Official Game Thread: Hawks at Bulls

[lethalweapon3]

 “Introducing our new team enforcer! Oh, and Shannon, you’ll be the inbounder, too!”

 

There will be no rest for the wary.

That was the case for our Atlanta Hawks over the weekend. On the second night of a back-to-back home set, they found themselves getting walked down in the second half by a hobbled, shorthanded, substandard, but ultimately rested opponent from Charlotte, the Hornets granted a pair of off-days before buzzing into State Farm Arena.

The Hawks tried to be too careful, second-guessing themselves and each other as the time to inbound a game-salvaging play ticked away. The curtain drew to close as Atlanta’s borderline All-Star guard and his comedy-duo coach were caught feverishly hashing out Who Was Supposed to be On First.

No rest for the wary. That will be the case again, soon, when the Hawks visit a red-hot Oklahoma City team, on Wednesday. The Thunder last played on Sunday night at Denver, ending the Nuggets’ nine-game win streak.

And “No rest” will be the case tonight, versus a Bulls team in Chicago (8 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, NBC Sports Chicago, NBATV) that suddenly has the look of a group that enjoyed their extended stay at a Holiday Inn Express, in Dominique Wilkins’ old European stomping grounds.

Three, count ‘em, three off days allowed Billy Donovan’s troops to recuperate from jet lag ahead of this home-sort-of-road back-to-back that continues tomorrow in Indiana.

In the meantime, much like the Hornets, Chicago (21-24) has been having a ball, even without a Ball available to play. That Lonzo’s status has been more touch than go for over a calendar year isn’t dampening the spirits on the team, which had three, count ‘em, three off-days after they trounced a reasonably intact Warriors team, at home (their first win over GSW since 2017, led by a career-best 43 points from Nikola Vucevic). This, before crossing the Atlantic to make Plaster of Paris out of the Pistons.

In that time, they’ve been able to kick back on their charter flight, pop some Orville Redenbacher, and scout out the Hawks, certainly with some amusement and familiarity as Atlanta squandered yet another last-dash chance at victory in its home gym.

It is difficult to point a finger at the referees for screwjobbing the Hawks in crunch time on Saturday. Not after Atlanta’s lead scorers, defenders, and head coach all did their parts in twisting the driver clockwise.

Gordon Hayward hopping fresh off the gurney to beat various and sundry defenders down the floor in a third-quarter fastbreak, as the Hornets were closing a 19-point gap to low single digits, was just the latest Hawks Harbinger of bad defense to come. Jalen Johnson was only available to be screwed over, for his probably-would-be-game-saving block of Scary Terry’s jumper, because the typically Jalen-averse Nate McMillan mismanaged hack-happy John Collins’ minutes in the fourth quarter again, rendering the latter unavailable for much of Charlotte’s claw-back.

The team’s best passer, as McMillan shared, is the one best suited to inbound the ball when the game’s outcome is up for grabs. Unfortunately, the Basketball Club must have traded away last season’s best passer, Kevin Huerter, to keep ownership from grumbling about luxury taxes. Alas, 6-foot-1 Trae Young, you’ll have to stand in the gap, as we all count to five together. Please be sure, Trae, to give Nate our kindest regards along the way to the showers.

Regrettably, the derpitude on display by Atlanta rings a bit too familiar with the way the Hawks let Ayo Dosunmu and the Bulls dip from the Are We High? Factory with a W last month. Bogi Bogdanovic’s basket put the Hawks up eight with five minutes to play. Yet the Hawks repeatedly failing to contest either of Zach LaVine’s or DeMar DeRozan’s predictable mid-range jumpers, led to another madcap final minute. Overtime once again looked assured for Atlanta, but Collins couldn’t snare the missed corner three attempt, paving the way for Dosunmu’s payback putback at the buzzer.

Since then, it has been Easy Street for the men of the Near West Side. Moods were previously dour when Chicago slipped to 11-18, even more as the team realized Lonzo wasn’t coming through that door anytime soon without a leg cast. But Ayo’s miracle shot helped make the conclusion to their December road trip a winning one, kickstarting a modest 10-6 stretch.

Donovan’s Bulls haven’t won more than three in a row all season, a feat they’d like to cross off this season’s bucket list with victories today and tomorrow. But on the brighter side, they have yet to lose more than four in a row.

Currently ranked tenth in the NBA East, Chicago might eventually conjure up a Play-In berth, they might not. But tanking isn’t much of an option, anyway, not with the Top-4-protected pick likely headed to Orlando as part of 2021’s Vucevic deal. They’ve just found themselves sailing on even keel, playing hard, gracious for every opportunity they get to pop the balloons of rival teams whose heads get overinflated by occasional short-term success.

Speaking of which, Atlanta (24-23) still has a spiffy little four-game road winning streak going. It’d be a shame if something happened to it, no?

Just don’t tell Young or Dejounte Murray (minus-22 in the second-half vs. CHA), who were more than happy to let anyone know that their five-game-anywhere streak, after the resounding (second half) against New York the eve before, was a sign that everything had been sorted out by our Half-Baked Hawks.

Everybody blows leads these days, a testament to the excellence of coaching staffs capable of pushing players to perform and adjust at high paces. New Orleans was up 16 points last night. Golden State was up 17 points early, and 13 late. Portland enjoyed a 45-13 second quarter, wiping out a 14 point first-quarter deficit, and was up 25 at halftime. All wound up on the losing end at the final horns.

Phoenix was up 29 and found itself hanging on for dear life by the end. New York erased a 15-point deficit by the fourth quarter before gracefully petering out. All of that was last night’s action, alone.

Still, Saturday’s 19-point meltdown showed Atlanta still has plenty of internal listening, trust-building and personal introspection ahead of it, before anyone can count on a club that should be capable of countering and fending off charges from teams the caliber of the LaMelo-less Hornets, particularly in front of a decidedly friendly home crowd.

No matter how the team responds in the opening half, can the Hawks get through this game, when momentum is on their side, without getting caught smelling themselves and thinking things are sweet? Dejountrae might think they’re producing honey, but there’s another scent that just draws flies, and these Bulls know it better than anyone.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

We'll need that Biggie Bag of Bogi, as the reactivated Bogdanovic swaps places with Onyeka Okongwu (questionable, tight hammy) on today's pregame Boo-Boo Report. Fortune Favors the bold but not Derrick, as his 10-day deal expired without a reported renewal.

The Bulls' Goran Dragic was added as questionable with the please-call-it-anything-but-COVID illness, while Javonte Green remains out (knee surgery) along with Lonzo.

~lw3

[macdaddy]

28 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Dejountrae might think they’re producing honey, but there’s another scent that just draws flies, and these Bulls know it better than anyone.

[Spud2nique]

Thanks lw3.

Go Hawks!

[lethalweapon3]

Hawks Game Notes points out that John Collins' next basket will move him firmly into 25th all-time in the franchise scoring list, recycling his way past the Plastic Man.

~lw3

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Tonight is a "maturity test" for me.

This is a game under most circumstances, we should lose.  So let's see how mature this team has become.  Can they win another tough road game in January?

[Guest]

I was going to go to this game (Shakes - we could have met up!!), but I have hip surgery on Monday and can't get around.  Nothing serious.  
I would have screamed at McMillian all night. 

[kg01]

Time ta go streeeeeakkkinnng ..... losing streak, that is. 

 "Dayum kg, did you activate troll-mode tonite?"

We'll see, Bawb..... we'll see.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[SalvorMallow]

Looks like Dre is out too. He has asthma???

[kg01]

2 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Oh please, "Lauren".  We all know this just means he's finna get traded.  Maybe we can get Grayson Allen for him.  Get a real 2-way guy to build around.  Enough of this experiment with the small guard.

And how many Lauren's do we got around here anyways? 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

As for Shannon Sharpe, what he did was just ridiculous.  Imagine 2Chainz sitting courtside and doing this to the opposing team.  Or better yet, just the average fan?

I didn't see Undisputed today, but did they even talk about this?  And if they did, did Shannon apologize?  Because if the average fan does this, he/she gets kicked out of the arena with the quickness.  And Tee Morant was more of a peacemaker than he's being made out to be.  He tried to calm Shannon down, and Shannon immediately went off on him.

 

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

2 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Oh please, "Lauren".  We all know this just means he's finna get traded.  Maybe we can get Grayson Allen for him.  Get a real 2-way guy to build around.  Enough of this experiment with the small guard.

And how many Lauren's do we got around here anyways? 

 

Leave Lauren alooooneeee!!

[Sothron]

This is going to look ugly with Bogi having to defend Derozan or Lavine. Good grief. 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

14 minutes ago, Sothron said:

This is going to look ugly with Bogi having to defend Derozan or Lavine. Good grief. 

I think JHol will get minutes. 

[benhillboy]

14 minutes ago, Sothron said:

This is going to look ugly with Bogi having to defend Derozan or Lavine. Good grief. 

Yeah.  Wish I would’ve known Dre was gonna be out before I placed a -105 bet on the Hawks.  Hopefully AJ can fill it up along with Trae and DJ.  This game has overtime at 117 all written all over it lol.

[kg01]

8 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I think JHol will get minutes. 

Good.  Need more guys out there willing to do the dirty work.  Increase his workload, sit TraeJountae til they get with the program.  Iso-Hol? 

[Jody23]

I'm not liking the offense so far.  They're right back to the one or no pass possessions.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

22 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I think JHol will get minutes. 

 

My Vegas over/under on J Holi getting minutes . . . -130 ( which means slightly more than likely )