Fifty-Four, Twenty-Five

First of all--Happy Thanksgiving. And we mean that.

Now, if you want to know about the game tonight, then 54-25. That's all you need to know.

54-25 was the score of the second half of the 93-76 home embarrassment on Thanksgiving night, courtesy of the can't-beat-em-or-join-em Orlando Magic. 

54-25 represented the worst of what this team can be. It was an accumulation of errors and poor play that turned an energetic, hard working team in one half into a lost, clueless bunch in the other.

What 54-25 displayed was a turn in the game on the Orlando offensive end, as the Magic stopped settling for outside shots and blasted a hole into the lane and creating shots and second chance opportunities that were not there in the first half. Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, and even Rashard Lewis came out banging and stunned the Hawks into submission. That frontcourt outscored the Hawks 57-22 for the game.

This led to a deterioration of shot selection on the Hawks end, as the inability to keep Orlando out of the hoop in the second half led to more time to settle in defensively for Orlando on the other end and much, much harder shots for the Hawks. In the first half, some outside shots were falling, which probably gave the hosts a significantly false sense of security as they tried to shoot their way out of the slump and instead lost more energy and momentum in the process.

54-25 showed the Hawks that they can't be so careless with possessions as they have been in previous seasons. Too many good opportunities were there for the Hawks in the first half that were frittered away by needlessly flippant passes. As the Magic battened down the hatches in the second half, the Hawks probably would have liked to have had a few of those ops back.

As the Hawks settled in for a parade of one-on-one possessions and eschewing most of what had led them to a double-digit halftime lead to begin with, they also lost the energy that permeated their production in that half.

That the Hawks shot a shockingly low (7) free throws serves to underline the passive nature of the team. There was hardly any movement, any drive/kick out and reversal of the floor to create space, any semblance of a team approach to the offensive end of the floor and the results grimly portrayed the effect of such play.


Side Bets

Kenny Smith of TNT at halftime spent the majority of his take lauding the team offensive approach the Hawks used in the first half, saying that they "finally had an offense". He took the time to show that the number of passes exceeded the number of dribbles in most possessions. Somethings tells THHB that the Hawks failed that particular litmus test of offensive prowess in the second half. Just guessing.

Smith noted that the Hawks hadn't been on national TV on a holiday in part to their lack of approach on the offensive end. If that truly is the standard of excellence by which teams are placed on that network, then Atlanta's second half performance may have exiled the team for quite a while--at the very least it showed that they are only half ready for such a forum.

While we're on the TNT telecast, we have to say that they can keep the Birds on NBATV or whoever versus having Dick Stockton do anymore Hawks telecasts. Stockton is a legend, but he is approximately (27) steps too slow in his calling of the game or even the in-game, ready-made graphics that require a peppy narration. It hinders the enjoyment of the telecast when two guys can't keep up with the flow of the game.

A-T-L A-O-K

We liked the new jerseys--and it's a shame that they couldn't be worn in a more celebratory manner. With Josh Smith and Al Horford flying and dunking in the first half, it looked like the ATL alternatives would be winners---Now, they are just as dastardly as the ill-fated McDonald's jerseys which when worn brought not-too-much success as well.


The team was sloppy, but aggressive and took care of the defensive end which allowed the Birds to get out to that (12) point halftime lead. But when the Magic adjusted with an aggressive attack inside on the Hawks, the team went into the collective fetal position and never recovered.

It showed how strong and weak the team can be---all in a (48) minute span.

THHB ignored Coach Woodson's warning about the effects of a heavy meal before the game. Demerits and other penalties can be assessed in the Comments Area.

Filtered Access Produces Colorless Product

By now you're likely to have heard and/or read about ESPN's lockdown of their cavalcade of stars from social media such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. Marry that to NFL, NBA, and other pro leagues beginning to take money away for such personal expression that the leagues/teams deem outside their own personal conduct code and we look like we're beginning to see a (hopefully temporary) embargo of conversation coming from those in the sports arena.

Teams and companies do have rights to control such behavior, especially when they are doing so in representation of said teams and companies. But to lock down all traffic and communication with the very audience they attempt to reach on an hourly basis is counterproductive to that cause.

ESPN won't be able to reach me every minute of my day if they rely strictly on old media avenues (website, TV/radio, print), but they can if Ric Bucher, Mark Stein, Chris Mortensen, etc are tweeting little nuggets and links. Not only that, but the chat-like responses that Bucher has given me in the past has made me MORE likely to read his material, stay tuned for his segments, etc. Bucher never made it through to me as a consumer until I saw the kind of guy he is through Twitter. It elevated his personality with me, added some depth to who he was, and made me interested in what he had to say.

Take Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for another example. Bradley has long been perceived in the ATL as a sourpuss/negative writer, causing many to believe the long time scribe sneered at the area's sports franchises when writing, showing attention only to level his subject with rotten vegatation. But a funny thing happened in the last few months. The paper opened Mark up to the public via a 3-a-day blog habit, turned him loose to comment on the site and through Twitter, and viola! It turns out that this guy is a good cat after all and, surprise, knows a lot about what he is covering. Mark is among the few newspaper columnists who actually reply to tweets and comments and not just use Twitter exclusively to peddle their work. And, like Bucher above, this changed understanding of Bradley has inspired many people to seek out and participate in the thoughts that Bradley presents on the AJC.com site, gains traffic and attention, and new readers who may have never participated if not for removing the filter of control and limiting Mark to a file photo on a website.

As for the athletes themselves, it can truly be home run or strikeout. Some athletes, like Zaza Pachulia and Dwight Howard come out looking great and becomes even more of a fan favorite through their personable personas on Twitter. Others have shown themselves in well publicized and less flattering light. Yes, teams may cringe when they see what's online, but it makes the whole experience more alive and colorful to see who these guys really are. It has given more reason to be excited about the upcoming season and personalized these players in a way that will enhance the game experience even more. There is a lot more love and appreciation for Delonte West after his lightheared KFC joint a few days ago, and there will be people who won't see West as another name on a jersey next season, they'll see a person, and along with other players that have invested with the public this offseason, that may increase enthusiasm to watch the NBA product this year.

So ESPN, the NFL, and others can attempt to limit, suppress, or even co-opt the technology for themselves, but there will be an unmeasurable impact to their cause, especially if what is trickled out to the public is a sterilized version of what was once real, vibrant, and unfiltered. It's not going to break them by any means, but they won't be getting into the mindset of this viewer as often as they would like, and therefore, they won't be able to reap the benefits from that quest.

The people aren't stupid, they know they like and want--and taking away something they want and replacing it with a washed-out version of it or even replacing it with nothing won't fly. And they leave themselves open to the corners of the space that will.

Dwight Howard's Problems Sound Familiar

Sometimes, it's just nice to know you aren't alone.

Down the road, in Orlando, there is a problem. Dwight Howard is frustrated at the offensive philosophy of his team as it is making the post, and therefore himself, an afterthought.

You can read about it very well in the Sporting News' new basketball blog, The Baseline.

The piece makes the comparisons between the Magic's systematic exclusion of the post as a bloodstream source of offense and the nurturing, developmental way that the Lakers are taking on Andrew Bynum's role in the Laker offense.

Read the article and you might get that it's the same feeling the HHB gets when looking at the First Two Years of the restricted role Al Horford has taken offensively in the Hawks gameplan and the development of many young big selected after him, Glen Davis being the most obvious example right now.

In Orlando, this will definitely be dealt with, as Dwight Howard's frustrations will surely be cause for change---but in Atlanta, what is the future for Horford offensively, if he is never developed into a stronger post player? With his quickness, explosiveness, and good hands, there is no reason why the offense can't flow through him. But what is happening instead is he's looks like he's being asked to be a more European center, knocking down jump shots, cleaning the glass, and basically taking the scraps of the offense.

For coaches to ignore the role of the post in the offensive efficiency of the offensive is one thing is a matter of philosophy---to do it at the expense of your high draft picks and/or superstars with post skill sets seems more than a bit inflexible and deigns to threaten either the growth of those players on that end or the end of your existence as "coach".

Any thoughts or discussion on the matter are welcomed eagerly in the Comments Area.