Official Game Thread: Suns at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

“…she’ll be rising. She’ll find the note I left hanging on her door…”

 

Okay, fine then. We’ve got a Must Win on our hands!

A well-stocked Atlanta Hawks team has returned to their nest, at long last. They’re tasked tonight with making up for a few lackluster performances at State Farm Arena by taking command against Torrey Craig and the Phoenix Suns (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, BS Arizona).

Rest assured, the Suns aren’t going to look this way for terribly long. Devin Booker (groin injury management) is likely to sit this one out, given Phoenix has to hoof it up to Indiana for a game tomorrow. They still don’t have Landry Shamet or Cam Payne in the backcourt to support Chris Paul, and while former Techie and Hawk Josh Okogie is available, he’s returning from a broken schnoz.

For now, as of this typing, the Hawks might have more 2023 All-Star Game participants gracing the court today than the Suns will (get well soon, Jaylen).

For the past two nights, I tucked myself in only to snore my way right through The Big Story. LeBron has like eight points after one quarter, needs 28 more to sneak past Kareem, so I’m good. Cam Reddish is out of the gulag and off to Blazerland, while D’Angelo the Snitch is back in Lakerland, so that’s enough hot-stove news for the evening. Zzzz.

Now that I’m all bright and bushy-tailed this morning, at the time of this writing, chalk me up among those happy that Trae Young didn’t get banana boated in Tokyo during the Olympics in 202One. It will be tough to keep him from palling around on the River Seine in 2024. But hopefully by then, the player who finished 12^th this year in player voting among Eastern Conference guards will be, like the once lightly-regarded Booker, be the one pulling Olympians to join him at his current NBA locale.

Also, count me in among those thrilled that the West is getting Wild Wild again. I don’t believe you, Ja Morant, you need more people! With the formal dissolution of Brooklyn’s on-paper tigers, the great Kevin Durant will be playing for the Suns! Just, not tonight. Nope, you neither, T.J. Warren. Cool your heels, Darius Bazley.

Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson probably called it a night after sipping chamomile and watching the Kyriefest in LA last night, only to be shaken out of their slumber in Midtown Atlanta with a note from new Suns owner Mat Ishbia that they’d best get to steppin’. Don’t laugh, Dario Saric, you’re next.

Coach Monty Williams still has a 10-man roster to work with tonight. But on the first night of Phoenix’s road back-to-back, Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul will need to lean heavy on The Lee Boyz (Damion and two-way Saben), Craig, Svi Mykhailiuk, Jock Landale, Ishmail Wainright and Bismack Biyombo.

Yes, Atlanta sandblasted some of these Suns (30-26, 11-17 in away games but 3-0 so far in their road trip) in Phoenix just eight days ago, by a 132-100 score. Still, for any Hawks fan that awoke to this morning’s news thinking their team is in for another cakewalk at the expense of the Suns tonight, I applaud you on your return from your coma.

Coach Nate McMillan’s Hawks have lost games, specifically on this floor, to opponents amazingly less talented and more short-handed than this one. Atrocious shooting (52.9 home eFG%, 26^th in NBA; 112.3 home O-Rating, 25^th in NBA) and lean rebounding (49.4 home rebound%, tied-7^th-lowest in NBA) have conspired to produce maddening, lottery-level losses to lottery-level teams like the Hornets (twice), the Bulls and the Thunder.

Atlanta (27-28) has dropped five of their last seven home games. As they return from their up-and-down road trip, the Hawks have to recognize they have relative depth they can exploit at the power forward position, at times at both forward spots, if their veteran players decide to get with the program.

As of this writing, John Collins is still rocking the peach-and-black. Goodness knows, our ATL Amateur Hour executive team of Landry Fields, Kyle Korver and Sonny Ressler gave it their best shot, but you can’t blame Ishbia for not settling for bronze when he could go for the gold.

Now that JC knows his ever-surging contract is quite the Penney when juxtaposed with his ever-declining production (zero 20-point scores, and one 10-rebound outing, in his last 17 games), he can spend the balance of this season making himself worth Atlanta’s while, eyes directed toward the rim and not constantly over his shoulder.

Chalk up Tuesday night’s 116-107 loss in New Orleans to a bad hair day for De’Andre Hunter (bagel-for-9 from the field, four rebounds and a solitary assist). Four of the Top-5 picks from 2019’s Draft are clearing 20 PPG averages, though, and this is no time for Hunter (career-best 15.7 PPG) to be reverting toward 0 PPG.

McMillan and the Hawks are blessed to have Jalen Johnson and Rising Star AJ Griffin waiting in their wings, while Onyeka Okongwu and his expanding offensive palate may make him well-suited for a long-term future at the 4-spot, and Garrison Mathews and a resurgent Saddiq Bey ought to resolve some of the depth issues along the wing.

Yet I shall reiterate, from the season-opener thread, that the immediate fortunes of the Basketball Club are more aligned with the trajectories of De’JohnDre than Dejountrae. That is, as of this writing.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

If we cannot win this game tonight with no Booker, Durant, Bridges and Johnson..................

 

Starters:
Ayton
Craig
Ish?
D Lee
Paul

Bench:
Okogie
Jock
Bizzy
S Lee

[theheroatl]

Well it would’ve been easy for Ayton to just stay in Atlanta today but alas…

[lethalweapon3]

I might have been off by a player or two, but PHX is definitely dressing nine guys, with no Gorilla mascots included.

~lw3

[sturt]

4 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

If we cannot win this game tonight with no Booker, Durant, Bridges and Johnson..................

 

Starters:
Ayton
Craig
Ish?
D Lee
Paul

Bench:
Okogie
Jock
Bizzy
S Lee

And yet, does the record not show similar reason to believe we should have no trouble last time we played Charlotte?

Suns might be a little motivated, too, to play hard after the debacle of a few games ago.

No counting chickens here, fersure.

[lethalweapon3]

ERRATA CITY: I knew the math wasn't mathin', but that was because Svi for Three was never on the Suns (he was with the Knicks yesterday, and is on his way to Charlotte, via Portland, to torment us at a later date). It will take me another couple weeks to untangle all my copy-paste errors after today. Meanwhile, 9 Suns it is!

 

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Hopefully JC can just focus in basketball 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

It would be cool if we can get a big lead and Trae helps us to feature the hell out of JC tonight!

[MaceCase]

Johnny is activated, Clint with the double oop to Trae

[NBASupes]

They awoken the JC.

[JTB]

We’d see more dunks like that from Collins if capela wasn’t always around the goal

We’d see more dunks like that from Collins if capela wasn’t always around the goal

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Welp.  I guess JC isn't moping around.

[Spud2nique]

Thanks lw3! Hawks by 10!

Welcome Bey the 2 way! 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Spud2nique

[MaceCase]

Ayton definitely got Clint back for that scoop layup.

[Diesel]

This has to be a release some stress Game for us....

 

[Diesel]

Bogi hung around to hit those threes!!

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Selfish Bogi.  Swing the ball to a wide open AJ.

[JayBirdHawk]