Official Game Thread: Pacers at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

“Then the Dodgers said, ‘Oh, and then we’ll go after Freddie, too!’”

 

Elimination Szn is here already! It’s not the kind of setup the Atlanta Hawks dreamed up when looking ahead to this promising season. But Nate McMillan getting the chance to send Lloyd Pierce’s Indiana Pacers to bed in our house (7 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, BS Indiana) will have to do.

“Big Deal!”, said the big Kings-Pacers deal, with a dash of snark. As Sam Butler of HoopsHabit alluded to in his post-trade analysis yesterday, Sacramento is a mere 4-9 since Domantas Sabonis was reactivated with the Kings, dropping them to the third-worst record in the Western Conference. Third-worst in the NBA East, the Pacers have gone 4-8, including last night’s game denying Coach Pop’s similarly shorthanded Spurs from padding his new all-time record in San Antonio.

The Kings, as one might imagine, are desperate to earn a playoff seed ASAP. Or they were. Sadly, after a fourth straight defeat last night, it looks like the drought will continue unabated. Indiana (23-46; Play-In elimination Tragic Number: 6, 3 with a loss today) is in no such rush.

Indiana would happily sneak into the playoffs, despite a tough closing schedule, if there was a mad dash left in Pacer coach Rick Carlisle’s reconfigured rotation. But with Myles Turner still out, Malcolm Brogdon momentarily shelved, and the first top-ten draft pick since Paul George went 10^th in 2010 on the way, what’s the big hurry?

Indy team prez Kevin Pritchard saw how division rival Chicago’s tinkering at 2021’s Trade Deadline set up a momentous offseason and a surge in the standings in 2022. Pritch wants that for the Pacers, who don’t have a timetable for the returns of Turner or T.J. McConnell and have over $30 million in salaries (incl. Ricky Rubio and the ghost of T.J. Warren) coming off the books, well in advance of a future extension offer for new franchise guard Tyrese Haliburton (team-high 19 points, 10 assists, 3 steals in yesterday’s 119-108 win @ SAS). While they wait, Carlisle is doing some tinkering of his own, with the playing styles of some of his new arrivals.

The next shot Buddy Hield didn’t like will be the first one. Indeed, Hield came into Pacer games guns blazing, heaving nearly 12 three-point tries per game in his three appearances, all Indiana losses. Carlisle is encouraging him to shot-fake and kick the ball out more, ideally producing a three-man playmaker unit with Haliburton and, when healthy, Brogdon (out since Tuesday due to concussion protocols).

After maxing out with a season-high of six dimes with Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox in Sactown, Hield is averaging 5.7 APG with the Pacers, still getting his Buddy Buckets (team-high 19.3 PPG, double-digit scoring every game w/ IND, with almost no daily trips to the FT line) and shooting threes at a lesser volume (last night’s 3-for-12 display excepted) around his season-long, career-low 36 percent clip.

Well, buckle my shoe and knock at the door, because somebody is going to pick up Stix this summer! The 10^th pick in 2020’s Draft with his third-year option declined, former Suns backup forward Jalen Smith has been given free range to shoot from long range, sinking 42 percent on almost four 3FGAs per game.

When Smith’s doing that and helping current starter Isaiah Jackson, Goga Bitadze (playing through foot pain) and Oshae Brissett protect the rim in Turner’s absence (active team-high 8.0 RPG, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks off-bench yesterday @ SAS), the Pacers find themselves in position to snatch some Ws. Shot-struggling Boston discovered this a couple weeks ago. Cleveland was befuddled in Indy for three quarters until Darius Garland same alive to help the Cavs escape last Tuesday.

Brogdon is again unavailable to play in Atlanta, but Chris Duarte is back in the backcourt after missing time with a jammed toe injury. Duarte lost some rhythm in the ROY race after getting yo-yo’d in and out of Carlisle’s starting lineups. Since leading the way with 25 points in the watered-down, post-trade Pacers’ 133-112 loss here at The Farm on February 8, Duarte has had to play umpteenth-fiddle behind Haliburton, Hield and Brogdon.

While Duarte started last night in Brogdon’s place, Carlisle has been turning to undrafted Keifer Sykes and red-hot two-way guard Duane Washington, Jr. (matching Haliburton’s 19 points off the bench @ SAS; 15.3 PPG w/ 62.9 FG% in last four games) in hopes of even more ball-movement production.

Saturday’s win in San An raised the Pacers’ record to 12-12 versus Western opponents. Injuries aside, what has done in Carlisle’s crew is its 11-33 in-conference record, including a conference-worst 2-13 amid a Central Division that includes (close your ears, Hawks fans) the Pistons.

Only Detroit holds a worst road record than Indy (8-26) among Eastern clubs. The Pacers have had just one road SEGABABA since the “Big Deal!”. Coming off that 21-point win at home over the Celts, Indiana suffered the wrath of Wendell Carter and Mo Bamba one afternoon later, in a 16-point drubbing down in O-Town.

Indy leans on its backcourt to provide enough offensive explosion to knock teams on their heels (118.8 PPG and 38.3 3FG% post-Break, 5^th in NBA). But the team will get sloppy (14.9 team TO% post-Break, 3^rd-worst in NBA; 21 player TOs @ ORL on Feb. 28) and the frontline is both visibly and strategically thin following the departures of Sabonis and, for now, Turner.

Atlanta doesn’t do much of anything comfortably, particularly of late. Friday’s 112-106 eclipsing of the Clips was the sixth consecutive game for the Hawks (32-34) that concluded with a single-digit margin in either direction. After victories #20 through #29 were all by eight points or more, the three wins over the Hawks’ past five games were by no more than six. Another late-game nail-biter would make it the longest such stretch since LP’s Hawks rattled off nine games late in the 2018-19 season.

Niftier perimeter shot-making from Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic, following off-nights on Friday, will be welcomed by the home crowd. But McMillan will need better perimeter closeouts, as displayed in the fourth stanza versus LA, and more multifaceted two-way play from Clint Capela (7-for-9 FGs vs. LAC), John Collins (questionable, finger sprain and foot strain), DeAndre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu and Danilo Gallinari to overwhelm his old team today, and his older team tomorrow. We can only hope they treat the upcoming games as if they're kind of a "Big Deal."

The Pacers arrive to this SEGABABA road game, from the Central Time Zone on a redeye, with yet another sixty fewer minutes of shuteye thanks to Daylight Savings. They’re a team just daring to be tucked in and put to bed, for the season. Are the Hawks primed to spring forward, or will they once again fall back?

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

"Mmmmm what a sugar rush!"

~l3g10n0fd00m

[lethalweapon3]

Pacers are understandably road weary so they're getting a little more time to submit today's Boo-Boo Report. JC remains questionable for the Hawks while Skylar and Jalen remain on Skyhawk duty after yesterday's win in CPK. After seeing that sweet tea I'm off to go find some Mrs. Winner's.

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

T.J. Warren

Was thinking we could use him if he goes back to bubble Warren or even 1/2 that. He gets buckets. We need someone like that on this roster, a bucket getter.

 

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

The next shot Buddy Hield didn’t like will be the first one.

 

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

But McMillan will need better perimeter closeouts,

All year, this matters. Don’t run through the motions, actually close out like you should actually box out for a rebound.

 

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Danilo Gallinari to overwhelm his old team today, and his older team tomorrow.

I think we got the Blazers not Thunder tomorrow. Unless I’m reading this wrong.

 

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Let’s Go Hawks!

Awesome lw3, love it! 
 

Vegas has Hawks -12

2k Hawks 90-70. Balance everywhere! 
 

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, Spud2nique said:

I think we got the Blazers not Thunder tomorrow. Unless I’m reading this wrong.

My bad you meant Nate not Gallo! Oopsie! 
@lethalweapon3 makes about as many errors as Cal Ripken Jr.  

 

[kg01]

I can't believe @Spud2nique got fooled by bubble TJ Warren.  Smh.  I'm pretty sure one of the first ISE posts is about how fake that version of Warren was.

Trust the 7-8 years of ok play or the 7-8 games of all-nba play?

come on, squd.

[Spud2nique]

7 minutes ago, kg01 said:

I can't believe @Spud2nique got fooled by bubble TJ Warren.  Smh.  I'm pretty sure one of the first ISE posts is about how fake that version of Warren was.

Trust the 7-8 years of ok play or the 7-8 games of all-nba play?

come on, squd.

[Dnice]

Oh well, at least it should feel  closer to tip off today. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

One of the things that the Hawks have to resist, is to keep firing 3's, even if that shot isn't falling.   I say that because Indiana can score the ball, even with the people they have out.  As long as we continue to score the basketball, we will be fine tonight.  If we have bad scoring stretches, this game is going to be a lot tighter than we want it to be.

 

3 pt shooting for the Hawks in the last 3 games:

• Huerter:   8 - 15 . . . ( 53% )
• Gallo:  8 - 18 . . . . .  ( 44% )
• Trae:   6 - 20  . . . . .  ( 30% )
• Hunter:  2 - 8 . . . . . ( 25% )
• Collins:  2 - 13 . . . . ( 15% )
• Bogi:  4 - 26 . . . . . . ( 15% )

 

 

[lethalweapon3]

Goga Bitadze's back on the Boo-Boo list with his sore foot, listed as Questionable along with Chris Duarte (sore toe) and our old friend Lance Stephenson (sprained ankle). Malcolm Brogdon (concussion) and all the other usual suspects remain out for Indy.

~lw3

[Dnice]

No John per reports. 

[Diesel]

4 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

Was thinking we could use him if he goes back to bubble Warren or even 1/2 that. He gets buckets. We need someone like that on this roster, a bucket getter.

 

Well, he will be a FA this summer. I don't think he will get more than the midlevel if that.   His contract will be a prove it type contract.  Maybe playing for Nate my be something that will make him sign a vet min here instead of Indy?

[lethalweapon3]

2 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Goga Bitadze's back on the Boo-Boo list with his sore foot, listed as Questionable along with Chris Duarte (sore toe) and our old friend Lance Stephenson (sprained ankle). Malcolm Brogdon (concussion) and all the other usual suspects remain out for Indy.

~lw3

Goga and Duarte and Lance are all downgraded to Out.

~lw3

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Terry Taylor, the pride of Austin Peay, gets the start.

 

Watch him.  He's an x-factor tonight, because he plays tough, and has a nice inside-outside game.

Even Nique is calling this a "trap game".  Hawks cannot mess around tonight.  This team is decent offensively.

[Dnice]

More of these damn lob breakups....

[TheNorthCydeRises]

[thecampster]

Loving the defensive effort early.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

3 minutes ago, Dnice said:

More of these damn lob breakups....

 

They just had to see how high and quick Jackson could jump.  The last 2 lobs have been right on the money.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

[Dnice]

Horrible defense as usual. Pacers bombing away.