Official Game Dread: Magic at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

Jury’s still out, Ann Arbor!

 

Tidbittery ahead of what, for most teams not named the Atlanta Hawks, would be a certifiable Schedule Win, with the Orlando Magic in town (7 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, BS Florida) after the latter’s FIRGABABA in Detroit last night.

 

HAIL! TO THE ALSO-RANS – Dunno if the Doity Boids will stay perched at #8 in hopes college-champion QB J.J. McCarthy falls into their lap. But if it pans out this coming April, Kobe Bufkin will have plenty of free time to parade his fellow alum around The A. Paint the Town! Just not red, and certainly not Buckeye scarlet.

The G-League Playoffs will have wrapped up by then, and Bufkin won’t know what to do with his hands. Up until now, his presence has been more important to Atlanta (24-32, 1-3 over past 4 home games), in helping College Park slow its recent skid down the G-League standings, than backing up Trae Young (questionable for today, injured left finger, season-low 8 meaningful points in Friday’s 123-121 loss vs. TOR) as the Hawks star crawls out from the sure-as-rain Atlanta-guy-finally-makes-an-All-Star-Team post-weekend funk.

At least Bufkin gets top billing during his stints in CPK. Down in Kissimmee, the Magic’s 2023 eleventh-pick Jett Howard must vie for minutes, attention, and the rock, with not one but two stars from All-Star Weekend. Leading the Osceola Magic in MPG is the two-time Slam Dunk “Contest” winner Mac McClung. Then there’s the MVP of the G-League’s “Up Next” Game, third-year pro Trevelin Queen, outpointing his Osceola teammate and fellow Orlando two-way contractor Kevon Harris.

The supersized former UM wing gets plugged in starting lineups as the default power forward, frequently subbed out for former Jazzman Miye Oni. Whatever Osceola is up to, it has been working on the scoreboards. After beating the G-League Ignite on Friday, the Oscy Magic have won four straight and have surged past the Skyhawks and others into second-place in the G-League East. But most of the action includes Howard (10.1 3FGAs/game, 4^th in NBAGL) chipping in above the three-point-line break, while the other star apprentices engage in a higher variety of plays.

It will take a major development, and some major development, to see either Bufkin or Howard replacing the Magic’s 2022 top-pick Paolo Banchero in next season’s NBA Rising Stars exhibition. In Jett’s case, he’ll have to crack coach Jamahl Mosely’s rotation that relies increasingly on Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, and Howard’s fellow lotto-rookie Anthony Black to handle backcourt duties.

When Howard gets bored during his call-ups, he has several options to talk Maize and Blue business to help pass the time. Franz Wagner has coasted of late, but his Wolverine big-bro Moe led the Magic off the bench with 22 points and 7 boards to help Orlando prevail in its first game after the break, at Cleveland versus the red-hot but Mitchell-less Cavs. When Mosely needs a boost on a back-to-back, he can always dust off Caleb Houstan (career-best 25 points and 7 boards on Jan. 7 in a win vs. ATL). If Howard plays his cards right, perhaps next year he can assume some of the playing time Mosely reserves for Sparty veteran Gary Harris.

Bufkin (ATL’s pick at #15 of the 2023 Draft; 5 NBA games, 1 with more than 5 minutes played) won’t get thrown to the Wolves anytime soon, but he may get some Magic sprinkles today if Young is a no-go and Quin Snyder continues to keep Patty Mills’ powder dry. Anything more than the 15 minutes Kobe played in the Hawks’ last win over SEAGABAB’ing Houston, could be B1G.

 

SEGA WHAT? BABA WHO? – Atlanta gets a second chance to make more fan depression this weekend. Toronto, fresh off a home game the night before, was the more lively team out of the blocks on Friday night in Atlanta, a 15-2 start that proved useful in polishing off the Hawks in the closing minutes. Now Banchero and the Magic (32-25, half-game above MIA in NBA Southeast) swings through The Big Deductible after having avoided disaster in Detroit.

Amid a sluggish fourth-quarter for both the Magic and the Pistons, Paolo missed a pair freebies with 17 seconds to go, opening the door for 2021’s first-overall pick, Cade Cunningham, to knot things up with a game-tying lineup. Just when things were shaping up for a delayed red-eye to Hartsfield, Banchero ended the scare with a last-second baseline and-1 jumpshot (for insurance, he made that free throw… more on that in a second), icing the game at 109-107.

That game-saving bucket and free throw got Paolo up to just 15 points, but that led the team. Seven other Magicians spread the love with a range of 11 to 14 points. The low scoring affair ultimately didn’t matter as the Magic, led by Wendell Carter’s double-double, ravaged Beef-less and Moose-less Detroit on the boards at both ends.

Mosely’s club (5^th in D-Rating; 29^th in 3FGAs/game) doesn’t much like getting into long-distance shootouts. They’d much rather funnel opposing ballhandlers inside, anticipate the kickouts and arc-swings, and then either strip the drivers (3^rd in SPG, 2^nd in opponent TO%) or foul them while trying (4^th-most personals per game). Terrible free throw shooters themselves (4^th-lowest team FT%), the handsy Magic trust that there are teams out there that won’t make them pay at the charity stripe. Opponents just like… like…

 

FREEBIES AIN’T FREE – The Hawks made more than twice as many free throws as the Raptors on Friday night. Sweet! The Hawks were granted thrice as many attempts as Toronto, though. Sour!

Avoiding foul trouble, especially for the bigs the ejected Quin Snyder had available to play, was a feat that should have helped Atlanta pull off the W at home. Especially as De’Andre Hunter and Dejounte Murray (29 combined second-half points, mostly on 2FGs) helped keep the Raptors from getting away with yet another spirited run.

Plenty of attention is rightfully directed to the Hawks’ 12-for-39 showing from beyond the perimeter, the fourth straight game Atlanta shot below 35 percent as a team on threes. But it’s likely the Hawks (6^th in team FT%) still would have been playing the clutch minutes from in front, not behind, were it not for the six flubbed freebies in the opening half. Five of those misses were in the first quarter, where Toronto needed just a single free throw to pad their 33-22 lead.

Atlanta is somehow 10-4 when Jalen Johnson finishes a game with a clean sheet (0 FT misses), 13-7 when he misses just one while shooting 75 percent and above. Carter, Banchero, Jonny Isaac, Goga Bitadze and the Wagner Boyz won’t settle for watching Murray and/or Young floating contested jumpers, and especially lobs directed toward Johnson, over their heads. They will hack, conserve their energies for later in the game, and just see for themselves whether any Hawks can score two points the slow-fashioned way.

 

I’M HOLDING OUT FOR A CONQUERING HERO – I miss the days we could turn to a rookie like AJ Griffin to save our bacon before the buzzer. Maybe we can get our Michigan Man a big shot in the clutch when things predictably get dire for the Hawks late this evening. How about drawing up a Hail! Mary play for Ko-B, Coach Quin?

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

The only One-Way player out so far for Orlando is Gary Harris (calf strain injury mgmt). Onyeka (can you tell me how to not get Sesamoiditis?) of course is Out while Trae (finger) is Questionable as of the 12:30 PM Boo-Boo Report.

~lw3

[mountainjim]

Trae out per ajc, Rowland, etc.

[HawksNWaffles]

[theheroatl]

25 minutes ago, HawksNWaffles said:

LOL time for tank mode

[bleachkit]

For Christ's sake, play the young guys. Play Bufkin, play AJ. 

[lethalweapon3]

FWIW, the Magic are granting Paolo the R.J. Barrett treatment today, too (Out, illness).

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

Thanks lw3!

No Trae  

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

How many minutes does Kobe get tonight?

I'll be really pissed at Quin if Garrison and Patty log more minutes than Kobe.

 

 

[Diesel]

Well, the Trae Haters will not show up tonight.

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[hawkman]

Kobe sighting.

[Wretch]

I'm out to dinner with the wife and the game is on. I only logged in to tag @TheNorthCydeRises re: that Bruno dunk

[terrell]

KObe Defense!

[terrell]

Issac down

[hawkman]

I feel bad for Isaac. That sucks.

[JayBirdHawk]

4 minutes ago, Wretch said:

I'm out to dinner with the wife and the game is on. I only logged in to tag @TheNorthCydeRises re: that Bruno dunk

I'm out too, so boxscore watching.

@TheNorthCydeRises

[hawkman]

Kobe is the best man defender on the Hawks.

[terrell]

Gotta get JJ going..

GMatthews sucks