Some Al Horford numbers:
31 points. 15 shots.
6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals.
12-15 FG, 7-9 FT, game high +22.
Suffice to say, it was a good night for our favorite former Gator now Hawk big man. Horford was on all night long and scored in a variety of ways. Horford wore out Clipper big men Chris Kaman and Deandre Jordan by running the floor and taking advantage of many of the Clippers' generous 22 turnovers.
But it wasn't just the Hawks' 34 points off turnovers that Horford feasted on, he scored in the half court as well, taking it to the taller Clipper big men. Yes, it helped that the Clippers had just dealt Marcus Camby leaving the hosts one shot blocker down, but Al stayed true to his pre-game objective---stay aggressive. That aggression led to his game high 9 free throw attempts as well as a number of in-close baskets made.
Al has to share the glory on the night with Josh Smith, who enabled many of the early Horford buckets with his unselfish, timely passes around the bucket. J-Smoove got his (20 points) as well, along with 9 rebounds and 4 steals, but it was many of his 7 assists that set the Hawks off.
It was great to see the Hawks take advantage of their front court advantage by getting Smith and Horford a lot of touches, not relegating their fortunes on the night to whether Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford were hot or not. With those points off turnovers, 19 fast break points, and 70 (!) points in the paint, the Hawks took control of the game early on and never let the Clippers fully back into the game despite giving up a 50 percent shooting night to their hosts.
Taking Care of Business
Helping the Hawks was their signature trait of the season, protecting the basketball. The Hawks had a mere 9 turnovers against a whopping 27 assists. A 3 to 1 ratio will win a lot of games unless it's only 3 assists and 1 turnover.
Along with Crawford, who had an inconsequential 12 points himself, was the return of Zaza Pachulia. Zaza had a tidy 8/7/1/2/1 line in his 18 minutes and shook of rust right away by getting the ball and diving into the Clippers on his first possession. He missed both free throws, but he settled in nicely after that, furthering the Hawks "attack" approach even with the second unit in the game.
If you looked at the traditional lines on the Clippers' Bobby Brown, Craig Smith, and Eric Gordon, you might be led to believe they were a big reason they were still in the game. But their awful turnovers (14 between the three of them), especially those from Brown, were major catalysts in their undoing.
The Hawks scored 70 points in the paint, made zero 3-pointers and allowed only 8 Clipper offensive rebounds.
Chris Kaman can score the ball, he proved that again by making a series of jump shots and hook shots, but for the Hawks to score 70 points in the paint and for the biggest guy on the court to have a single blocked shot seems subpar.
The Hawks didn't have to win this game, but it would have felt like such a missed opportunity to take a road game from a weakened team (oh, Baron Davis didn't play, either). For a 4-game road stretch which included winnable games such as this one and the defensively challenged Golden State Warriors, it behooved the Hawks to get things going the right way.
And, for THHB, attacking the opponent's weakness--even if it didn't involve making jump shots, forcing turnovers, scoring in the paint, keeping them off the glass, and taking care of the ball was the right way to start.
Well, that and 31 points on 15 shots for Horford. That was good, too.
Enjoy the highlights:
Showing posts with label clippers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clippers. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
LAC-ATL Game Review: Turnabout Is Interesting Play
Wednesday night in Philips Arena, the Los Angeles Clippers were oh so close to claiming back-to-back wins in Atlanta's basketball home before giving way late in the fourth quarter to lose 103-97 to the Hawks.
Throughout the game, the Clippers controlled the contest, using their size inside with Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman to control the glass and make shots difficult for the one-on-one Hawks.
The Clippers got the early lead on their hosts, though neither team had much going on offensively. The Clippers held the lead for much of the first half, but emerged from the locker room in a funk, allowing the Hawks to turn them over (4) times in the first couple of minutes of the second half, allowing the Birds to finally take the lead in that stretch.
But, as they did throughout the game, every time the Hawks pulled close to the Clippers wagon, the visitors would hit the gas and extend the lead once more with aggressive play and good outside shooting. The Clippers got the lead out to (13) on back-to-back dunks by Rasual Butler with (2) minutes left in the third quarter.
The Hawks then went on a shooting spree, knocking down consecutive threes from Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford and adding in a layup from Josh Smith. Then, with the Hawks down (5) in the closing seconds of the quarter, Crawford completed his 24th four-point play, tying him with Reggie Miller for the all-time NBA record and bringing the Hawks to within a single point of the Clipper lead.
But just as before when the Hawks caught up to the charging Clippers, Los Angeles pulled away yet again, extending the lead back out to (9) with nine minutes to go.
In games past, the Hawks have been called out for resorting to a Joe-centric offensive game plan, especially when times got rough on the offensive end. The Hawks could hardly be criticized for doing so the last couple of games, as Johnson has been among the hottest scorers in the league, yet the team has sought to diversify during the last few games and avoid the now-infamous Iso-Joe sets that opponents have been sitting on when chasing down the Hawks.
In the fourth, while attempting to once again pull even with the Clippers, the Hawks spread the ball around getting the ball into Al Horford for some inside points and Crawford for some mid-range magic. Meanwhile Johnson continued to scope for scoring opportunities himself, getting to the line for a couple of free throws, getting the Hawks back to within a point.
The Clippers had done a wonderful job of contesting many of the Hawks shots, especially inside. holding the Hawks to below (50) percent on shots at the rim to that point. But, incredibly, the Clippers let their defenses down late in this game as Johnson took his man off the dribble and got to the square for (3) close range baskets, the last of which accounted for his 29th and 30th points and gave the Hawks a (4) point lead.
Then, after Horford knocked down a pair of free throws to maintain the advantage that Johnson had previously provided, the Clippers took a page out of the much maligned Hawks playbook.
The Clippers had built their lead for much of the night by attacking the Hawks defense in its undersized middle, moving the ball from side to side, hitting cutters to the basket, and taking advantage of the Hawks switch-a-roo defense by grabbing (14) offensive rebounds, (10) of which were attributed to Marcus Camby (who had 20 boards for the game).
They had scored (52) points in the paint to this point in the game when Baron Davis, who had a modest game going, took on the Hawks defense one-on-five, an Iso-Baron, if you will. Davis took an ill-advised layup and fade-away in consecutive trips, missing both, allowing the Hawks to build the lead out to (7) before Davis came down and hit a three, completing his triumvirate of self-serving possessions down the stretch. Johnson played out the fouling end game, making four free throws, thereby sealing his game high (34) point performance and the Hawks win, a steal of a win as any home game could be.
Thoughts as Random as Eric Gordon's Shot Selection
THHB applauds two unique stat lines in the game: Camby's 6 point, 20 rebound, 6 assist game and Mike Bibby's 4 point, 4 board, 3 assist, 4 steal effort. Bravo.
We're going to go ahead and place that wager that says the Hawks will win all games when Johnson and Crawford have more than 1.2 points per possession used---though this game was close to beating those odds--even with Johnson @ 1.29 and Crawford @ 1.28.
Count us among the happy ATL masses that only saw Al Thornton (4-6, 8 points) on the floor for (21) minutes. Maybe we were still dizzy from the (13-22, 31 point, 7 rebound, 6 assist) performance Thornton laid down on the Hawks last season while the Clippers blew Atlanta out in Philips last year. Hey, Mike Dunleavy, were not mad at ya--thank you!
Somewhere in the second half, Horford started going straight up against the Clipper front line, accepting the contact and getting his points from the line. Every bit of his 16/10 night was needed to get the job done, as was the double digit rebounds efforts from his front court mates (Marvin Williams-10, Josh Smith-10).
With the terrific height advantage and success they were having in the paint, we're surprised the Clippers deferred and took as many outside shots as they did. They were 10-37 from further than (16) feet.
Throughout the game, the Clippers controlled the contest, using their size inside with Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman to control the glass and make shots difficult for the one-on-one Hawks.
The Clippers got the early lead on their hosts, though neither team had much going on offensively. The Clippers held the lead for much of the first half, but emerged from the locker room in a funk, allowing the Hawks to turn them over (4) times in the first couple of minutes of the second half, allowing the Birds to finally take the lead in that stretch.
But, as they did throughout the game, every time the Hawks pulled close to the Clippers wagon, the visitors would hit the gas and extend the lead once more with aggressive play and good outside shooting. The Clippers got the lead out to (13) on back-to-back dunks by Rasual Butler with (2) minutes left in the third quarter.
The Hawks then went on a shooting spree, knocking down consecutive threes from Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford and adding in a layup from Josh Smith. Then, with the Hawks down (5) in the closing seconds of the quarter, Crawford completed his 24th four-point play, tying him with Reggie Miller for the all-time NBA record and bringing the Hawks to within a single point of the Clipper lead.
But just as before when the Hawks caught up to the charging Clippers, Los Angeles pulled away yet again, extending the lead back out to (9) with nine minutes to go.
In games past, the Hawks have been called out for resorting to a Joe-centric offensive game plan, especially when times got rough on the offensive end. The Hawks could hardly be criticized for doing so the last couple of games, as Johnson has been among the hottest scorers in the league, yet the team has sought to diversify during the last few games and avoid the now-infamous Iso-Joe sets that opponents have been sitting on when chasing down the Hawks.
In the fourth, while attempting to once again pull even with the Clippers, the Hawks spread the ball around getting the ball into Al Horford for some inside points and Crawford for some mid-range magic. Meanwhile Johnson continued to scope for scoring opportunities himself, getting to the line for a couple of free throws, getting the Hawks back to within a point.
The Clippers had done a wonderful job of contesting many of the Hawks shots, especially inside. holding the Hawks to below (50) percent on shots at the rim to that point. But, incredibly, the Clippers let their defenses down late in this game as Johnson took his man off the dribble and got to the square for (3) close range baskets, the last of which accounted for his 29th and 30th points and gave the Hawks a (4) point lead.
Then, after Horford knocked down a pair of free throws to maintain the advantage that Johnson had previously provided, the Clippers took a page out of the much maligned Hawks playbook.
The Clippers had built their lead for much of the night by attacking the Hawks defense in its undersized middle, moving the ball from side to side, hitting cutters to the basket, and taking advantage of the Hawks switch-a-roo defense by grabbing (14) offensive rebounds, (10) of which were attributed to Marcus Camby (who had 20 boards for the game).
They had scored (52) points in the paint to this point in the game when Baron Davis, who had a modest game going, took on the Hawks defense one-on-five, an Iso-Baron, if you will. Davis took an ill-advised layup and fade-away in consecutive trips, missing both, allowing the Hawks to build the lead out to (7) before Davis came down and hit a three, completing his triumvirate of self-serving possessions down the stretch. Johnson played out the fouling end game, making four free throws, thereby sealing his game high (34) point performance and the Hawks win, a steal of a win as any home game could be.
Thoughts as Random as Eric Gordon's Shot Selection
THHB applauds two unique stat lines in the game: Camby's 6 point, 20 rebound, 6 assist game and Mike Bibby's 4 point, 4 board, 3 assist, 4 steal effort. Bravo.
We're going to go ahead and place that wager that says the Hawks will win all games when Johnson and Crawford have more than 1.2 points per possession used---though this game was close to beating those odds--even with Johnson @ 1.29 and Crawford @ 1.28.
Count us among the happy ATL masses that only saw Al Thornton (4-6, 8 points) on the floor for (21) minutes. Maybe we were still dizzy from the (13-22, 31 point, 7 rebound, 6 assist) performance Thornton laid down on the Hawks last season while the Clippers blew Atlanta out in Philips last year. Hey, Mike Dunleavy, were not mad at ya--thank you!
Somewhere in the second half, Horford started going straight up against the Clipper front line, accepting the contact and getting his points from the line. Every bit of his 16/10 night was needed to get the job done, as was the double digit rebounds efforts from his front court mates (Marvin Williams-10, Josh Smith-10).
With the terrific height advantage and success they were having in the paint, we're surprised the Clippers deferred and took as many outside shots as they did. They were 10-37 from further than (16) feet.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
No Matter How Thin You Slice It---It's Still Baloney
A popular take on the Hawks monumental 121-97 failure at home against the Clippers (now 12-39!) will be the following:
Sometimes you just have one of those nights---and will probably be followed by a sheepish shrug of the shoulders or some other "what are you gonna do" expression of defeat.
Sometimes maybe that would be true, but the HHB watched every disgusting frame of this film---once was all we could muster---and the verdict from our perch was not one of some arbitrary galactic inevitability, but something of a much more tangible reasoning for the Hawks collapse.
No defense + No effort = Big Loss
Complicated calculations to be sure--and we know that the mathematical titans over at Hoopinion probably have some similar reasoning to ours for the destruction of the Birds nest---and we doubt it will involve horoscope or 88 sided dice.
Now---we don't intend to go off on a rant here---we're sure that The Vent, Str8Talk or Peachtree Hoops can hold down the fort in this area---besides, we feel we got that out in the open when we scribed this prescient posting.
No, the HHB simply wants to call a fish a fish---and last night the Hawks looked like minnows.
We hope the home team enjoyed watching Al Thornton, Zach Randolph, and even Ricky Davis run all over their court---laughing and carrying on like they were taking all the Hawks lunch away and eating their loot right in the Hawks forlorn faces.
We hope that the effort that they didn't spend playing team defense was well worth the embarrassment of giving up a mind-boggling (38) assists and (57) percent shooting at the hands of a team that---let's just say isn't synonymous with offensive efficiency (last in NBA in FG%).
No, this wasn't a cosmic fluke that "happens" to teams every so often in an 82 games schedule---it's the natural outcome of what happens when you don't play as a team in any way shape or form at any part of the game.
They came out slow early, as is their way, gave the visitors confidence by not showing any defensive resistance---got down early---got down big early----and then let the game go without much of a whimper.
Against the Bobcats, we argued that we would take the win because the value of a win in the NBA is high---against the Clippers, the Hawks acted as if losing one game in the grand scheme of things didn't matter all that much. It shows, and really it continues to spotlight, the long way to go for the team mentally---and how they grow in this area will be directly correlated to how much further they advance through the postseason---and how few of these stinkers you'll see during the season.
The Hawks cannot show up and win, even at home--they must play together in a team offense/team defense configuration or more games like the one Saturday night will be the result--and those who want to use the "it was in the stars" defense of the team will be forced to look at the real symptoms of the team's downfall.
The HHB is busily checking the alignment of the planets to see what's for breakfast---All seers are welcome to prognosticate or comment in the Comments area.
Sometimes you just have one of those nights---and will probably be followed by a sheepish shrug of the shoulders or some other "what are you gonna do" expression of defeat.
Sometimes maybe that would be true, but the HHB watched every disgusting frame of this film---once was all we could muster---and the verdict from our perch was not one of some arbitrary galactic inevitability, but something of a much more tangible reasoning for the Hawks collapse.
No defense + No effort = Big Loss
Complicated calculations to be sure--and we know that the mathematical titans over at Hoopinion probably have some similar reasoning to ours for the destruction of the Birds nest---and we doubt it will involve horoscope or 88 sided dice.
Now---we don't intend to go off on a rant here---we're sure that The Vent, Str8Talk or Peachtree Hoops can hold down the fort in this area---besides, we feel we got that out in the open when we scribed this prescient posting.
No, the HHB simply wants to call a fish a fish---and last night the Hawks looked like minnows.
We hope the home team enjoyed watching Al Thornton, Zach Randolph, and even Ricky Davis run all over their court---laughing and carrying on like they were taking all the Hawks lunch away and eating their loot right in the Hawks forlorn faces.
We hope that the effort that they didn't spend playing team defense was well worth the embarrassment of giving up a mind-boggling (38) assists and (57) percent shooting at the hands of a team that---let's just say isn't synonymous with offensive efficiency (last in NBA in FG%).
No, this wasn't a cosmic fluke that "happens" to teams every so often in an 82 games schedule---it's the natural outcome of what happens when you don't play as a team in any way shape or form at any part of the game.
They came out slow early, as is their way, gave the visitors confidence by not showing any defensive resistance---got down early---got down big early----and then let the game go without much of a whimper.
Against the Bobcats, we argued that we would take the win because the value of a win in the NBA is high---against the Clippers, the Hawks acted as if losing one game in the grand scheme of things didn't matter all that much. It shows, and really it continues to spotlight, the long way to go for the team mentally---and how they grow in this area will be directly correlated to how much further they advance through the postseason---and how few of these stinkers you'll see during the season.
The Hawks cannot show up and win, even at home--they must play together in a team offense/team defense configuration or more games like the one Saturday night will be the result--and those who want to use the "it was in the stars" defense of the team will be forced to look at the real symptoms of the team's downfall.
The HHB is busily checking the alignment of the planets to see what's for breakfast---All seers are welcome to prognosticate or comment in the Comments area.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
24 Minutes Is All We Ask
Usually you'll hear coaches preach about a team giving "48 minutes" of effort, implying that the team needs to push every second they are on the floor, spend every breath making the effort to win the game.
With the Hawks, the HHB is not going to be picky---we just want 24 minutes.
All season the Birds have played with a certain timing that allowed them to skate along for a quarter or two and then spend the fourth clamping down and winning the game.
Recently, the team has skated so long and so early, that they haven't been able to get all the way back. Both in the game against Orlando in Atlanta and against the Suns in Phoenix, the Hawks have made runs and had surprisingly many chances to win the game, only to fall short in the end.
Against the Clippers Wednesday night, the Hawks gave two good quarters of basketball and won the game, 97-80, and thus did not become the team that would give the Clippers a break from their now 12 game losing streak.
Whew.
One day, we can hope for complete games from this crew, but for now we'll take the solid 2 quarters of good basketball (no, last night's first quarter, especially offensively, does not count) and revel in the fact that the Hawks, our team, can get away with such chicanery--to be so talented and execute so well when they give the effort they can win games and overcome large deficits.
The HHB is being inundated by cold weather and snow as they are on their own road trip up the Eastern Seaboard. Comments and warm clothing can be left in the lobby of the Comments area.
With the Hawks, the HHB is not going to be picky---we just want 24 minutes.
All season the Birds have played with a certain timing that allowed them to skate along for a quarter or two and then spend the fourth clamping down and winning the game.
Recently, the team has skated so long and so early, that they haven't been able to get all the way back. Both in the game against Orlando in Atlanta and against the Suns in Phoenix, the Hawks have made runs and had surprisingly many chances to win the game, only to fall short in the end.
Against the Clippers Wednesday night, the Hawks gave two good quarters of basketball and won the game, 97-80, and thus did not become the team that would give the Clippers a break from their now 12 game losing streak.
Whew.
One day, we can hope for complete games from this crew, but for now we'll take the solid 2 quarters of good basketball (no, last night's first quarter, especially offensively, does not count) and revel in the fact that the Hawks, our team, can get away with such chicanery--to be so talented and execute so well when they give the effort they can win games and overcome large deficits.
The HHB is being inundated by cold weather and snow as they are on their own road trip up the Eastern Seaboard. Comments and warm clothing can be left in the lobby of the Comments area.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Josh Smith Clipped by Camby
Marcus Camby looks to be going to the LA Clippers to replace Elton Brand. Despite the fact that Camby isn't making Brand money or even the money that was being tossed around while the Clips looked at restricted free agents, it does take a significant enough chunk of that dough (about 10 million next year, including bonuses, etc.), enough to impact the ability for the Clippers to make a serious offer to Josh Smith.
So what does that mean for Smith?
Well, for one, you can expect whoever has money left (Oakland, Memphis) will suddenly become top suitors for all the RFAs out there (Smith, Andre Iguodala, Luol Deng, Emeka Okafor). Whether it will fact or fiction, we won't know for sure. But we sure can see the new headlines already being drawn up as the principals (player, agent, etc.) begin their Plan B (or is it C or D at this point?).
It might be, however, that those teams may opt to look for a deal that the Clippers just made for Camby---a trade for a seasoned player that they can contractually control for a couple of years from a team that is desperately close to paying some major bills. In the Camby deal, the Clippers get a proven player at a decent salary for only a couple of seasons, while waiting for until the big free agency frenzy, instead of paying second tier players top dollar, hoping their existing teams don't match, for a second round pick to boot.
It's a nice deal.
So again, what about Smith and, excruciatingly, the Hawks fans anxious to know the fate of their young, blossoming star?
Well--the answer is---you're likely to wait----and wait.
With so many players out there and big money destinations being crossed off the list, players can certainly get nervous. In this case, the cap slots are getting filled without any of them (the RFA) taking those seats. You can sense that the agents can hear the music dying down and will be in a hurry to find their guy a lucrative seat before the music stops completely and they have to (wince) consider playing out the option year (qualifying offer) or risk taking what they might consider to be a less than free market value contract.
There is also the avenue of sign and trade, but it doesn't seem such a ripe market for these particular free agents. It doesn't seem likely that a team will be willing to pay a king's ransom for any of these players as the Hawks did when they did the SNT with the Suns for Joe Johnson.
They are going to need one of these guys to re-sign with their club (Iguodala, maybe?) to set a benchmark for the other RFA. They could, and probably should, use Andrew Bogut's generous extension (5 years, 60 million--with thresholds that could take it as high as 72 million) as a benchmark, considering his less than all-star numerics compared to those on the market now, but we're likely to endure a wait and see game among these similarly situationed contract seekers.
And for Hawks fans who can't stand the wait with both Smith and Childress being restricted free agents, remember this: September 11, 2003 is when Jason Terry finally found his market value and signed a 3 year, 22.5 million dollar offer sheet with the Jazz. It goes to show that it can take an entire offseason for this process to be settled.
And any ray of hope for a quick signing for Smith just dimmed a little, courtesy of the LA Clippers and the deal for Marcus Camby.
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