Official Game Thread: Hawks at Spurs

[lethalweapon3]

When you fall asleep on top of your ballpoint pen.

 

 

I’ve got nothing! All I’m saying is, these Atlanta Hawks had better have something against these San Antonio Spurs today (4 PM Eastern, what kind of tipoff time is that? What is this, the XFL? Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, KENS 5 in SATX).

I mean, it’s the season-long-awaited return of Dejounte Murray to Alamo City? Need I say more? Fine, if you insist.

There are two times in the year when an intrinsically bad team, one like the Spurs (18-52), is most dangerous. There is the “We don’t know any better!” phase that starts while everybody’s sitting at 0-0. The other is the stage when “Bottom-3 equivalent 14 percent lottery odds” are all but locked down. (Go away, Hornets. Shoo.)

With Murray gone via trade this past summer, the club was getting ready to bravely hand the ballhandling keys to young Josh Primo at the season’s start. They promptly got molly-whopped by intra-organizational controversy, yet still decided to proceed full-bore without Primo anyway. Tre Jones (6.2 APG, 1.7 TOs/game), you’re up!

The Spurs’ 5-2 opening run was guided by Keldon Johnson and yet another ATL kid who skipped town to play in the ACC, Devin Vassell. Then Vassell got injured, pretenses were abandoned, and the tanking began in earnest.

In between that 5-2 start and the heady 4-5 stretch (with two straight OT losses, vs. DAL and MEM) they’re in now, while rifling through Alize and Stanley Johnson, and yo-yo’ing Gorgui Dieng before settling on him, someone in Brain Wright’s front office thought, “Hey, what are Jakob Poeltl and Josh Richardson still doing here?”

In come some picks from New Orleans and Toronto, plus a rental of center Khem Birch (injured since December w/ TOR, probably needs to get shut down) and a rest-of-season greenlight for guard Devonte’ Graham (out with a sore quad injury, probably needs to, well, yeah).

Atlanta (35-35) was fortunate to host San An during the visitors’ useful, intermediate 9-45 stretch. Even then, as Hawks are wont to do, they played patty-cake with the Spurs for most of the first half (thank goodness for De’Andre Hunter in that half) back on February 11.

Mercifully for all parties involved, Murray (14 second-half points on 6-for-8 from the field), in the third quarter, decided playtime with his old mates was over. His shot making and his Hawks’ constricting team defense widened the 61-60 halftime lead to an eventual 125-106 rout.

Those 106 points are the fewest Atlanta has permitted in any of its past 14 games, inclusive of the Hawks’ edge-of-your-seat 127-119 win over Golden State (How many rings, again, Klay? Coach Pop would like to know) on Friday. The 58-game string of triple-digit scoring allowed ought to be snapped soon, and there will be no better opportunities than today at San An (111.3 home O-Rating, 28^th in NBA), and on the front end of this upcoming midweek back-to-back, versus NBA cellar dweller Detroit (108.3 road O-Rating, 29^th in NBA; NBA-worst 99.5 O-Rating post-All-Star).

As it stands, and albeit for vastly different reasons, only the Warriors are fielding as small a depth chart as the Spurs. Charles Bassey was upgraded to the full roster just in time before a season-ending patella injury. Hip to the game, coach Gregg Popovich’s club added Doug McDermott (contused hip, questionable for today) to the injury list, right before artfully blowing a 29-point third-quarter lead at AT&T Center on Friday, in a ti-tank-tic OT “loss” to the Grizzlies.

Dieng (0-for-3 FGs) was the third quarter tank commander, leaving the game at a nifty minus-16 in just under seven minutes to help turn the tide. As Memphis waged their comeback, capped by Dillon the Wannabe Villain Brooks’ open three with two seconds left to knot things up after being down nine with a minute to play, the Spurs lacked the defensive and rebounding punch, especially without rookie Jeremy Sochan (out, sore knee) to hang any longer.

The Human Sno-Cone injured his knee fouling Jaren Jackson, Jr. midway through the first quarter and could not return. Neither could Keita Bates-Diop (doubtful, sore Achilles), who never returned after halftime.

In an overtime game, the Spurs’ season-low 34 paint points undergirded their demise, and the early sweet shooting from starting big Zach Collins (questionable, contused bicep), Vassell, KBD and Johnson betrayed them in the second half (8-for-28 3FGs after the 1^st half).

The tape of the second halves of the Spurs’ recent games versus Atlanta and Memphis ought to be instructive, as to the Hawks’ defensive approach to keep the Spurs from making extensive runs throughout the game. So should be video from the fourth quarter of Atlanta’s team defensive effort, led by John the Baptist Collins and Trae Young, to stiff-arm the Warriors.

Sandro Mamusaymamusamamukelashvili is the likely sub at the starting five-spot if Zach the Jesuit Collins is a no-go. In any scenario, Atlanta’s interior offensive attack (NBA-low 33.0% 3FGA rate), steered by Murray and Aaron Holiday if Trae (53.3/45.0/90.0 splits over last six games; questionable, contused knee) gets some worthy rest, and assertive defensive rebounding from Johnny Bap, Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu ought to be enough to overwhelm the Spurs’ depleted frontline and spark plentiful transition scores.

“Victory” in valiant defeat for the Spurs today also helps Atlanta ensure division-rival Orlando has to settle for slightly-reduced Wemby odds, with Charlotte’s window closing fast, too. C’mon, Rockets, give up the ship.

What more can I say? Two words. Must Win!

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

"I put on for my former city!"

~d3j0unt3

[Spud2nique]

17 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

molly-whopped

Wait a sec.. @kg01 just used molly whoo… whoaaaa.. this whole time? 

 

19 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Mamusaymamusamamukelashvili

 

Thanks lw3! 
 

Vegas has Hawks -9.5

2k Hawk -2

GO HAWKS!!!

[JTB]

I hope JC has another outstanding game today. It would be great to see Collins finish strong in all these games after a rough down year for his status.

[lethalweapon3]

Trae's bruised knee has him joining Jalen Johnson (tight hammy) with Questionable designations on the Boo-Boo list as of the 12:30 PM Eastern update.

No changes on the Spurs' laundry list of maladies. Zach Collins and Doug McBuckets remain Questionable, KBD Doubtful, Sochan Out. No one will have to ask wherefore art Romeo Langford (activated and available, strained thigh), so there's that.

~lw3

[kg01]

34 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Wait a sec.. @kg01 just used molly whoo… whoaaaa.. this whole time? 

A clear case of indentity theft, if the DA decides to pursue charges.  Jussayin'.

Actually ..... ya know lw3 is a GT guy too, right? 

Is this a weird, long-term episode of Catfish?! 

On topic though, I'm terrified about this game.  Non-standard start time is enough to get my grits a-burnin' (huh?). 

[Gray Mule]

22 minutes ago, kg01 said:

 

On topic though, I'm terrified about this game.  Non-standard start time is enough to get my grits a-burnin' (huh?). 

Hawks usually don't do well with starting times changing.  I don't either.  Tonight I watch the 1st half, cut it off and go to church.  Return and watch the replay of the 2nd half.  (Don't let the grits burn!)

Hawks, ruled by the 2X2 in their season, are due another win.  Don't let us down now!

[Spud2nique]

53 minutes ago, JTB said:

I hope JC has another outstanding game today. It would be great to see Collins finish strong in all these games after a rough down year for his status.

Will you accept 10/12/2/2/1 on 8/17 FG? 

[Spud2nique]

52 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Romeo

 

[Spud2nique]

38 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Is this a weird, long-term episode of Catfish?! 

 15 seconds of that show if I haven’t dove for the remote to change the channel I’m hooked. 
 

You, lw3 and Khalid El Amin Hassan of NBA radio ?  I woulda kicked it with y’all if I’m there and not hangin with 3D and Kenny Anderstud! 
 

SJSU.. all we had was Rick Berry rip Tariq Abdul Wahad and Brian Clarke my boy! (2019 CCCK CamCulverClarkeKabengele)..

I wanna be an honorary GT guy! Where do I sign up! 
 

GO HAWKS!!!

43 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Non-standard start time

Oh shoot.. forgot.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[sturt]

1 hour ago, Gray Mule said:

(Don't let the grits burn!)

[djjob23]

Refs assigned for Hawks @ Spurs game and their career team records (with % rank vs other teams and % rank vs other 76 refs for same team) when reffing for either team:

Crew Chief: Pat Fraher #26 - SAS 65-27 (1st | 7th), ATL 46-38 (7th | 20th)
Ref: Tom Washington #49 - SAS 76-37 (1st | 13th), ATL 49-45 (10th | 25th)
Umpire: Robert Hussey #85 - SAS 4-2 (8th | 19th), ATL 4-1 (4th | 5th)
 
Based on these refs assigned, I predict a SAS win tonight. 

GO HAWKS!!!

[terrell]

No JJ

Trae is playing

 

[Guest]

Seeing LW3's profile pic brings back fond memories watching "The Mighty Mouse Show" when I was a child back in the 1950s.  

[MaceCase]

Oh Lord, I got Sean Elliot 

[Diesel]

Shit... They got DJ in his feelings...

Got him all emotional...

They know his kryptonite...

[Diesel]

This has nothing to do with the game.

The Spurs are one of the losingness teams in the League but if I didn't know that and I saw their opening video package... I would think they were the defending champs...

 

I don't expect this to be an easy game. 

[Diesel]

So far, our defense is terrible. 

 

[MaceCase]

If only that was Tony Brothers