Official Game Thread: Hawks at Pacers

[lethalweapon3]

“Why must EVERYTHING be a CONTEST???”

 

Whoo-hoo! Friday Night Fireworks, yeah!

The Indiana Pacers are startling easy to figure out. Whenever they fail to break 120 points, they lose (0-7). When they’re unable to hold opponents that are not known as the Atlanta Hawks below 130 points, to say nothing of 150, they lose (1-7).

When they scored 50 third-quarter points but had no answers for the Hornets’ Mark Williams in the final minutes of a 125-124 home loss, dropping their record to 3-3 back on November 4, that was the sole defeat that didn’t fit into the anemic-for-them offense, nor the bar-the-door-Katie defense categories. Those account for 13 of the 14 losses Indy has absorbed on what everyone otherwise agrees has been a banner season, for them and their fearless leader, Tyrese Haliburton.

In so doing, Trae Young’s Atlanta Hawks (14-19), visiting Gainbridge Fieldhouse today (7 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast for now, 92.9 FM in ATL, BS Indiana), have become the Bizarro to Haliburton and the 19-14 Pacers’ newfound Clark Kent persona. More to the point for DC fans, the Zoom, to Indiana’s Flash, due to both squads’ comic insistence on scoring and ceding buckets at breakneck speeds (ATL 5^th in NBA Pace, IND 2^nd).

The Hawks ring up 141 points on a hot but weary OKC Thunder defense, manage to somehow win by 3, and the prevailing mood is that of a dried-out, cold Varsity chili dog with mustard. The Pacers scored 142, too. But they beat up on Giannis’ despised Bucks, winning for a second-straight game and the fourth time in their past five matchups against Milwaukee, and it has been as spicy around Naptown at St. Elmo’s cocktail sauce.

Trae goes 13-for-17 from the field, and 7-for-8 from the free throw line, for 37 points and 8 assists, as his Hawks drop 152 regulation points back on November 21. But he and his mates allowed five more, including Buddy Hield’s triple that got the Pacers up to 155 with under a minute to spare. The shouty headlines became, “Pacers clinch spot in the IST!” “Tyrese Haliburton drains nine 3-pointers in 37-point haul!”

But for the Hawks (120.0 D-Rating, 26^th in NBA; IND’s 120.3 ranks 28^th) not guarding just incrementally better versus the Pacers, who knows whether Indiana’s dream season would’ve veered off-course? It nearly did in the wannabe-prestigious NBA Cup Finals, when Anthony Davis throttled the Pacers to a paltry-these-days 109 points, and Indy began to worry they’ve been hurtling too close to the sun.

Going from Vegas to Detroit, Indiana struggled for several quarters to put away the Pistons in their next game. Then they gave up 140 in a loss to Gameball Giannis, ushering in a 1-6 swoon that featured losses to the Wizards and the Grizzlies in Ja Morant’s home debut.

But five straight wins, piling up the points on Thibs’ trade-shortened Knicks and the Bucks, and all is right with Pacer World once again. Reverse the records and swap the teams on each side of the 157-152 hyphen back in November, and maybe it’s Trae (118.9 D-Rating) drawing the accolades unilaterally directed to the NBA East’s leading All-Star backcourt vote recipient, the do-no-wrong Haliburton (119.4 D-Rating).

(Props to the fan voters, btw, as I have seriously underestimated you. Lillard, though? Not even Maxey or Brunson? We still have work to do out here.)

“Obi Toppin needs less minutes! Obi Toppin needs less minutes!” was the refrain in coach Rick Carlisle’s head during the post-IST losing skid. Replacing Toppin (122.3 D-Rating, worst among non-Wizard and non-Hornet starters), in the starting lineup with literally anybody else, in this case Jalen Smith (5-0 in the starting frontcourt beside Myles Turner) since rookie Jarace Walker remains mothballed, was enough of an incremental maneuver to turn frowns upside down.

To this point, Haliburton and the Pacers, unlike the Hawks, have been able to divert critiques of their equally poor defense. The trick, for them, has been to rely on cap-eater Bruce Brown (questionable, in-and-out lately with a bruised knee bone), Aaron Nesmith (questionable, sprained back) and T.J. McConnell to shoo would-be shooters off the three-point lines (NBA-low 28.0 opponent 3FGAs/game).

Then, funnel everyone inside (NBA-high 63.0 opponent 2FGAs/game) and let Turner, Isaiah Jackson and the Pacers’ jumping jacks try to contend around the rim without fouling, the last part easier said than done (22.5 personals and 27.5 opponent FTAs/game, 31.7 contested twos per-48, all 29^th in NBA, ahead of only the Pistons).

Indiana knows, with Haliburton, that they can score inside the arc more efficiently than anyone else (NBA-best 59.5 2FG%), and that threes are especially better than twos when you ensure your guys, like Hield, jack up more of them (9.8 more 3FGAs/game; 4^th in 3FGA%). So who cares about keeping scores low? Get your defensive matadors up on the three-point threats, coax opponents into putting the ball on the deck and drive inside, and Olé!

Only two teams have an opponent differential greater than Atlanta’s +2.5 field goal percentage points on defended shots. Yet nobody talks about Indiana’s league-worst +2.8, because winning, and nobody has the stomach to speak of the Wizards (+2.7) at all. The only teams worse in the NBA East than the Hawks when it comes to their sub-70 D-Reb%? The Pacers (68.4%), and the Zards (65.9%). Again, no one cares if you’re above .500 and the Play-In line.

I’m no Igor Kokoskov, or whomever Quin Snyder entrusts to make sense of Atlanta’s atrocities at the defensive end, exemplified by the Thunder’s 79 second-half points on Wednesday. I do think I have a Jacksonian approach that might pay dividends, in the same incremental manner Lloyd Pierce’s make-them-feel-you schemes keep Carlisle’s crew afloat. In a nutshell: Hands Up! Man Up!

Thanks to Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic, Atlanta ranks third in the league for deflections per-48, tied for 5^th in steals per-48. Thanks to Garrison Mathews and the reformed Young and Clint Capela, they’re fourth in charges drawn. Yet they’re bottom-basement in defense even when stratifying for pace, no matter whether it’s the Pacers or the Pistons or some paupers suiting up against them. I don’t argue that it’s fake hustle, so much as it seems Hawk defenders are too busy reaching and being taught.

Emphases should be placed on staying in front of your man and not losing sight when threatening to double team; hedging on switches; KYP’ing and keeping hands up on shooters’ shooting-hand sides; properly boxing out and preparing to rebound when opponent shots go up; and not getting caught dawdling, at either end of the floor, while preoccupied with whether shots are about to swish the net.

Less steals, charges, and selling out while diving for offensive loose balls; more well-contested threes, lane cloggers, and defensive boards. As with the Pacers, it’s all easier said than done, but it’s much harder when you’re not consciously and collectively trying to do it.

In a mirror-image world, Dejounte’s improved three-point shot (22.5 PPG, 42.9 3FG% in last 8 games), Capela’s downright automatic free throw shooting (last 16 games: 80.4 FT%, 59.6 FG%, 13.6 PPG, 11.9 RPG), and Bogi’s and Jalen Johnson’s respective 6MOY and MIP candidacies would all be newsworthy, on a national scale, had the Hawks and Pacers pulled a Freaky Friday. Unless and until things change, in the standings and on the scoreboards, we have no choice but to just kick back and enjoy these two teams obliterating the Over (presently at a historic 262, for tonight, and counting) for those who wager responsibly.

All gas! No brakes! Say, where’s Dan Quinn when you need him?

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

The Fieldhouse has become a bit of a Terrordome for the home crowd when the Hawks come to town, as Atlanta has won three of their past four games here, and six of eight overall, as per Hawks' GameNotes.

Our Dyn-O-Mite JJ, coming off another career-high in scoring on Wednesday, is cited in the GameNotes as the only NBA'er, aside from Warrior-killer Nikola Jokic, to average at least 15-and-10 on .600/.300/.800 shooting splits since the Christmas Day games.

Bogi is seven short of 1,000 career three-pointers made. While that would be welcome tonight, we'd rather Clint Capela spread out, over several games, the six O-Rebs he'd need to get to 1,000 for his career.

No big changes on the Hawks' side of the Boo-Boo Report, except newest Skyhawk Vit Krejci now has a subluxated shoulder, whatever that means. Bruce Brown and Andrew Nembhard remain Questionable ahead of tonight's game, stretching the Pacers' defensive capacities even if those two play through their strains and sprains. Acquired in mid-December, vet forward James Johnson's contract is due to be renewed, or dropped, by Sunday, so he may figure in today's action.

Carlisle surpassed Frank Vogel as the Pacers' winningest all-time coach last month, but he'll need a few more winning runs, like the present one he's on, to get above the .500 mark with Indy (260-265).

 

~lw3

[hawkman]

Early Mitten sighting. 

[JayBirdHawk]

Take out Capela.

[Bonzaii58]

Jalen has so much potential its crazy 

[benhillboy]

Trae is turning into a little f&@kin ballhawk.  Love it.

He’s not even gambling a lot either just anticipating and reading.

Edited January 6 by benhillboy

[Bonzaii58]

Trae moving around off ball. Love that 

[JayBirdHawk]

That turn around fadeaway freethrow shot by Jalen is something he's worked on last offseason. Posted videos showed him working on it @Spud2niquesaid he could shoot like that playing against a chair 

[Bonzaii58]

I’m going to be so sad if / when we trade Murray. I totally understand the why if we’re doing a soft rebuild. But I really like him as a player. Now Capela on the other hand……..

[JayBirdHawk]

3 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Take out Capela.

I repeat- TAKE OUT CAPELA

Another missed CC bunny......aaaaaahhhhj!!

[JayBirdHawk]

We're gonna have to play BIG tonight. 

[JayBirdHawk]

CC leading in shot attempts, he doesn't understand the art of passing out after an OReb.

I'm so sick of teams capitalizing when we can't secure a defensive rebound.

[hawkman]

Already in a hole. Just that quick.

[Bonzaii58]

Whew this is looking ugly very early

[JayBirdHawk]

We can't buy a bucket even when free. Sigh

We are  

[Bonzaii58]

We look very unsettled… Bogi can’t hit anything either. Feels like he’s trying to do too much 

[hawkman]

Defense is way too porous to have an offensive drought against Indy. 

[JayBirdHawk]

Hopefully this is our bad quarter for the game.

[SalvorMallow]

Trae having an awful start.

[JayBirdHawk]

Trae has been missing too many freethrows.