5 TOs, 1.2 SPG, 42.9 3FG%) will be relied upon more in this game to make looks tougher on Rozier and Ball if Huerter is a no-go.

Gelling as five-man units on the defensive end isn’t going to happen overnight, and Atlanta may once again need to be solid offensively to come out on top of what could be a high-paced shootout in Charlotte. I’ve got my hopes up that, soon, Trae’s Hawks will follow the lead of LaMelo’s Hornets, who discovered that lackadaisical defensive effort is not a feature but just, well, a bug.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[bleachkit]

Wait, after today's game we dont play again until Wednesday against the Sacramento right?

[lethalweapon3]

Keeping the fraternal theme of the past few days going, Jalen "Don't Call Me Jaden" McDaniels (out, sprained ankle) is the only non-G-Leaguer Hornet on the Boo-Boo Report heading into tonight's game.

 

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

Another team that loves to shoot the 3. 

Rebound and defend the 3.

[lethalweapon3]

2 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Wait, after today's game we dont play again until Wednesday against the Sacramento right?

Yep, you're right and my bad! I've got the old schedule up and I believe Bulls-Hawks got moved, I assume in the juggling of the schedule due to You Know What.

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

3 minutes ago, bleachkit said:

Wait, after today's game we dont play again until Wednesday against the Sacramento right?

Yes. 5 straight homes games after today. Kings. Celtics, Lakers, Raptors and Suns.

[lethalweapon3]

Here's that new date for Bulls-Hawks. I sure could use an extra off-day to start the workweek!

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

 

[hawkman]

2 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Yes. 5 straight homes games after today. Kings. Celtics, Lakers, Raptors and Suns.

^This is the window right here. This is where the Hawks get back into the Playoff race. Of course, tonight is still a must win game, but that home stand is crucial.

[Spud2nique]

3 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Bridges eclipsed his career-best scores against the Hawks with 38 points, plus 12 rebounds (11 defensive) last week to help the Hornets

This dude is legit. It was weird I loved him at Michigan St. then the league all of a sudden the NBA went all in on guys who can shoot and he wasn’t consistent. Man, this year, no, he’s improved everywhere. Nice work Mika.. I mean “the other Bridges my Bridges .. my ATL Bridges.. 

 

3 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Onyeka Okongwu has been a defensive revelation since his long-anticipated return from injury.

Yes sir, he DEFENDS the goal, simple but few actually do this in the league without some flaws, he has his but I only see midrange shooting for now on O.

Speaking of O, I think he wants to show out today and give us (his Ball brother) a show, at least I hope. Chino teammates reunite today should be fun.

Vegas has Horcats -3, I got them by 14 
 

Awesome thread lw3! 
 

GO HAWKS!!!!

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, hawkman said:

^This is the window right here. This is where the Hawks get back into the Playoff race. Of course, tonight is still a must win game, but that home stand is crucial.

The way we are playing we are capable of going 4-1 if we execute. We are a solid road team too I don’t think the opposing crowd gets to Trae!  #nymayorstuff

[Sothron]

Hornets fans are mad that I'm not rooting for them. I'm like, listen, you know what this was. I got my main girl and you are the side hustle. Don't mean I don't have feels but it ain't like that. 

[terrell]

5 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Yes. 5 straight homes games after today. Kings. Celtics, Lakers, Raptors and Suns.

Knicks won today.. We need a win too....

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

Hornets fans are mad that I'm not rooting for them. I'm like, listen, you know what this was. I got my main girl and you are the side hustle. Don't mean I don't have feels but it ain't like that. 

Soth.. who are you? Seriously did we have a white elephant account exchange I wasn’t aware of or..

[marco102]

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

We have about 45 minutes before game time.

I know ya'll see the Rams, right?   They're trying to top the Falcons ( despite the game being not as big )

[TheNorthCydeRises]

And the Rams pull it off!!    WOW.

Cooper Kupp the all time receiver GOAT!

[Diesel]

Thank God for the Lovable Losing Rams!!

No Tom Brady!!!

[Diesel]

It's possible that we can get trashed today.   We got to Keep Ball in check.   Trae has to realize that Charlotte has some ball hawks and he has to take care of the ball.   Hunter and Kev will be tested on defense.