Official Game Thread: Spurs at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

“A trade for John Collins? That’s a novel idea, Pop. Nobody’s ever thought of that before.”

 

Must Win Part Dos! Nobody’s trying to hear about how the Atlanta Hawks blew a game, much less at State Farm Arena, to the team they traded a bunch of first-rounders and a pick-swap in order to secure Dejounte Murray’s services last summer. Save for the coaching staff around just-bury-me-courtside-when-I’m-done Gregg Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs on the floor this evening (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, BS Southwest-San An) will be hard for Murray to recognize.

There’s like four rookies, including two-way forward Dominick Barlow, who this time last year was up the road at Atlantic Station playing for Overtime Elite. A few of them have been on injury hiatus, including one rookie whose head looks like a sno-cone, a nod to the beloved Dennis Rodman seasons in San An. Jeremy Sochan, the Sno-Cone Man, is still questionable to return to action due to a sore back.

As far as vets go, there’s The Stanimal, who just got here as a free agent pickup in December. There’s our old friend Gorgui Dieng, who can’t seem to stay away. He was picked back up yesterday after getting waived then dragged along on ten-day deals last month.

There’s Devonte’ Graham, who is still meeting his new fellow Spurs after arriving in Thursday’s Deadline deal with New Orleans for Josh Richardson. To the extent we can call him a veteran, The Olympian, senior Spurs draftee Keldon Johnson will come off of Coach Pop’s patented DNP-Rest designation to help out Malaki Branham (last five games: 18.8 PPG, 41.4 3FG%) and the kiddos today.

Devin Vassell remains out after having an arthroscopic procedure last month. Following a half dozen rough outings shooting the rock, starting point guard Tre Jones will return after missing the past four games to heal up a sore foot. Even with the late arrival and the in-and-outs in the lineup (Doug McDermott, who played last night, and Romeo Langford are also no-goes), there’s enough fresh bodies at Coach Pop’s disposal for his Spurs to be a problem for teams, like the Hawks, who have a tendency of letting problems linger.

Will a post-trade deadline fiasco involving a Gary Dwayne Payton come to haunt the Hawks once more? Saddiq Bey may or may not be an Atlanta Hawk soon. But we know for sure, as all the trade fog clears, Jakob Poeltl’s no longer around to save the Spurs’ bacon. He played last night in his return to the Raps, so no backsies.

Roman Roy’s taller and long-lost twin Zach Collins (29 points and 11 rebounds @ DET yesterday, 35 minutes before fouling out and giving way to Dieng in OT) and Poeltl-trade acquisition Khem Birch have their work cut out in the middle versus Clint Capela, Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Johnson and the Hawks (28-28), who overwhelmed Deandre Ayton’s short-staffed Suns on the glass in Thursday night’s homecoming win (59-37 rebounding edge).

It wasn’t quite a massacre, but on Valentine’s Day of 1989, Nate McMillan was starting for the SuperSonics, among seven players in double figures as Seattle posted a 129-113 win over a visiting Spurs team coached up by Larry Brown while starting three different guys surnamed Anderson (no idea how they even got tickets to the game).

The result wasn’t all that significant other than it was the fourth-straight defeat for San Antonio, in what would be a record 13-game losing streak for the unstable former ABA franchise.

Despite Graham’s best efforts (31 points), particularly in the fourth quarter, the Spurs’ current losing streak extended to 11 last night in a Wembanyama Classic contest in Motown. Satisfyingly so, at least for this Hawks fan, in double OT just after 10 PM Eastern time. Five Spurs exceeded 30 minutes on the court for Coach Pop, including Graham and Johnson off the bench. Still, it wasn’t enough to avoid a 13^th consecutive road loss, Pistons rookie big Jalen Duren making Detroit second-guess whether a certain four-team deal involving James Wiseman is worth the trouble.

Still on the front end of their interminable Rodeo Road Trip, these Spurs (14-42) will meet that odious losing-anywhere franchise mark, in Cleveland on V-Day Eve. That is, so long as Coach McMillan’s Hawks make another concerted effort to dominate their opposing bench along the boards (this includes you, Hawks Lifer John Collins, who chipped in a pair of boards on Thursday). But Atlanta reserves must also provide balanced scoring along the way so it’s not again all on Trae hitting shots from San Jose to save the day and keep a weary opponent at bay (Rest in Power, Burt! 25 points and 7 assists from Young in the second-half vs. PHX).

It is refreshing to see the Hawks get their due with rest advantages entering into games. But even against inferior foes on paper, the onus is the folks representing Georgia’s capital city to capitalize on this good turn in fortune. Besides, Saddiq Bey may not be walking through that door!

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[lethalweapon3]

I'm still waiting to see which club is going to invent "Return from Non-COVID Illness Management". Anyway, Aaron Holiday is upgraded from Questionable to Probable for his NCI.

I never bothered to check before, but there's no known relation between McBuckets and the Air Force Brigadier-General who helped stabilize the Spurs in San Antonio as a co-owner and chairman in the 1990s, while taking a gamble to hire a fellow Air Force guy away from Golden State to oversee the team.

(blog link from 2006) RIP: Robert McDermott - San Antonio Spurs Dynasty

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

2 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

The Stanimal,

Manimal Faried? Wait..  Ken Bannister? Aka the original Manimal? 

 

2 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Gorgui

That Mister D, he’s Gorgeous! 

 

2 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Romeo

Maybe he’s no Romeo but he’s my lovin one man show… O….. O… O O LETS HEAR IT FOR THE BOOOOYYYYY!!!

 

2 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

so no backsies.

I got punch ’d in the face for giving @kg01 a front cut then a back cut in the lunch line. 

 

2 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Roman Roy’s taller and long-lost twin Zach Collins (

This is probably funny if I knew who Roman Roy was… 

 

2 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Anderson

I just remember Willie and later his bro Shannon on the Jazz. Oh, 2nd one I bet was Cadillac, not sure the 3rd. What do I win? 

 

2 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Hawks Lifer John Collins,

He will never get traded lol.

 

2 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

But Atlanta reserves must also provide balanced scoring along the way so it’s not again all on Trae hitting shots from San Jose to save the day and keep a weary opponent at bay (Rest in Power, Burt! 25 points and 7 assists from Young in the second-half vs. PHX).

Trae? San Jose? Bay? Is this about me @lethalweapon3? 
 

Nice work lethal! I got the Hawks by 18 on 2K! Vegas line Hawks -13.5

 

Trae 34/7 0 turnover!

JC 19/19

OO 16/16

DM 17/5/8/2

 

GO HAWKS!!!!

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Why not?

 

Not that I expect them to play, but still....

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Dnice]

No Poeltl to light them up this time.

[kg01]

Ho hum, another game we should win but will keep the opponent in it long enough to have the outcome be in doubt..... 

[JayBirdHawk]

5 minutes ago, Dnice said:

No Poeltl to light them up this time.

We are the Hawks.....we like to.play down to our comp.

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Bruno like the neighborhood cat that’s always around lol.

[Spud2nique]

10 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Ho hum, another game we should win but will keep the opponent in it long enough to have the outcome be in doubt..... 

you didn’t see the 2K outcome? Hawks by 18, book it.

[h4wkfan]

Excited to Sochan play. Was my draft crush this year. 
 

oh and also see us cruise to a victory! The climb to 5 continues. 

[kg01]

Excited to see the 'Olympian' that was picked over Trae. 

[MaceCase]

Dre’ aggressive early but needs to make those freebies

[kg01]

Get em, Jollins. 

[JayBirdHawk]

Bog3

[kg01]

  I just called game yall.  Be afraid.

Eta. 5-0 Spurs run since.... 

Edited February 12, 2023 by kg01

[JayBirdHawk]

A cut by Hunter...more please.

 

[terrell]

Yawn...