There was a time not too long ago when a Friday and a Sunday game would mean that Hawks fans would have to find something fun to do on Saturday to compensate.
But these (17-6) Hawks are not the same weekend killers as their aughts sharing brethren. These Hawks took two undermanned, underdefensive teams (Raptors, Nets) and disassembled them with aggressive play on both ends, solid rebounding, and depth.
The latter part is amazing to those who have seen the Hawks pinch a penny over the last two decades when it came to quality minutes off the bench. As long time Hawk Mike Fratello marveled from the Nets broadcast booth Sunday night, "This team is deep and talented!" We know, we can't believe that Mr. Fratello was talking about the hometeam either.
Yet, there they were, doing as top reserve Jamal Crawford said a few games ago---wearing teams out. The Nets came out Sunday shooting far above their 41 percent standard for their woeful season and had the lead by two points with a little more than (5) minutes to play in the half. Then the Nets turned their head and were down by (12) when the half ended.
Yup, the Hawks are that kind of team. The team that kills you for settling for jump shots all night. A team that makes you pay when you go 1-7 over a stretch when your hot hand cools. You know, a strong playoff caliber team.
The Hawks showed poise and patience over the weekend and have (2) wins over lesser teams and have given the starters some extra Gatorade time as a reward. In previous seasons, these were games that might have had to use Joe Johnson and company 34+ minutes each to put away, but on both occasions the only players to log major minutes were off the bench, something that has to be better come April/May than in seasons past.
You Know They Call Him The Streak
Mo Evans hit seven of nine threes over the weekend and displayed some seriously quick hops on a pair of finishes. Just saying. When he is going like he was against TOR and NJ, he is mighty fine luxury to have bombing away out of that corner he loves so much.
Teams are gameplanning for Josh Smith's game inside. That's a major development for the Hawks this season and is a result of the change and maintaining of a "I'm better on the inside" in hardwood attitude for Smith. It's the reason his assist rate (8 more assists over the weekend) and many other numbers are at career highs this season. Hoopinion has done a great bit on monitoring on his site around just how much of a difference it's making on his productivity---and is answering a great deal of folks who hypothesized that the Hawks would be much better off if Smith dropped the Reggie Miller act and used his size and length to get easier hoops. Now--on to making free throws.
(Sidenote: The play of the weekend for THHB was the run-out 3 on 1 against the Nets when Josh could have tried to force a drive to the hoop and would likely have been fouled but missed a shot, but instead threaded a perfect bounce pass to Mike Bibby who quickly offered up a return to Smoove for the jam. To say it was picture perfect is saying too little--hopefully a snapshot of even more growth from Smith.)
We wholeheartedly agree again with Mike Fratello that the culture and execution of this team improved significantly when the Hawks made the move to get Bibby. Yes, he's a thorn in the defensive flesh, but wow--having a real point guard on the floor has made everything go. We all know this, which is why few were surprised that the Hawks re-upped with the vet, but it bears a reminder that his introduction to the team is when the franchise turned the corner.
Speaking of point guards---Jeff Teague continues to impress in his minutes off the bench. His quick hands are lethal (his steal from Rafer Alston and subsequent throw down was a close second to the Smith/Bibby play on the THHB corkboard) and his confidence is growing. He got a little loose late in the game against the Nets and made a rare careless pass, but he is getting better with every game out there. He reminds us of Jason Terry---as quick as Jet, a lesser shooter, but a more convincing distributor/decision maker/point guard than #31. How much of an impact he will make ultimately (meaning career) will probably be based on how dependable his shot becomes, but he is making us less morose about missing out on Ty Lawson every game.
The Nets had some success early getting inside and scoring on the Hawks until they lapsed (translation: forgot to keep doing it) and the Hawks took advantage. Atlanta was below their seasonal shot blocking average over the weekend games and in particular against the Nets, both Al Horford and Smith shied away from contesting aggressive drives to the hoop due to foul trouble. Not having Joe Smith off the bench to thwart shots didn't help as the Hawks elected to go small (three guards) without Smith and Marvin Williams (upset stomach) to go to.Something to keep an eye on against better teams with size.
Horford plays the bigger guys fine defensively, but still rushes his shot or takes awkward angles when against a big--though he made an adjustment against Brook Lopez (who has game) and started to use his nice face up jump shot to lure the big out and then go around him and get contact. Yet another piece that's improving for the Hawks and is making for difficult matchups for the opposition. And credit the Hawks backcourt for being very good in these games in recognizing mismatches and going right to them to exploit. And yes, once again, it's odd to watch a game and hear the opposing announcers lauding the Hawks as the example of a fundamentally sound team doing those "little things" to win.
Odd in this case = good. As in a really good weekend that made Saturday seem to drag. THHB calls that another nice development.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Pride
As we viewed the Atlanta Hawks 118-83 basting of the Chicago Bulls all of the tired and travelled members of THHB shared a single common emotion.
Pride.
The Hawks did everything they could have wanted to do in this nationally televised felonious assault on another NBA team.
The Bulls hobbled into the ATL in a bad, bad way. They recently got booed while getting killed by the Raptors. They lost another home game to the Nets, who left Chicago celebrating their first road win of the season. The only time that the Bulls have grabbed any headlines was for Joakim Noah's rebellion against Dance Dance Lebronalution in Cleveland---another loss, by the way.
Being that the game against the Nets, a hard fought one we must add, was the previous night and that the Hawks had not played since their weekend victory over the Mavs, the scene was set for the Hawks to take care of the business of putting away an injured, less successful team in their own building.
And so they did.
The Hawks, save for a few early Joe Johnson-esque possessions, moved freely about the court, moving the ball through the high post with fantastic success. Josh Smith and Al Horford both had (4) assists, most of them early, as the Hawks set the tone and attacked the hoop early and relentlessly against their guests.
The game began to snowball on the Bulls when the Hawks second team sprung into action late in the first quarter. The entire second unit was on the court when the Hawks trailed by one and by the time the first team started to trickle back onto the court, the Hawks had opened up a (5) point lead and never trailed again.
The second unit portrayed exactly the kind of aggressive, energetic play that was going to flattened an already thin and tired Bulls squad. Joe Smith grabbed (3) offensive rebounds in that span of time. Jeff Teague made an early appearance and looked like Tree Rollins swatting away a John Salmons layup attempt. Zaza Pachulia made his presence felt.
But the main man was Jamal Crawford. Crawford attacked Kirk Hinrich with a grudge and scored (16) first half points, inspiring the Bulls to lay down and play dead. Crawford noted at halftime that the Hawks want to "wear teams out" with their depth--and the bench play in the first half laid the foundation for that to happen.
The Hawks came out from halftime with a (14) point lead and kept the pressure on. The defense moved their feet, the ball moved on offense (32 assists for the night), and the energy remained high. Many nights the Hawks have rested on an early lead and left the locker room flat, but that was not the case Wednesday night.
The Bulls became so stagnant offensively they made the Hawks ball movement look like the Harlem Globetrotters. We kept waiting for someone to spin the ball on Taj Gibson's head and then toss a bucket of confetti on Vinny Del Negro.
Soon the Bulls emotionally and spiritually waved the basketball white flag, but the Hawks played on as if the game was still very much in doubt. They pressed the ball on inbounds passes, swarmed around on the defensive end to ensure nobody was open for long, and continued to control the glass. Only after the bench was emptied did the Hawks really waste any second half possessions. And we say this because, honestly, any shot Jason Collins takes is a wasted possession. In fact Collins gets our nomination for the Ricky Vaughn Memorial "Does He Need Glasses?" scholarship--and even he made one against the Bulls.
The Hawks looked like a team that is headed for good things this season while the Bulls look like they are headed for a year in the lottery. It was a game could that presented itself as a trap or at least a let down game, but the Hawks came out with the right approach and kept at it all the way after the game was no longer in doubt.
By the time the ESPN crew used up all of their filler material--and some for the collegiate game that followed---The Official HD Viewing Center of THHB was filled with smiles, laughs, and pride.
Leftovers
We do give Collins credit for one particular thing---he has made Randolph Morris look fantastic by comparison. Morris looks improved over last season when he couldn't seem to make good even in garbage time. Now he shows some decent post moves--no lift mind you---but some decent production in slop minutes.
We point out that the Hawks did their damage without relying on the three point shot--hitting six of their nine threes after the bench was cleared---including some fun run-up-the-score bombs from Mo Evans down the stretch.
We enjoyed that the Hawks cleared the bench before the fourth quarter even began, giving more quality time off for the starting five. No starter played even (30) minutes, with Johnson getting (29) and the rest of that crew significantly less. This has to be a good trend this season---hopefully the Hawks won't have to waste that rest capital on the upcoming schedule, which is heavy on sub .500 teams.
Pride.
The Hawks did everything they could have wanted to do in this nationally televised felonious assault on another NBA team.
The Bulls hobbled into the ATL in a bad, bad way. They recently got booed while getting killed by the Raptors. They lost another home game to the Nets, who left Chicago celebrating their first road win of the season. The only time that the Bulls have grabbed any headlines was for Joakim Noah's rebellion against Dance Dance Lebronalution in Cleveland---another loss, by the way.
Being that the game against the Nets, a hard fought one we must add, was the previous night and that the Hawks had not played since their weekend victory over the Mavs, the scene was set for the Hawks to take care of the business of putting away an injured, less successful team in their own building.
And so they did.
The Hawks, save for a few early Joe Johnson-esque possessions, moved freely about the court, moving the ball through the high post with fantastic success. Josh Smith and Al Horford both had (4) assists, most of them early, as the Hawks set the tone and attacked the hoop early and relentlessly against their guests.
The game began to snowball on the Bulls when the Hawks second team sprung into action late in the first quarter. The entire second unit was on the court when the Hawks trailed by one and by the time the first team started to trickle back onto the court, the Hawks had opened up a (5) point lead and never trailed again.
The second unit portrayed exactly the kind of aggressive, energetic play that was going to flattened an already thin and tired Bulls squad. Joe Smith grabbed (3) offensive rebounds in that span of time. Jeff Teague made an early appearance and looked like Tree Rollins swatting away a John Salmons layup attempt. Zaza Pachulia made his presence felt.
But the main man was Jamal Crawford. Crawford attacked Kirk Hinrich with a grudge and scored (16) first half points, inspiring the Bulls to lay down and play dead. Crawford noted at halftime that the Hawks want to "wear teams out" with their depth--and the bench play in the first half laid the foundation for that to happen.
The Hawks came out from halftime with a (14) point lead and kept the pressure on. The defense moved their feet, the ball moved on offense (32 assists for the night), and the energy remained high. Many nights the Hawks have rested on an early lead and left the locker room flat, but that was not the case Wednesday night.
The Bulls became so stagnant offensively they made the Hawks ball movement look like the Harlem Globetrotters. We kept waiting for someone to spin the ball on Taj Gibson's head and then toss a bucket of confetti on Vinny Del Negro.
Soon the Bulls emotionally and spiritually waved the basketball white flag, but the Hawks played on as if the game was still very much in doubt. They pressed the ball on inbounds passes, swarmed around on the defensive end to ensure nobody was open for long, and continued to control the glass. Only after the bench was emptied did the Hawks really waste any second half possessions. And we say this because, honestly, any shot Jason Collins takes is a wasted possession. In fact Collins gets our nomination for the Ricky Vaughn Memorial "Does He Need Glasses?" scholarship--and even he made one against the Bulls.
The Hawks looked like a team that is headed for good things this season while the Bulls look like they are headed for a year in the lottery. It was a game could that presented itself as a trap or at least a let down game, but the Hawks came out with the right approach and kept at it all the way after the game was no longer in doubt.
By the time the ESPN crew used up all of their filler material--and some for the collegiate game that followed---The Official HD Viewing Center of THHB was filled with smiles, laughs, and pride.
Leftovers
We do give Collins credit for one particular thing---he has made Randolph Morris look fantastic by comparison. Morris looks improved over last season when he couldn't seem to make good even in garbage time. Now he shows some decent post moves--no lift mind you---but some decent production in slop minutes.
We point out that the Hawks did their damage without relying on the three point shot--hitting six of their nine threes after the bench was cleared---including some fun run-up-the-score bombs from Mo Evans down the stretch.
We enjoyed that the Hawks cleared the bench before the fourth quarter even began, giving more quality time off for the starting five. No starter played even (30) minutes, with Johnson getting (29) and the rest of that crew significantly less. This has to be a good trend this season---hopefully the Hawks won't have to waste that rest capital on the upcoming schedule, which is heavy on sub .500 teams.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Torn Between Outcome and Philosophy
To have not won in the state of Texas since Josh Smith was 18 (he turned 24 Saturday) and to beat a team like the Dallas Mavericks, 80-75, one would think THHB would be somewhat euphoric to have slain an annual beast such as that.
Yes, it's a good thing to win--as one fictional pitcher once so eloquently stated---it's like better than losing. Still there was something oddly unsatisfying about the game--something missing that prevents this from being put in the first couple of pages in the Hawks Successbook.
Perhaps it was the (20) consecutive missed field goals that spanned the second and third quarters. The Hawks were persistent in insisting that the jump shots they continuously attempted would indeed go down. Alas, it was an Al Horford layup that ended the futility. Rushed shots, lack of ball movement or in some cases, strange ball movement--like getting into the lane for a good shot only to chuck it wildly back to the perimeter with little left on the shot clock to work with---was the soundtrack for the odd streak.
Or maybe it was the odd way the Hawks picked up fouls in the fourth quarter, mostly hand checking 20 feet from the hoop or away from the ball altogether. Al Horford entered the final frame with (2) fouls but in a span of five minutes, he was one foul away from disqualification. Josh Smith would join him (2) minutes later and the Mavericks were in the penalty (5) minutes into the quarter.
The fourth quarter execution altogether was remedial--the defense as indicated above along with the usual Hawks deflating of the basketball when leading by an "insurmountable" lead. The Hawks led 74-65 with 7:29 left when the Hawks popped their own balloon by "working the clock" and as a result, getting poor shots down the stretch.
The Hawks would only get (2) field goals the rest of the way. Those field goals? One was a me-against-the world fall-away 18 footer from Joe Johnson and the other was a 20 footer from Josh Smith. Not exactly the offensive firepower you want to display every night for the last 8 minutes of the game.
Also troubling was that the Hawks were, at one point, killing the Mavs on the pick and roll--and then almost as quickly as they realized it's success, they went away from it---in fact just as THHF was commenting on the telecast that they were getting great shots every time from that set (in a game where neither team was taking great shots), Joe Johnson ended their own run by dribbling down the shot clock before attempting a difficult shot. It was not a pick and roll.
Mostly it was unsatisfying because the Hawks played the type of game that won't win many (7) game series, a low shooting percentage (by choice) game dominated by one player, Joe Johnson. As Hoopinion so perfectly commented on Hardwood Paroxysm Friday---Joe doesn't have to do that anymore for the team to win--in fact, to win at the highest levels, he shouldn't. The type of game doesn't scale deeper in the playoffs, so to see the Hawks embrace it even for a single win leaves THHB shaking our heads.
There were some very good things in the game--such as the rebounding on the defensive end, mostly by the aggressive efforts of Marvin Williams on that end, collecting (14) defensive rebounds and (15) overall, a career high. The Hawks limited the Mavs to (7) offensive rebounds and their defensive efforts (combined with a total lack of inside game in Dallas) left the Mavericks settling for a mere (10) points in the paint.
Joe Smith was also very good off the bench, hitting some really big shots and putting up a 9 point/ 7 rebound effort in his (18) minutes of work.
Yes, there were things that the Hawks did well and yes it's a good thing that the Hawks won, but there were most certainly those others that left us holding our noses while chalking up the "W".
You know, because we care.
Yes, it's a good thing to win--as one fictional pitcher once so eloquently stated---it's like better than losing. Still there was something oddly unsatisfying about the game--something missing that prevents this from being put in the first couple of pages in the Hawks Successbook.
Perhaps it was the (20) consecutive missed field goals that spanned the second and third quarters. The Hawks were persistent in insisting that the jump shots they continuously attempted would indeed go down. Alas, it was an Al Horford layup that ended the futility. Rushed shots, lack of ball movement or in some cases, strange ball movement--like getting into the lane for a good shot only to chuck it wildly back to the perimeter with little left on the shot clock to work with---was the soundtrack for the odd streak.
Or maybe it was the odd way the Hawks picked up fouls in the fourth quarter, mostly hand checking 20 feet from the hoop or away from the ball altogether. Al Horford entered the final frame with (2) fouls but in a span of five minutes, he was one foul away from disqualification. Josh Smith would join him (2) minutes later and the Mavericks were in the penalty (5) minutes into the quarter.
The fourth quarter execution altogether was remedial--the defense as indicated above along with the usual Hawks deflating of the basketball when leading by an "insurmountable" lead. The Hawks led 74-65 with 7:29 left when the Hawks popped their own balloon by "working the clock" and as a result, getting poor shots down the stretch.
The Hawks would only get (2) field goals the rest of the way. Those field goals? One was a me-against-the world fall-away 18 footer from Joe Johnson and the other was a 20 footer from Josh Smith. Not exactly the offensive firepower you want to display every night for the last 8 minutes of the game.
Also troubling was that the Hawks were, at one point, killing the Mavs on the pick and roll--and then almost as quickly as they realized it's success, they went away from it---in fact just as THHF was commenting on the telecast that they were getting great shots every time from that set (in a game where neither team was taking great shots), Joe Johnson ended their own run by dribbling down the shot clock before attempting a difficult shot. It was not a pick and roll.
Mostly it was unsatisfying because the Hawks played the type of game that won't win many (7) game series, a low shooting percentage (by choice) game dominated by one player, Joe Johnson. As Hoopinion so perfectly commented on Hardwood Paroxysm Friday---Joe doesn't have to do that anymore for the team to win--in fact, to win at the highest levels, he shouldn't. The type of game doesn't scale deeper in the playoffs, so to see the Hawks embrace it even for a single win leaves THHB shaking our heads.
There were some very good things in the game--such as the rebounding on the defensive end, mostly by the aggressive efforts of Marvin Williams on that end, collecting (14) defensive rebounds and (15) overall, a career high. The Hawks limited the Mavs to (7) offensive rebounds and their defensive efforts (combined with a total lack of inside game in Dallas) left the Mavericks settling for a mere (10) points in the paint.
Joe Smith was also very good off the bench, hitting some really big shots and putting up a 9 point/ 7 rebound effort in his (18) minutes of work.
Yes, there were things that the Hawks did well and yes it's a good thing that the Hawks won, but there were most certainly those others that left us holding our noses while chalking up the "W".
You know, because we care.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Do The Opposite
A single game ago the Hawks played a team (Toronto) not known for good defense and they exploited them to perfection, gaining 30+ assists, moving the ball, attacking the rim, and playing enough defense to win the game easily.
To begin on Friday night, Atlanta appeared to be in the frame of mind to do it again, hopping out to an 11-0 start against the hated Knicks.
And then---they did the opposite.
Defense ceased to exist, allowing Chris Duhon and Al Harrington to put up grotesque productive numbers in the first half against a team that allegedly cares about defense. The Hawks found themselves watching the ball fall through their defensive basket over and over again with little sense of urgency to affect change on the matter.
As often happens in those scenarios, the Hawks followed those baskets by walking the ball up the court, dribbling with a defender sleeping comfortably in front of them and then taking ridiculous jump shots and forced shots. The shot clock would often wind down before someone would lob a well defended (hold your chuckles, Knicks fans--it happened) attempt at the hoop. Forget that nobody on the Knicks even poses as a shot blocker, the Hawks did the opposite of what you would expect a team to do in such a situation.
Then, explicably, Josh Smith began to be enamored with his second favorite basketball vice, the complaint. After making a tough shot with a slight bit of contact, he blew up at Bob Delaney, earning him a technical foul. The Hawks were so de-focused as a team that they allowed Smith to continue to unleash venom at Delaney to the point where his services were rendered disqualified for the rest of the night. So on a night where the Knicks were ramming the ball down the Hawks' throat offensively, Atlanta's strongest lane deterrent chose obscenities over participation. The other Hawks seemed amused by this, but THHB was not. Not by Smith's actions, nor his teammates inaction.
In the second half, the Hawks flipped the script and did the opposite from the first half, turning up the defensive pressure and holding the Knicks down significantly enough to erase a double digit halftime deficit. With the good defense came easier shots on offense as the ball moved freely and the Hawks attacked the lane, often making the shots or at least getting to the line.
Much of this was due to Al Horford, who played outstanding defense on Harrington in the second half, moving his feet exquisitely to defend and confound the Knicks' scorer.
So Bird Watchers everywhere should assume that the Hawks, now with their beaks on straight on how to conquer this game, would begin to pull away.
But once again, they did the opposite.
There was less defense, more isolation, more forced shots, certainly less made baskets.
With Josh Smith safely showered and out of the game for the Hawks due to his petulance, and Horford having to stay outside on Harrington, the Knicks picked and rolled their way down the lane, often scoring without so much as a cursory check from the other Hawks to see the Knicks' lane pass. It's a shock to see the Hawks have (2) blocked shots when they average 6+ per game and the Knicks were shooting inside so much (60 points in the paint).
So even though the Hawks outscored the Knicks in the paint, had fewer turnovers (12-6), and outrebounded the visitors (42-38, 18-7 on the offensive glass), the Hawks still lost by (7) at home because they allowed an amazingly hospitable (58!) percent shooting and took (23) 3-pt attempts themselves.
Why the Hawks felt like shooting more threes than their average (23 vs 19) against a team that doesn't block shots or even defend well is puzzling.
Well, unless you consider that they learned what it took to put away a lesser team that doesn't play defense against Toronto---and then did the opposite.
There, it all makes sense.
THHB wishes to return the birthday gift of this loss at home to the hated, hated Knicks and their ATL fans. You can come in, but there is nothing left but blown out candles in the Comments Area.
To begin on Friday night, Atlanta appeared to be in the frame of mind to do it again, hopping out to an 11-0 start against the hated Knicks.
And then---they did the opposite.
Defense ceased to exist, allowing Chris Duhon and Al Harrington to put up grotesque productive numbers in the first half against a team that allegedly cares about defense. The Hawks found themselves watching the ball fall through their defensive basket over and over again with little sense of urgency to affect change on the matter.
As often happens in those scenarios, the Hawks followed those baskets by walking the ball up the court, dribbling with a defender sleeping comfortably in front of them and then taking ridiculous jump shots and forced shots. The shot clock would often wind down before someone would lob a well defended (hold your chuckles, Knicks fans--it happened) attempt at the hoop. Forget that nobody on the Knicks even poses as a shot blocker, the Hawks did the opposite of what you would expect a team to do in such a situation.
Then, explicably, Josh Smith began to be enamored with his second favorite basketball vice, the complaint. After making a tough shot with a slight bit of contact, he blew up at Bob Delaney, earning him a technical foul. The Hawks were so de-focused as a team that they allowed Smith to continue to unleash venom at Delaney to the point where his services were rendered disqualified for the rest of the night. So on a night where the Knicks were ramming the ball down the Hawks' throat offensively, Atlanta's strongest lane deterrent chose obscenities over participation. The other Hawks seemed amused by this, but THHB was not. Not by Smith's actions, nor his teammates inaction.
In the second half, the Hawks flipped the script and did the opposite from the first half, turning up the defensive pressure and holding the Knicks down significantly enough to erase a double digit halftime deficit. With the good defense came easier shots on offense as the ball moved freely and the Hawks attacked the lane, often making the shots or at least getting to the line.
Much of this was due to Al Horford, who played outstanding defense on Harrington in the second half, moving his feet exquisitely to defend and confound the Knicks' scorer.
So Bird Watchers everywhere should assume that the Hawks, now with their beaks on straight on how to conquer this game, would begin to pull away.
But once again, they did the opposite.
There was less defense, more isolation, more forced shots, certainly less made baskets.
With Josh Smith safely showered and out of the game for the Hawks due to his petulance, and Horford having to stay outside on Harrington, the Knicks picked and rolled their way down the lane, often scoring without so much as a cursory check from the other Hawks to see the Knicks' lane pass. It's a shock to see the Hawks have (2) blocked shots when they average 6+ per game and the Knicks were shooting inside so much (60 points in the paint).
So even though the Hawks outscored the Knicks in the paint, had fewer turnovers (12-6), and outrebounded the visitors (42-38, 18-7 on the offensive glass), the Hawks still lost by (7) at home because they allowed an amazingly hospitable (58!) percent shooting and took (23) 3-pt attempts themselves.
Why the Hawks felt like shooting more threes than their average (23 vs 19) against a team that doesn't block shots or even defend well is puzzling.
Well, unless you consider that they learned what it took to put away a lesser team that doesn't play defense against Toronto---and then did the opposite.
There, it all makes sense.
THHB wishes to return the birthday gift of this loss at home to the hated, hated Knicks and their ATL fans. You can come in, but there is nothing left but blown out candles in the Comments Area.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
We Celebrate
Here at THHB, there is much to celebrate--let us count the ways.
We Celebrate....
First, obviously, a massive ball sharing experiment that left the Toronto Raptors lying in a pathetic mess on the Philips Arena floor. This ball sharing episode led to (37) assists and put (9) players in double figures, something that hasn't happened to the Hawks since 1987--leading to a 146-115 blowout Wednesday night.
The absolute dominance of Al Horford. Chris Bosh is going to get a lot of money next summer when he becomes a free agent--and rightfully so. Horford made Bosh disappear by backing him down relentlessly and scoring and then smothering him on the defensive end as well, holding the all-star to (2) points for the entire game. Horford did what All-Star big men are supposed to do, dominate the game physically and get the other team's bigs into foul trouble. He also turned on the jets in transition and blistered Toronto repeatedly on his way to (24) points on (12) shots.
The presence of a competent NBA bench. Joe Smith may not get more minutes than Solomon Jones did last season, and we can debate the relevance of such a role on the team, but there is no arguing that Smith provides what we in the technical labs of THHB call "oodles" more than Jones may ever hope to acheive on a basketball floor. Yes, the Raptors were lost defensively---but Smith unleashed a variety of offensive scores and used his length very well in his (12) point, (5) rebound showing. Toss in the play of Jamal Crawford (16) and Zaza Pachulia (11) and you have quite the talent stew brewing off the bench.
We celebrate Jeff Teague seperately because he is what the Hawks haven't had at the point since Mookie Blaylock played golf in the ATL---a fast, quick handed point who can distribute efficiently and score. Teague is what old time scouts would call "sudden" on the floor. He looks calm and still and then---wham---he bursts with quickness to the basket or steals the ball and away we go. Where his ceiling is in unclear at this point, but one of the silver linings in a very golden cloud last night was that Teague had (22) minutes to do his thing and it was good.
The outside shooting of Mike Bibby. Who would guess that Bibby would have been perfect last night, if not for a dead ball free throw miss (4-4, 4-4, 0-1, 12 points, 5 assists, 22 minutes)? Among the Raptors many boo-boos defensively last night was leaving the Hawks point guard wide open with little attempt to deter.
The return this season of the shot blocking Josh Smith. We noted often last season that something was amiss from Smith in terms of shot deterrence and seeing him in full throttle shot denial this season underscores that even more. When he is active on that end, it wreaks havoc inside for teams--and good things follow for the Hawks.
The wonderfulness that is team rebounding. Here is where the Hawks have to look every game as a key to victory. If they protect the boards, with their offensive talent, they will end up winning. The Hawks failed to do this against Detroit and paid a heavy price at both ends. In their losses in general this is the case. Failure to stop defensively has led to stale offensive possessions and the cycle feeds itself constantly until the final buzzer. In this game, the Hawks outrebounded Toronto 51-29 and displayed a dedication to crashing the boards---from Marvin Williams all the way down to Randolph Morris.
The embracing of ball movement in this game was wonderful. Penetration, pass, pass again, drive, pass, score was in full effect in this blowout. Since this is not the first game that Hawks have had success not dribbling a hole in the floor every time down THHB asks why the team fails to make this their own personal basketball theme in every game?
Some of it is leadership--in that the biggest culprit is Joe Johnson--the supposed leader of this club. It was Johnson who in this game ground the team to a halt once again in the first quarter when he inexplicably took a quick 3pt shot (defended, mind you) when the team was killing the Raptors early inside. For someone who decries selfish play, this move by a leader of the team was perplexing. Taking a cue from Johnson, the team temporarily suspended ball movement for the jump shot fever. It was the only time that Toronto was in the game.
At the same time we celebrate all the positives of Johnson's game--of which there is much to shout about. (12) points, (6) rebounds and (11) assists in a mere (26) minutes shows that his temporary lapse of reason offensively was just that--for this night. Joe doesn't need to do this all by himself--even if at times he may want to.
Finally, we celebrate what this team can be when it's all going the right way--and it most certainly was Wednesday night. We hope they internalize how easy games are when you apply to knockout punch early (when it presents itself) and can get needed playoff rest late in the game. This team has all the talent to go far into the playoffs---only its own boundaries presented by their defensive rebounding and offensive ball movement prevent them from realizing their full potential on given nights.
Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachulia, Joe Smith, Jeff Teague, Maurice Evans, Randolph Morris--take a bow--we celebrate you today.
THHB appreciates that the Raptors and Hawks joined us in celebrating the birthday week of this blog's founder (December 4th). A finer present could not have been offered. Fruit cakes and gag gifts can be left gift-wrapped in the Comments Area.
We Celebrate....
First, obviously, a massive ball sharing experiment that left the Toronto Raptors lying in a pathetic mess on the Philips Arena floor. This ball sharing episode led to (37) assists and put (9) players in double figures, something that hasn't happened to the Hawks since 1987--leading to a 146-115 blowout Wednesday night.
The absolute dominance of Al Horford. Chris Bosh is going to get a lot of money next summer when he becomes a free agent--and rightfully so. Horford made Bosh disappear by backing him down relentlessly and scoring and then smothering him on the defensive end as well, holding the all-star to (2) points for the entire game. Horford did what All-Star big men are supposed to do, dominate the game physically and get the other team's bigs into foul trouble. He also turned on the jets in transition and blistered Toronto repeatedly on his way to (24) points on (12) shots.
The presence of a competent NBA bench. Joe Smith may not get more minutes than Solomon Jones did last season, and we can debate the relevance of such a role on the team, but there is no arguing that Smith provides what we in the technical labs of THHB call "oodles" more than Jones may ever hope to acheive on a basketball floor. Yes, the Raptors were lost defensively---but Smith unleashed a variety of offensive scores and used his length very well in his (12) point, (5) rebound showing. Toss in the play of Jamal Crawford (16) and Zaza Pachulia (11) and you have quite the talent stew brewing off the bench.
We celebrate Jeff Teague seperately because he is what the Hawks haven't had at the point since Mookie Blaylock played golf in the ATL---a fast, quick handed point who can distribute efficiently and score. Teague is what old time scouts would call "sudden" on the floor. He looks calm and still and then---wham---he bursts with quickness to the basket or steals the ball and away we go. Where his ceiling is in unclear at this point, but one of the silver linings in a very golden cloud last night was that Teague had (22) minutes to do his thing and it was good.
The outside shooting of Mike Bibby. Who would guess that Bibby would have been perfect last night, if not for a dead ball free throw miss (4-4, 4-4, 0-1, 12 points, 5 assists, 22 minutes)? Among the Raptors many boo-boos defensively last night was leaving the Hawks point guard wide open with little attempt to deter.
The return this season of the shot blocking Josh Smith. We noted often last season that something was amiss from Smith in terms of shot deterrence and seeing him in full throttle shot denial this season underscores that even more. When he is active on that end, it wreaks havoc inside for teams--and good things follow for the Hawks.
The wonderfulness that is team rebounding. Here is where the Hawks have to look every game as a key to victory. If they protect the boards, with their offensive talent, they will end up winning. The Hawks failed to do this against Detroit and paid a heavy price at both ends. In their losses in general this is the case. Failure to stop defensively has led to stale offensive possessions and the cycle feeds itself constantly until the final buzzer. In this game, the Hawks outrebounded Toronto 51-29 and displayed a dedication to crashing the boards---from Marvin Williams all the way down to Randolph Morris.
The embracing of ball movement in this game was wonderful. Penetration, pass, pass again, drive, pass, score was in full effect in this blowout. Since this is not the first game that Hawks have had success not dribbling a hole in the floor every time down THHB asks why the team fails to make this their own personal basketball theme in every game?
Some of it is leadership--in that the biggest culprit is Joe Johnson--the supposed leader of this club. It was Johnson who in this game ground the team to a halt once again in the first quarter when he inexplicably took a quick 3pt shot (defended, mind you) when the team was killing the Raptors early inside. For someone who decries selfish play, this move by a leader of the team was perplexing. Taking a cue from Johnson, the team temporarily suspended ball movement for the jump shot fever. It was the only time that Toronto was in the game.
At the same time we celebrate all the positives of Johnson's game--of which there is much to shout about. (12) points, (6) rebounds and (11) assists in a mere (26) minutes shows that his temporary lapse of reason offensively was just that--for this night. Joe doesn't need to do this all by himself--even if at times he may want to.
Finally, we celebrate what this team can be when it's all going the right way--and it most certainly was Wednesday night. We hope they internalize how easy games are when you apply to knockout punch early (when it presents itself) and can get needed playoff rest late in the game. This team has all the talent to go far into the playoffs---only its own boundaries presented by their defensive rebounding and offensive ball movement prevent them from realizing their full potential on given nights.
Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachulia, Joe Smith, Jeff Teague, Maurice Evans, Randolph Morris--take a bow--we celebrate you today.
THHB appreciates that the Raptors and Hawks joined us in celebrating the birthday week of this blog's founder (December 4th). A finer present could not have been offered. Fruit cakes and gag gifts can be left gift-wrapped in the Comments Area.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
