Official Game Thread: Nets at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

“Don’t let that Clowney kid clown you, Trent. Cheer up! Hey, maybe they'll let more teams like ours get in next year!”

“We ain’t texting about the IST, Bogi.”

 

Yay! More scheduling fun.

Hawks fans were treated to quite the scoring duel back on Thanksgiving Eve. The Brooklyn Nets’ Mikal Bridges put up a career-high 45 points, only to watch Trae Young go nearly bucket-for-bucket with his run-of-the-mill 43 points. Despite the usual end-of-regulation shenanigans, the home team prevailed in overtime, 147-145.

The night before that contest, the Nets were in a posh Atlanta hotel, on their second rest day, as the Hawks were down the street in the middle of a 157-152 (no OT needed) barnburner with the Pacers.

After losing to the Hawks, Brooklyn would get two more off-days, returning to NYC ahead of a five-game homestand where only some slippage against the Hornets kept the Nets from going 5-0. Atlanta, meanwhile, would hit the road for five games, an excursion from Georgia to D.C. to Massachusetts to Ohio to Texas to Wisconsin. They’d come away with Ws over a pair of sad-sack teams before finally returning to State Farm Arena.

Tonight, in Atlanta (7:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, YES Network in The BK), is the first away game for the Nets (10-9, 3-4 on road) since they played the Hawks here two Wednesdays ago, following their extended stay earlier that week that included practice in our Brookhaven facility. Coach Jacque Vaughn’s crew hasn’t played NBA games anywhere other than The Highlight (For Everybody) Factory, or Barclays Center, since November 16.

The Nets last played a second consecutive road game on November 3, in Chicago. They won’t face that scenario again until tipping off the second game of their first Western Conference road trip, on December 13. I ain’t mad, tho!

The Hawks (9-9) are fully capable of beating themselves without any help from the good people of Secaucus, New Jersey, some of whom shoehorned a pair of games this week for each of the league’s IST also-rans. It is almost as if the folks high up in the skyscraping Olympic Tower along New York’s Fifth Avenue make overseeing Atlanta’s opponent schedule their personal Manhattan project.

You already know about the East-leading Celtics in late March, where they’ll arrive in Atlanta on a Saturday night, play the Hawks on Monday night, then have enough time to re-trace the entire Keith Lee restaurant tour before playing the Hawks again on Thursday night. They’ll then get another day off before playing New Orleans on a Saturday. In between those Boston skirmishes, Atlanta gets to host Portland on the first night of a back-to-back.

Just leaning on Law of Averages and What Goes Around logic, there has got to be some schedule advantages baked into the Hawks’ itineraries somewhere. Still, look at this sweet deal the league currently has set up for Boston. The bad news for the Celtics, thanks to The Tyrese Haliburton Experience, is they won’t be headed to Vegas anytime soon. The good news for them? After losing this week in Indianapolis, they don’t have to go anywhere else aside from Beantown, either.

As the C’s play-by-play announcer Sean Grande noted, from November 26 when they beat the Hawks at home through December 17, that team has played and will play a total of nine games, eight of them at the Gahden, and the IST loss in Indy being the exception. If there’s anyone in the NBA who could use even more of a scheduling crutch than the Nets, it’s… the Celtics.

So, yeah, I am sorry. I’ve got myself into such a bitter lather that I can hardly get into Xs and Os about tonight’s affair. While he struggled in that November 22 game, it was the last full game where Hawks fans could witness the play of a Most Improved Player candidate in Jalen Johnson. They’ll get to see one tonight, on the other team, that was unavailable for the last Nets-Hawks tête-à-tête.

Returning from an ankle sprain, Brooklyn guard Cam Thomas came in off the bench, in an otherwise disappointing 129-128 home loss versus LaMelo-less Charlotte, and contributed 26 points off the bench. Vaughn inserted Thomas back into the starting lineup in place of Dorian Finney-Smith (DNP vs. ORL, sore knee, available @ ATL). With his 20 points tacked onto Bridges’ 42, and four Nets starters going 13-for-28 on threes, Brooklyn closed their homestand on Saturday by finally cooling the Magic’s jets.

Thomas being a living, breathing bucket is hardly a revelation. But Vaughn takes pains to let people know, despite the elevated scoring commensurate with starter’s minutes, that Thomas (season-high 5 assists, 7 rebounds vs. ORL) is rounding out his game in ways attributing to their club’s meager success.

“He can play-make. He’s more than a scorer,” Vaughn told the New York Post after the resounding 129-101 victory where the Nets held Orlando to just 22 first-quarter points (outscored in that frame by Mikal’s 26) and 16 fourth-quarter points. “He’s really taken a step on the defensive end of the floor, which makes me extremely happy as a coach that he wants to defend. He’s gotten better at defending.”

Those accolades echo over at coach Quin Snyder’s locker room, where playmaking ace Trae Young earns nightly Es for Effort on defense. But unlike Bridges, DFS and the rim-plugging Nic Claxton supporting Thomas with a dogged approach to rebounding (9^th in team D-Reb%; ATL ranks 24^th) and guarding the perimeter (36.0 opponent 3FG%, 10^th-lowest in NBA, ATL ranks 7^th-highest) even without the availability of Ben Simmons, the so-called supporting cast around Trae (last nine games: 29.7 PPG, 11.1 APG, 39.8 3FG%, ATL 3-6) have been defensive-minded only in a nominal, on-paper sense.

The pandemic took away any ability to tease Nets fans with a photo of Saddiq Bey, at Barclays Center, in a 2020 Draft Night baseball cap. It wouldn’t be quite as fun as showing Sixers fans 2018-era Bridges, as The One That Got Away. But Bey (+4.0 Net Rating on the season, 3^rd on ATL) could bear greater utility to Atlanta beyond just today’s game versus the team that draft-and-traded him.

Having returned to Atlanta’s starting lineup until at least Johnson returns, Saddiq has demonstrated himself, through most metrics and eye tests, to be a better passer, shooter, and rebounder than De’Andre Hunter (-0.8 Net Rating, ahead only of Clint Capela’s -1.2 among ATL regulars), granted similar nightly floor time but significantly less usage. Once Jalen returns, it may be time to consider deploying Hunter as the on-ball defender who enters games in tandem with sixth-man Bogi Bogdanovic, helping Bogi hold back opposing offenses more often than he currently does Young.

Were the exploits from the last Brooklyn contest (25 points, 2 blocks, 7-for-7 FTs and a career-high 11 rebounds vs. BRK last month) closer to the norm for Dre (last 2 games: 12.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 6-for-18 FGs, 2 combined assists and 5 TOs), Atlanta would likely have more victorious results and better winning margins. It is worth the Hawks’ staff considering, instead of Hunter being the reason opponents aren’t exceeding 150 points on the daily, that perhaps he is one of the reasons Atlanta isn’t doing that, too.

A similar argument can be made for Capela, with whom Snyder has finally begun experimenting in twin-tower frontcourt matchups. The depth behind Onyeka Okongwu, however, isn’t there, unless a plan to ramp up playing time for Bruno Fernando after his brief Skyhawks stint is in the works. As with Bey, what needs to ramp up is Okongwu’s usage (13.1 usage%, lowest among regulars, just ahead of Bey’s 14.5%) within the Hawks’ high-paced schemes.

“Whatever it takes for me to be on the court longer, I’ll do it,” Onyeka shared with the AJC’s Lauren Williams. Okongwu could not only be on the court, but could pay dividends for the team if Capela eventually transitions to become Bogi’s (and Ko-B’s) main rim-stopper and rim-runner.

I’ll stop there for now. No idea why I’m so grumpy. It’s not as if I’M someone who constantly has to keep my travel bags packed for weeks on end. Looking at you, Secaucus.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Another key returnee for Brooklyn is backup guard Dennis Smith, who had 10 points, 6 assists and 11 boards in the win over Orlando. Depth remains a bit of an issue. Beyond Gameboy Simmons (the nerve of that guy's back), second-string wing Lonnie Walker has been out with a strained hammy. Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead are joined with all the two-way players on Long Island G-League Duty.

Nothing new on the Hawks' side of the Boo-Boo Report.

The last three home games versus Brooklyn have been decided by three points or fewer. Correction: by two points or fewer.

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

19 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

IST

Not to be mistaken with ISE.

 

20 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Gahden

With Tammy (Tommy)

 

21 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

tête-à-tête.

 I pronounced that waaaayyyy wrong  

 

25 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Once Jalen returns, it may be time to consider deploying Hunter as the on-ball defender who enters games in tandem with sixth-man Bogi Bogdanovic, helping Bogi hold back opposing offenses more often than he currently does Young.

Please yes  

25 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

similar argument can be made for Capela

See above  

25 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

twin-tower

I was doing that in 2K with certain matchups. OO can handle it. He’s up to the task, a position change ain’t gonna faze him believe that.

 

26 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Whatever it takes for me to be on the court longer, I’ll do it,”

Yup, that’s why he’s my guy, he will do ANYTHING FOR THE TEAM.

 

27 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

I’ll stop there for now.

Nooooo! I love it baby keep it comin!!!

 

27 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

No idea why I’m so grumpy.

Water a walk, perhaps a nap get well soon . You da man Lethal! Thanks You did all this through grumpiness? I wouldn’t have last more than a sentence or two before… well you know .

 

Go Hawks!!!! 

 

Vegas has Hawks -3.5
 

2k has Hawks by 19 and Trae go nutty and DJ & Bogi mess around and both nearly triple double.

 

[JeffS17]

Can we get rebounds today?

[HawksNWaffles]

 

[Spud2nique]

37 minutes ago, HawksNWaffles said:

 

Rats !!!! Ok @HawksNWaffles I’m a stud but scared  of rats wtf we can’t compete with these animals!!!!

Edited December 6, 2023 by Spud2nique

[JayBirdHawk]

After this game, we will have finished a quarter of the season. 20 games. What a roller coaster - it SUCKS.

I can't even say we are back at home so we shoukd be good. We have not made The Farm be a real home court advantage with a losing record of 4-5. Smh.

Too many slow starts. We have struggled starting games at home giving up wide open 3s and 2nd chance points. Can we have a better effort in quarter one. Then play a full 48 minutes on both sides of the ball?

[theheroatl]

My boycott is in effect until we get at least one defensive stopper… I may take a peek here and there tonight though..

Edited December 7, 2023 by theheroatl

[Spud2nique]

We have players, more than the Nets. We need to execute and get a win here. How the heck do the Nets have a better record than us? This is bad.

Another day another opportunity -Trae

 

Let’s get it! Tip off is now!!!!!  

 

 

[hawkman]

Pesky defense by Trae early. I feel like while he's improved on defense the team as a whole got worse for some reason.

[AHF]

Cam and Mikal show for the Nets.

[benhillboy]

Final play of the half was nice.  Great bounce pass out the weak double team by Trae and nice flash to the paint by Dre to make himself available for the floater.

[terrell]

 Most guys played ok or better in the 1st half ,but OO still looks meh as hell.. smh

 

He picked it up a little in his final stretch after the timeout, but good grief he's been disappointing this season...

Edited December 7, 2023 by terrell

[hawkman]

I was expecting Cam Thomas to go off against the Hawks. 

[JayBirdHawk]

Has Capela ever just grabbed the Oreb add pass out to reset the offense?

[MaceCase]

I saw that, scoring table.

[hawkman]

Triple double alert for Murray.

[benhillboy]

Claxton leading the break when that happen?!  
 

I think I’ve seen Clint do that once in his career.

Edited December 7, 2023 by benhillboy

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Once again, this team completely collapses when Trae leaves the game.

[JayBirdHawk]

What is Murray doing????