The star of the 97-91 Hawks win over the Portland Trailblazers was Jamal Crawford, who proved more than capable of borderline criminal distribution with his (7) assists off the bench to go with his game high (27) points.
That Crawford was able to score the basketball wasn't a surprise, after all--it's been more than well documented that Crawford has scored 50+ points (For three different teams! Have you heard?!), it was that he has already been able to intergrate himself into the RFM role on the team and take it a step further.
As you recall, Jamal was brought in to be Bibby insurance and a replacement for the production that RFM provided last season---a fair bet since Crawford's PER has been, on average, about the production level that Murray yielded last season. But Crawford flashed glimpses that he might be able to go above and beyond that level of play. THHB holds off gushing about him--but we do note that Jamal has not played on a team as together/successful as this Hawks team is.
Crawford has given the Hawks the same can-create-your-own-shot off the bench as RFM did, but also showed he can run the offense somewhat more efficiently than the miscast Murray would from the point. There were at least two occasions that Crawford could have taken buckets for himself and instead offered those free points to a teammate. We feel that's worth noting since RFM never seemed to pass up a shot on the break, even if other options were flying in from the wing.
Thank you, Jamal--I left you an apple on your desk!
Al Horford had an uneven night on the offensive end, shooting 5-12, but with two of those baskets coming on those Jamal Crawford Christmas Packages at the hoop on the break.
We have to point out again that Horford is not progressing offensively against bigger players. Last night against the Blazers and Oden/Przybilla, Horford went back to shooting exaggerated fadeaways and quick hooks/layups, all of which missed. When he is aggressive and patient, he is efficient, but he lacks resolve against the titans he has been matched up against. Still, he didn't allow that to disrupt his hustle as he finished with (13) rebounds to go with his (11) points.
Somewhere, Tyrone Corbin is Smiling
There is no official stat that tracks it, but we're going to go ahead and say that Josh Smith is on pace to smash the all time record for shooting the ball with his foot on the line (known in THHB as a Ty Corbin three). Smith launched a couple more long shots last night and still looks like he could fall off the "don't fall in love with the jump shot" wagon at any moment on the floor.
Still, with the energy of the Hawks swallowing up the Blazers in the latter stages of the win, it was Smith who was the linchpin, especially his shot deterring activity inside. Smith could have derailed himself inside of his frustration with (2) quick fouls in the first quarter, but after Woodson put him back in the game (in the second quarter no less---whohoo!!), Smith went to work inside on both ends, and help rally the team back with his energy.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
Zaza Pachulia went for a clean basket and dunked without trying to pick up a foul first.
Zaza Pachulia blocked (2) shots in a game. It was the 30th time he has done such thwarting in his (7) seasons.As a comparison, Horford has done this feat (53) times in his (3) seasons and Josh Smith (248) times in his (6) seasons with the Hawks.
Joe Johnson's Homemade Killer Sauce
Joe Johnson ho-hummed his way into the fourth quarter where he casually pounded a couple of long range nails into the Portland coffin.
Thanks, Joe!
Showing posts with label Blazers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blazers. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Margin of Error
The road win.
It's one of the more cherished pieces of the NBA season---a statistical mirror into a team's growth and their standing in the league.
You can see the curve: A bad team can hardly hold their own home court, much less get away from that comfort zone to pluck victory from another team's home. A better team will begin to hold it's own and then measure themselves as to their own advancement by seeing how many times they can invade enemy territory and come away with the "W". Growing teams start by hitting the road and beating lesser teams and go from there. A win against an established upper level team on their own home court is a badge of progression; a trophy of their own development as a team and franchise.
To acquire one of these treasures, teams have to play more mistake free than ever, and must be mentally sound to avoid even the slightest of lapses in team concentration, lest their efforts previously in the game be rendered moot.
As the Atlanta Hawks hit such a road journey last Sunday, they faced the toughest of foes, the defending champs, and put their progression as a team to the test. All it took was a span of 4 1/2 minutes in the 3rd quarter of that game to undo the other 40+ minutes of basketball. In that time, the Hawks had (9) possessions and turned it over (5) times, yielding (7) layups or dunks on the other end.
In the chase for that road win, especially against quality competition, the type the Hawks struggled against last season, such a stretch of basketball will always equate to a loss. A lapse that is so extended and so fruitful for the opposition is to hard to overcome.
Tuesday night, in Portland, such recent history threatened to repeat itself.
The Hawks came out and allowed the Blazers to move freely and get open looks while doing none of that on the offensive end themselves. Such play led to an early Portland double digit lead and us to wonder if the Birds had it in them to tighten things up and get back in front of the game.
For the remainder of the half, the Hawks fought back through the power of the bench, using the energy of Jamal Crawford and Zaza Pachulia to weave in with the starters to begin to build momentum and chip away at the Blazer lead, leaving the Hawks down a single point at the half.
Throughout the second half, the score went back and forth, but it was seldom that the Hawks lost their focus, the type of lapse that had cost them the Laker game two days prior. The Hawks attacked more as the game wore on, using their speed to get out in front of the Blazer frontcourt (Greg Oden, Joel, Przybilla) and get a couple of easy baskets along the way. The defensive rebounding effort was sound and helped lead to those running opportunities as Al Horford overcame an uneven offensive night by leading the Hawks effort on the glass (11 defensive rebounds, 13 total).
Ardent Bird Watchers as we are, THHB wasn't sure whether the Hawks could pull off the win until deep into the fourth quarter. But, with every Crawford play (6 points, 4 assists in the final Q), Horford finish (6 fourth Q points) and with Joe Johnson applying the killer sauce to the closing recipe (2 critical answer shots in the last two minutes), we were made to believe---as were the Blazers.
The tasty result? The sweet pastry known as the road win--coveted, appreciated, and in the case of the Hawks 97-91 win in Portland---well deserved.
(Check back here for player breakdowns and more THHB commentary later including our take on the Crawford's impact on the game and what it might mean moving forward.)
It's one of the more cherished pieces of the NBA season---a statistical mirror into a team's growth and their standing in the league.
You can see the curve: A bad team can hardly hold their own home court, much less get away from that comfort zone to pluck victory from another team's home. A better team will begin to hold it's own and then measure themselves as to their own advancement by seeing how many times they can invade enemy territory and come away with the "W". Growing teams start by hitting the road and beating lesser teams and go from there. A win against an established upper level team on their own home court is a badge of progression; a trophy of their own development as a team and franchise.
To acquire one of these treasures, teams have to play more mistake free than ever, and must be mentally sound to avoid even the slightest of lapses in team concentration, lest their efforts previously in the game be rendered moot.
As the Atlanta Hawks hit such a road journey last Sunday, they faced the toughest of foes, the defending champs, and put their progression as a team to the test. All it took was a span of 4 1/2 minutes in the 3rd quarter of that game to undo the other 40+ minutes of basketball. In that time, the Hawks had (9) possessions and turned it over (5) times, yielding (7) layups or dunks on the other end.
In the chase for that road win, especially against quality competition, the type the Hawks struggled against last season, such a stretch of basketball will always equate to a loss. A lapse that is so extended and so fruitful for the opposition is to hard to overcome.
Tuesday night, in Portland, such recent history threatened to repeat itself.
The Hawks came out and allowed the Blazers to move freely and get open looks while doing none of that on the offensive end themselves. Such play led to an early Portland double digit lead and us to wonder if the Birds had it in them to tighten things up and get back in front of the game.
For the remainder of the half, the Hawks fought back through the power of the bench, using the energy of Jamal Crawford and Zaza Pachulia to weave in with the starters to begin to build momentum and chip away at the Blazer lead, leaving the Hawks down a single point at the half.
Throughout the second half, the score went back and forth, but it was seldom that the Hawks lost their focus, the type of lapse that had cost them the Laker game two days prior. The Hawks attacked more as the game wore on, using their speed to get out in front of the Blazer frontcourt (Greg Oden, Joel, Przybilla) and get a couple of easy baskets along the way. The defensive rebounding effort was sound and helped lead to those running opportunities as Al Horford overcame an uneven offensive night by leading the Hawks effort on the glass (11 defensive rebounds, 13 total).
Ardent Bird Watchers as we are, THHB wasn't sure whether the Hawks could pull off the win until deep into the fourth quarter. But, with every Crawford play (6 points, 4 assists in the final Q), Horford finish (6 fourth Q points) and with Joe Johnson applying the killer sauce to the closing recipe (2 critical answer shots in the last two minutes), we were made to believe---as were the Blazers.
The tasty result? The sweet pastry known as the road win--coveted, appreciated, and in the case of the Hawks 97-91 win in Portland---well deserved.
(Check back here for player breakdowns and more THHB commentary later including our take on the Crawford's impact on the game and what it might mean moving forward.)
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