The Golden State Warriors had played (2) games prior to Friday night's 127-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Philips Arena in which they had made over (50) percent of their field goals, (40) percent of their 3-pointers, and (80) percent of their free throws, all while turning the ball over (11) times or less.
In the first of these games, in Milwaukee, the Warriors lost due to being outrebounded on the offensive glass 15-2 by the Bucks and 46-31 overall. The additional (9) shots plus Brandon Jennings seasonal epic (55) point game cost them an early season road win.
The next instance, a home game in February against the Kings, Golden State blew Sacramento's doors off, 130-98, behind (89) points between the three guards (Stephen Curry, CJ Watson, and Anthony Morrow).
Against the Hawks on the road, the Warriors arguably played a better game than they did when they came back from (18) against ATL in their own house and won. They had more three pointers made (11-3), fewer turnovers (11-13), and more offensive rebounds (14-9).
What was different for the Warriors tonight is that the Hawks, despite the Warriors great success at making shots and getting freaky rebounds on the offensive end, stuck with what worked all night long--going inside--and got the win.
For the most part, the Hawks worked from the inside-out, as no Warrior was able to match up successfully with Josh Smith or Al Horford. Between the two big men, the Hawks shot 20-30, 16-23, for (56) points and (24) rebounds, (9) of which were offensive. Adding to the frontcourt dominance was Marvin Williams, who matched his frontcourt brethren with (9) offensive rebounds of his own.
For the Hawks, it was a must not to ignore the size advantage the team had over their visitors. It showed good, selfless team play on the part of the volume shooting guards to use this considerable leverage to win the game, especially in light of the outside shooting of their counterparts. The Hawks outscored the Warriors 52-38 in the paint, and few of the Warriors paint points were out of the half court set, scoring many on their (31) fast break points.
When the Hawks needed big buckets late in the game, when the Warriors simply wouldn't stop making jump shots, they went into Horford, who delivered with a quick move to the basket for one score and two clutch free throws. Smith added two more later to seal the deal.
The success of the inside game was augmented by the outside shooting of Mike Bibby, who was a happy recipient of wide open shots with Oakland sagging in to protect what they could of the paint. Bibby had a season high (7) made three pointers and (23) points, besting his previous season high against PHL in November. Such accuracy helped make up for the lack of hoop luck for Joe Johnson, who needed (14) shots to get to double digits in scoring (3-14).
Also not-hot was Jamal Crawford, who had (2) points through three quarters, but finished strong with (12) fourth quarter points, 5-13 shooting overall. But while being cold from the floor, Crawford and Johnson combined for (13) assists in what was a good ball movement game all around for the home team (27 assists).
Some for you and some for you
As good as the Warriors were, the Hawks were better due to using their strength. In a similar look at the Hawks prowess when hitting the 50/50/75/less than 10 turnover objectives they produced against Golden State, the Hawks have won both times they accomplished the same this season. This first was the home win against Toronto and the other was the recent win at Utah.
We're confused how Stephen Curry "only" averages 15.6 points per game overall in the league as he went over thirty points (31) against against the Hawks for the second game in a row. Curry put (32) in against the Hawks in Oakland and did it both times while shooting over (50) percent (13-18/11-19). Curry dished out (11) assists while committing (7) of the Warriors (11) turnovers on the night, all while doing what THHB calls "pitching a complete game"--playing all (48) minutes. No Hawk has done that since the '07-'08 season when, surprise, Joe Johnson played every minute against the Bulls in a 103-94 loss in Chicago. It was Curry's 4th complete game of the year.
Enjoy the highlights:
Showing posts with label Josh Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Josh Smith. Show all posts
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
ATL-CHI Game Review: Taking Advantage
The Bulls were missing Joakim Noah and Luol Deng and had traded away Tyrus Thomas, giving the fully loaded Hawks a supreme advantage inside, which they used to exact a 63-37 advantage on the boards, including (22) offensive rebounds, on their way to a fairly easy 116-92 win in Chicago.
Though the Hawks never trailed in the game, the Hawks needed a 41-24 fourth quarter to close the argument. The Bulls fought hard, including Derrick Rose (24 points), to keep it close, and the Hawks obliged by having another poor shooting night from the Backcourt (Joe Johnson 5-15, Bibby 2-7, Crawford 6-13, 13-35, 37 percent total).
Still, the Bulls had no answer for the length and activity of Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Al Horford, and Zaza Pachulia, as each had a hand in building that extreme rebounding margin and the associated second chances.
Smith had (9) first quarter points and maybe should have had the ball a lot more given the complete inability of the Bulls to defend him going inside. Taj Gibson only saw a blur from Smith when trying to check him, and Smith converted 7/14 from the field and scoring (17) for the game.
Remember when we used to say that Smith needed to understand his role (read: improve) in defensive rebounding? Smith averaged (10) rebounds per game in February and started March off with a season high, (18) rebound bang against CHI. In addition, SportSouth ran a great graphic in the game regarding Smith's ranking in both blocks and steals, illustrating that he is the shortest player in the Top 12 in blocks and the tallest player in the Top 12 in steals. Nice. If Smith keeps this up, folks will have to stop talking about his potential greatness and just talk about the greatness.
Marvin Williams found his place on the team last night in exploding to the rim and finishing, also going 7-14 (18 points) and getting (9) rebounds. The Bulls, without Deng, Noah, and the traded Thomas, simply didn't have the length or athleticism to keep the Hawks off the glass with any consistency and despite their hustle, this deficiency cost them the game.
Trick Shots
The Hawks busted out a couple of beauties, both of which should be logged in the highlights if there is any decency and common sense in the NBA.com highlight department.
The first was quite a bit of luck as Maurice Evans dribbled out behind the three point line with the shot clock winding down. Evans is no Joe Johnson in these situations, but there was nowhere left to go as he tried to dribble down the baseline and was met by the Bulls defense. Feeling contact, Evans began to lean out of bounds as he flipped the ball in the air towards the basket. Chicago fans had to feel as if they were predestined for defeat as the ball seemed to curve around the backboard into the net. Evans seemed annoyed that there was no call. Celebrate, Mo!
The other was in the shadows of garbage time. This time the ball came to Mario "Flubber" West on the outside. Amzaingly, West authored a knee knocking cross over and then drove to the hoop. With little between him and the hoop, West took off in the air, leaning a bit towards the basket. With a large amount of authority, Flubber slammed the ball through the net, eliciting a large amount of "Oooohs" and "aaahhhhs" from the Chicago faithful (they must have been if they were still in the arena at that point). Heck, even all the staff tracking the game for THHB hit the arrows on the DVR remote to check that play out a half dozen times. It was most definitely sweet.
We Tied a String Around Our Finger
We will not forget Al Horford who, in the midst of when this was still a hotly contested game in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, sent the Hawks up by (7) twice with made baskets, and then got the Hawks into a double figure lead with seven minutes left to play. Horford also pulled in (10) rebounds to go along with his (15) points--a second straight double-double. We still see a lack of aggressiveness around the hoop on offense--we wonder if there is an injury or a lack of confidence in there. Instead of playing not to be denied, Horford sometimes looks as if he is applying for a vacancy in the hoop instead of simply taking the space.
We also won't forget Mike Woodson for somewhat understanding that the Bulls had no height/strength inside and trying to exploit it. Yes, we think that there should have been an avalanche of possessions for Smith, Horford, etc, but we saw a lot more post action in Chicago than in recent games, and he kept Horford and Pachulia in there together to start the fourth which helped give Smith needed rest while the big boys continued to dominate the glass.
Highlights of the Bullying of the Bulls below:
Though the Hawks never trailed in the game, the Hawks needed a 41-24 fourth quarter to close the argument. The Bulls fought hard, including Derrick Rose (24 points), to keep it close, and the Hawks obliged by having another poor shooting night from the Backcourt (Joe Johnson 5-15, Bibby 2-7, Crawford 6-13, 13-35, 37 percent total).
Still, the Bulls had no answer for the length and activity of Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Al Horford, and Zaza Pachulia, as each had a hand in building that extreme rebounding margin and the associated second chances.
Smith had (9) first quarter points and maybe should have had the ball a lot more given the complete inability of the Bulls to defend him going inside. Taj Gibson only saw a blur from Smith when trying to check him, and Smith converted 7/14 from the field and scoring (17) for the game.
Remember when we used to say that Smith needed to understand his role (read: improve) in defensive rebounding? Smith averaged (10) rebounds per game in February and started March off with a season high, (18) rebound bang against CHI. In addition, SportSouth ran a great graphic in the game regarding Smith's ranking in both blocks and steals, illustrating that he is the shortest player in the Top 12 in blocks and the tallest player in the Top 12 in steals. Nice. If Smith keeps this up, folks will have to stop talking about his potential greatness and just talk about the greatness.
Marvin Williams found his place on the team last night in exploding to the rim and finishing, also going 7-14 (18 points) and getting (9) rebounds. The Bulls, without Deng, Noah, and the traded Thomas, simply didn't have the length or athleticism to keep the Hawks off the glass with any consistency and despite their hustle, this deficiency cost them the game.
Trick Shots
The Hawks busted out a couple of beauties, both of which should be logged in the highlights if there is any decency and common sense in the NBA.com highlight department.
The first was quite a bit of luck as Maurice Evans dribbled out behind the three point line with the shot clock winding down. Evans is no Joe Johnson in these situations, but there was nowhere left to go as he tried to dribble down the baseline and was met by the Bulls defense. Feeling contact, Evans began to lean out of bounds as he flipped the ball in the air towards the basket. Chicago fans had to feel as if they were predestined for defeat as the ball seemed to curve around the backboard into the net. Evans seemed annoyed that there was no call. Celebrate, Mo!
The other was in the shadows of garbage time. This time the ball came to Mario "Flubber" West on the outside. Amzaingly, West authored a knee knocking cross over and then drove to the hoop. With little between him and the hoop, West took off in the air, leaning a bit towards the basket. With a large amount of authority, Flubber slammed the ball through the net, eliciting a large amount of "Oooohs" and "aaahhhhs" from the Chicago faithful (they must have been if they were still in the arena at that point). Heck, even all the staff tracking the game for THHB hit the arrows on the DVR remote to check that play out a half dozen times. It was most definitely sweet.
We Tied a String Around Our Finger
We will not forget Al Horford who, in the midst of when this was still a hotly contested game in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, sent the Hawks up by (7) twice with made baskets, and then got the Hawks into a double figure lead with seven minutes left to play. Horford also pulled in (10) rebounds to go along with his (15) points--a second straight double-double. We still see a lack of aggressiveness around the hoop on offense--we wonder if there is an injury or a lack of confidence in there. Instead of playing not to be denied, Horford sometimes looks as if he is applying for a vacancy in the hoop instead of simply taking the space.
We also won't forget Mike Woodson for somewhat understanding that the Bulls had no height/strength inside and trying to exploit it. Yes, we think that there should have been an avalanche of possessions for Smith, Horford, etc, but we saw a lot more post action in Chicago than in recent games, and he kept Horford and Pachulia in there together to start the fourth which helped give Smith needed rest while the big boys continued to dominate the glass.
Highlights of the Bullying of the Bulls below:
Friday, February 26, 2010
DAL-ATL Game Review: Broken Record
We'll make this simple.
Hawks start slow.
Hawks come back and lead game.
Dallas goes zone.
Hawks shoot jump shots.
Dallas scores, and scores, and takes the lead.
A late technical foul helps game into overtime.
Dallas stays in zone.
Atlanta remains outside, missing jump shots.
Dallas remains outside, making jump shots.
Dallas scoring, Hawks snoring.
Game over.
Atomic Dog
It's fitting that Jason Terry was in the house tonight, because we have to give a Jason Terry tip-of-the-cap to Jason Kidd, who absolutely, without question, won this game for the Mavs.
Yes, yes, Dirk Nowitzki was great--(37 points on 15-26 shooting). But Kidd had an unreal triple-double, laying down a 19/17/16 line--the first of such kind since Magic Johnson did the trick in 1989.
When Kidd entered the game in the fourth quarter, the Hawks held an 86-71 lead with 8:23 left to play. From that point on, the Mavericks outscored the Hawks 40-17. Kidd had (9) points and (7) assists the rest of the way, including a sure-to-be-discussed play where Kidd saw Mike Woodson directing his team on the court, ran full speed towards the coach, then threw a forearm into Woodson while he had just barely made it back off the court. Not only did Kidd get away with initiating contact like that, the Mavericks were awarded a technical foul for interference on Woodson.
Some call this veteran or savvy. We call it a "jerk" move.
Woodson was off the court, Kidd initiated contact, with a forearm shiver no less. It's not basketball, yet there it was.
Still, it had nothing to do with Kidd killing the Hawks with threes (3 of them in that run) or leading the charge of standing around in a zone while the Hawks continued to try to shoot over it with no success over and over again. And it certainly didn't take away from the statistically incredible night Kidd had. Bravo.
Blame Game
There will be plenty--there often is in games such as this. You can point to Woodson for his lack of adjustments to the zone or his sojourn onto the court which led to the Kidd nonsense.
Al Horford was terrible all night---losing Haywood on the glass, shooting 4-16 and missing a free throw down the stretch. He had his shot blocked (4) times, making himself awfully small around the hoop. His ineffectiveness was especially painful given the shooting struggles the Hawks had late.
Joe Johnson had a statistically tremendous game (27 points, 10 assists, 11-21 shooting), but he forced shots late and had a forgettable bit of basketball late that helped force overtime. Johnson was backing Barea down in the post, leveraging more than one forearm to Barea's chest in doing so, and then missed the short range shot. Johnson jogged back down and then, with his feet out of position, lost Jason Terry as the Jet took the ball baseline. Josh Smith rushed down to help only to watch Terry zip the ball back out to the top to Nowitzki, who slung it over to Kidd who hit yet another three pointer to give the Mavericks a two point lead.
Jamal Crawford took nine 3-pointers and missed seven of them. His coldness enabled a team high (low?) -14 for the night.
The team's transition defense was shaky throughout the game, which especially hurt when those long jump shots (The Hawks attempted 26 threes, 9 more than their average per game) went the other way. The ESPN TV team of Dan Shulman and Hubie Brown were calling them One and Done and the Mavericks were taking advantage the other way.
When teams go zone, one of the keys is to attack the middle, penetrate, get to the line. The Hawks decided they would shoot over it, and it failed. At the time that Kidd checked back into the game, the Hawks had attempted (18) free throws. For the last (13) minutes of the game, they would attempt (3) more and make only one.
Any NBA player will tell you about how teams always make runs, which is why it's so surprising that those same players on the court seem to forget that when they have a big lead. It's too bad tonight, because the Hawks had overcome their early game misery to play fantastic basketball, especially Josh Smith, who put an 18/11/8/7 (steals) up for the home team, only to watch himself fall into the same traps the team falls into--the chase for the glory of the made jump shot. They were in position to drop the 4th best Western Conference team--and let it go.
Zones, Jump Shots, and Jason Kidd.
Ballgame.
Highlights:
Hawks start slow.
Hawks come back and lead game.
Dallas goes zone.
Hawks shoot jump shots.
Dallas scores, and scores, and takes the lead.
A late technical foul helps game into overtime.
Dallas stays in zone.
Atlanta remains outside, missing jump shots.
Dallas remains outside, making jump shots.
Dallas scoring, Hawks snoring.
Game over.
Atomic Dog
It's fitting that Jason Terry was in the house tonight, because we have to give a Jason Terry tip-of-the-cap to Jason Kidd, who absolutely, without question, won this game for the Mavs.
Yes, yes, Dirk Nowitzki was great--(37 points on 15-26 shooting). But Kidd had an unreal triple-double, laying down a 19/17/16 line--the first of such kind since Magic Johnson did the trick in 1989.
When Kidd entered the game in the fourth quarter, the Hawks held an 86-71 lead with 8:23 left to play. From that point on, the Mavericks outscored the Hawks 40-17. Kidd had (9) points and (7) assists the rest of the way, including a sure-to-be-discussed play where Kidd saw Mike Woodson directing his team on the court, ran full speed towards the coach, then threw a forearm into Woodson while he had just barely made it back off the court. Not only did Kidd get away with initiating contact like that, the Mavericks were awarded a technical foul for interference on Woodson.
Some call this veteran or savvy. We call it a "jerk" move.
Woodson was off the court, Kidd initiated contact, with a forearm shiver no less. It's not basketball, yet there it was.
Still, it had nothing to do with Kidd killing the Hawks with threes (3 of them in that run) or leading the charge of standing around in a zone while the Hawks continued to try to shoot over it with no success over and over again. And it certainly didn't take away from the statistically incredible night Kidd had. Bravo.
Blame Game
There will be plenty--there often is in games such as this. You can point to Woodson for his lack of adjustments to the zone or his sojourn onto the court which led to the Kidd nonsense.
Al Horford was terrible all night---losing Haywood on the glass, shooting 4-16 and missing a free throw down the stretch. He had his shot blocked (4) times, making himself awfully small around the hoop. His ineffectiveness was especially painful given the shooting struggles the Hawks had late.
Joe Johnson had a statistically tremendous game (27 points, 10 assists, 11-21 shooting), but he forced shots late and had a forgettable bit of basketball late that helped force overtime. Johnson was backing Barea down in the post, leveraging more than one forearm to Barea's chest in doing so, and then missed the short range shot. Johnson jogged back down and then, with his feet out of position, lost Jason Terry as the Jet took the ball baseline. Josh Smith rushed down to help only to watch Terry zip the ball back out to the top to Nowitzki, who slung it over to Kidd who hit yet another three pointer to give the Mavericks a two point lead.
Jamal Crawford took nine 3-pointers and missed seven of them. His coldness enabled a team high (low?) -14 for the night.
The team's transition defense was shaky throughout the game, which especially hurt when those long jump shots (The Hawks attempted 26 threes, 9 more than their average per game) went the other way. The ESPN TV team of Dan Shulman and Hubie Brown were calling them One and Done and the Mavericks were taking advantage the other way.
When teams go zone, one of the keys is to attack the middle, penetrate, get to the line. The Hawks decided they would shoot over it, and it failed. At the time that Kidd checked back into the game, the Hawks had attempted (18) free throws. For the last (13) minutes of the game, they would attempt (3) more and make only one.
Any NBA player will tell you about how teams always make runs, which is why it's so surprising that those same players on the court seem to forget that when they have a big lead. It's too bad tonight, because the Hawks had overcome their early game misery to play fantastic basketball, especially Josh Smith, who put an 18/11/8/7 (steals) up for the home team, only to watch himself fall into the same traps the team falls into--the chase for the glory of the made jump shot. They were in position to drop the 4th best Western Conference team--and let it go.
Zones, Jump Shots, and Jason Kidd.
Ballgame.
Highlights:
Thursday, February 25, 2010
MIN-ATL Game Night (Now w/Quotes!): Smoove Just Like Silk
Returning home from a long break from the circus-infested Philips Arena, the Atlanta Hawks took care of the business of winning, outlasting the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-92 Wednesday night.
Leading the way was the all around excellent play of Josh Smith. Smith led all scorers with a season-high (27) points and then added (10) rebounds, (5) assists, (2) official blocked shots, and a number of Jonny Flynn and company's shots altered in fear of heartbreaking rejection.
"He changed a lot of shots and helped everybody," said a thankful Mike Bibby about Smith's deterrent presence around the net.
Maybe it's because he doesn't always do it as smooth as his nickname suggests, but Smith's production is borderline prodigious. Because he doesn't shoot the ball well (though tonight he seemed as on as his skill will allow) he'll never be the type to snap off a scoring run as grand as Kevin Durant. Still, his omnipresence can lift the team to victory, a characteristic present in the game tonight.
"He was all over the place," beamed Coach Woodson afterwards. "He was blocking shots, scoring for us, made his free throws, rebounded the ball---he was solid from beginning to the end."
"You don't realize all the things he's doing," said Al Horford about his teammate's performance. "He's quiet in putting up those numbers, but he's been doing it for us all year long."
"It feels good," allowed Smith about his effort. "Any time I can help the team win in any way; points, rebounds, steals, blocks, assists--it puts a smile on my face."
In addition to his aberrant effectiveness in jump shots on this single night, Smoove took it to the free throw line for a total of (11) free throws, with (9) made. His efforts on the glass helped limit the top 10 Offensive Rebounding Wolves to a mere (7) for the night, a pre-game objective met by the Hawks.
"Keeping (Kevin) Love and Al Jefferson off the glass--they're beasts on the glass and live for second chance points, boxing them out and limiting those offensive rebounds, that was good," acknowledged Smith.
Horford agreed, "We made a conscience effort to keep them off the glass. We know how dominant Al Jefferson and Kevin Love can be, so we really tried to limit them. It helped to have our guards coming in and helping us with the rebounds." Horford added, laughing, "(Mike) Bibby stole a couple from me--he's been telling me he's trying get his rebounding percentages up."
Horford pitched in with (13) rebounds and (5) assists, helping make his unusually deficient night from the field (a rushed 5-14) less painful.
"I just tried to stay with it. I didn't have the shooting night that I usually have," Horford admitted. "But I made sure that I stayed in it and do the other things like defending and rebounding. Once the game got going I was able to handle it, though." (Horford was 3-6 in the second half)
Joe Johnson was a steady-as-he-goes (21) and (5) assists, getting to the line for (7) throws of his own. He gave the Hawks a solid hand along with Mike Bibby, who emerged from a slump to hit 5/9, 2/4 for (12) points. He added (5) rebounds of his own--says Woodson, "We're going to need Mike to continue to step up, knock down shots and run the ball club like he's done the last two years."
Bibby's effort was needed in what was easily Jamal Crawford's worst game as a Hawk. Crawford was oh-for-seven and had a mere point, leaving him wondering (in jest) about his standing as the frontrunner for Sixth Man.
"It was probably his worst game of the season," said Woodson. "But he's entitled to that. He's been solid all season for us."
Nothing's Easy
The Hawks took a (12) point lead into the final quarter--not even close to comfortable, we know---but quickly gave it back thanks to a less than stellar second half effort from the second unit.
It's too bad because one of the best parts about the first half was the play of the recently slumping bench. The second unit scored (18) first half points, led by Joe Smith and Mo Evans. Zaza Pachulia, who has been a bit salty about his own play and the lack of time on the court to work through it, had (6) rebounds in the opening half. "We were concentrating on limiting their second chance buckets," said Pachulia.
In the second half, however, the bench was able to only add (5) points (all Evans) and Pachulia a single extra rebound.
"I was hoping to go with our second unit the rest of the way," explained Woody when talking about the slow fourth quarter start. "They didn't get it done and I had to go back to our starters."
Included in that first half goodness was the solid play of Jeff Teague, with whom THHB visited with before the game. Teague ran the offense well in the first half, garnering his (4) points, (2) rebounds, and an assist for his work. On one bucket, Teague took a long outlet pass and finished strong at the hoop, taking the play right into the chest of Corey Brewer.
Kevin Love is an offensive rebounding machine. Despite the overall effective effort of the Hawks in keeping MIN off the offensive glass, Love still managed to make his mark, getting (4) of the (7) for the team. Love, who lacks only the three point shot to officially look like every church league superstar, was unable to display his well chronicled passing skills, as he had zero assists.
As rated as Love's skills are at passing, J-Smoove's skills are underrated. Among power forwards who play 25+ minutes per game, Smith is first in assists and weighted assists (which gives bonus for assists leading to a three). He is also 4th among power forwards in assist to turnover ratio, with 1.84, which is by far his best in his career.
Enjoy the highlights:
Leading the way was the all around excellent play of Josh Smith. Smith led all scorers with a season-high (27) points and then added (10) rebounds, (5) assists, (2) official blocked shots, and a number of Jonny Flynn and company's shots altered in fear of heartbreaking rejection.
"He changed a lot of shots and helped everybody," said a thankful Mike Bibby about Smith's deterrent presence around the net.
Maybe it's because he doesn't always do it as smooth as his nickname suggests, but Smith's production is borderline prodigious. Because he doesn't shoot the ball well (though tonight he seemed as on as his skill will allow) he'll never be the type to snap off a scoring run as grand as Kevin Durant. Still, his omnipresence can lift the team to victory, a characteristic present in the game tonight.
"He was all over the place," beamed Coach Woodson afterwards. "He was blocking shots, scoring for us, made his free throws, rebounded the ball---he was solid from beginning to the end."
"You don't realize all the things he's doing," said Al Horford about his teammate's performance. "He's quiet in putting up those numbers, but he's been doing it for us all year long."
"It feels good," allowed Smith about his effort. "Any time I can help the team win in any way; points, rebounds, steals, blocks, assists--it puts a smile on my face."
In addition to his aberrant effectiveness in jump shots on this single night, Smoove took it to the free throw line for a total of (11) free throws, with (9) made. His efforts on the glass helped limit the top 10 Offensive Rebounding Wolves to a mere (7) for the night, a pre-game objective met by the Hawks.
"Keeping (Kevin) Love and Al Jefferson off the glass--they're beasts on the glass and live for second chance points, boxing them out and limiting those offensive rebounds, that was good," acknowledged Smith.
Horford agreed, "We made a conscience effort to keep them off the glass. We know how dominant Al Jefferson and Kevin Love can be, so we really tried to limit them. It helped to have our guards coming in and helping us with the rebounds." Horford added, laughing, "(Mike) Bibby stole a couple from me--he's been telling me he's trying get his rebounding percentages up."
Horford pitched in with (13) rebounds and (5) assists, helping make his unusually deficient night from the field (a rushed 5-14) less painful.
"I just tried to stay with it. I didn't have the shooting night that I usually have," Horford admitted. "But I made sure that I stayed in it and do the other things like defending and rebounding. Once the game got going I was able to handle it, though." (Horford was 3-6 in the second half)
Joe Johnson was a steady-as-he-goes (21) and (5) assists, getting to the line for (7) throws of his own. He gave the Hawks a solid hand along with Mike Bibby, who emerged from a slump to hit 5/9, 2/4 for (12) points. He added (5) rebounds of his own--says Woodson, "We're going to need Mike to continue to step up, knock down shots and run the ball club like he's done the last two years."
Bibby's effort was needed in what was easily Jamal Crawford's worst game as a Hawk. Crawford was oh-for-seven and had a mere point, leaving him wondering (in jest) about his standing as the frontrunner for Sixth Man.
"It was probably his worst game of the season," said Woodson. "But he's entitled to that. He's been solid all season for us."
Nothing's Easy
The Hawks took a (12) point lead into the final quarter--not even close to comfortable, we know---but quickly gave it back thanks to a less than stellar second half effort from the second unit.
It's too bad because one of the best parts about the first half was the play of the recently slumping bench. The second unit scored (18) first half points, led by Joe Smith and Mo Evans. Zaza Pachulia, who has been a bit salty about his own play and the lack of time on the court to work through it, had (6) rebounds in the opening half. "We were concentrating on limiting their second chance buckets," said Pachulia.
In the second half, however, the bench was able to only add (5) points (all Evans) and Pachulia a single extra rebound.
"I was hoping to go with our second unit the rest of the way," explained Woody when talking about the slow fourth quarter start. "They didn't get it done and I had to go back to our starters."
Included in that first half goodness was the solid play of Jeff Teague, with whom THHB visited with before the game. Teague ran the offense well in the first half, garnering his (4) points, (2) rebounds, and an assist for his work. On one bucket, Teague took a long outlet pass and finished strong at the hoop, taking the play right into the chest of Corey Brewer.
Kevin Love is an offensive rebounding machine. Despite the overall effective effort of the Hawks in keeping MIN off the offensive glass, Love still managed to make his mark, getting (4) of the (7) for the team. Love, who lacks only the three point shot to officially look like every church league superstar, was unable to display his well chronicled passing skills, as he had zero assists.
As rated as Love's skills are at passing, J-Smoove's skills are underrated. Among power forwards who play 25+ minutes per game, Smith is first in assists and weighted assists (which gives bonus for assists leading to a three). He is also 4th among power forwards in assist to turnover ratio, with 1.84, which is by far his best in his career.
Enjoy the highlights:
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.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
ATL-OKC Game Review: Have The Thunder Passed the Hawks?
Among the many items to consume in the 106-99 Hawks loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder is whether the young upstarts from Oklahoma are really already beyond the Hawks in terms of their progression as a team.
Yes, as Mike Prada over at Bullets Forever noted to us over on Twitter after the game, the Hawks are further ahead in the standings than the Thunder, and while that calmed the veracity of our opinion, it didn't stop us from looking further into the numbers to change our minds for sure.
Looking into the Fabled Four Factors we see the following:
Team A: 102/100 Off/Def Efficiency, 48.63/47.33 EFG% (Own/Opp), 32.6/30.1 FT Rate, 14.58/14.21 Turnover Rate, 28.35/27.36 Offensive Rebounding Rate
Team B: 108.4/103.5 O/D Effic., 50.47/49.73 EFG%, 27.8/28.8 FTR, 11.38/13.72 TO Rate, 27.58/27.07 ORR
Pretty close, and those who watch the Hawks know that Team A is the Thunder and Team B, with the low own turnover rate, is Atlanta.
That turnover rate is the only thing, statistically, keeping the Hawks ahead of the Thunder at this current juncture, as it impacts both efficiencies. With the Thunder's age/experience difference, you might expect them to have a higher turnover rate than the more seasoned Hawks.
Weigh in that the Thunder are still rising this season, while the Hawks are tailing off a little bit from their league leading start. Even in the Basketball-Reference stat, SRS, the Thunder are closing in, ranking 10th while the Hawks have slipped from 1st to 5th.
Now look on the court, where OKC has taken care of the Hawks twice now. They are active and long defensively, out Hawks-ing the Hawks, giving ATL all kinds of fits inside, especially on the glass, where the Thunder outworked the Hawks for (17) offensive rebounds, including (5) from PG Russell Westbrook. The Hawks started the season faring better on the defensive glass, but have slipped back into the familiar twenties (21st before Tuesday's game) in that category.
Offensively, the Hawks, despite THHB's harping on sharing the ball more and working inside-out for better shots, still outpace the Thunder in Assist Rate, though OKC shoots a considerable lower percentage of three point shots per game than does ATL.
The Hawks have the great Joe Johnson, whose ability to score was on display again against OKC, under control for (37) points, with (4) of his (13) buckets assisted. Johnson hit on some iso, but the ball found him in good positions to score and Joe took advantage of a shifting defense to get in the lane and get higher percentage looks. All (4) of his assisted baskets occurred from the outside (16) feet.
They also have Al Horford who, while being recognized as one of the league's best as an All-Star, still plays timid at times around the rim. Horford shot 2-6 at the rim against OKC, and hasn't lost the habit of bringing the ball all the way down below his waist when preparing to hoist himself up around the rim. The process takes so long that the opponents can collapse on him and block his shot. This has caused Al to get into a habit of trying to sneak the ball into the basket, resulting in--on one occasion, sending the ball quickly and inaccurately way too high and hard off the glass versus trying to stuff it home or draw a foul.
Josh Smith, who became the youngest player in NBA history to reach (1000) blocked shots, had a nice game as well (15/6/3), gives the Hawks a nice triumvirate of talent, but neither he (5) nor Horford (2) got enough defensive rebounds to hold the Thunder in check. The (6) extra shots and (7) extra free throw attempts were enough to make the difference between winning and losing against the Thunder.
On the Thunder roster are a number of solid, young players. Jeff Green and James Harden provide toughness and shotmaking, and Westbrook is an energetic playmaker. But what has moved the Thunder so far, so fast, is the continued improvement of (surprise) Kevin Durant, and his ascent from potential to arrival.
Nobody has to be reminded that Durant is a superstar. His offensive prowess is evident, with his 100 rating stroke, but all of his rates are going up as well: rebounding, blocks, steals, etc. What we're seeing in OKC is the power of the superstar making the water rise to new levels. He's getting to the free throw line more and more, earning (14) throws against the Hawks.
It's the presence of the superstar that can lift franchises to greater heights than the team that is built around a number of fringe all-star caliber players. We've seen Cleveland go to greater heights than the roster around LeBron James would indicate---and OKC seems to be built much more efficiently than even that squad.
Looking back at the numbers, at this moment in time, the Hawks maintain an edge based on their ability to take care of the basketball. But the Thunder are right there statistically, and it won't be long before the star of Durant and the rest of the Thunder carries them above what even the talented Hawks can muster.
Yes, as Mike Prada over at Bullets Forever noted to us over on Twitter after the game, the Hawks are further ahead in the standings than the Thunder, and while that calmed the veracity of our opinion, it didn't stop us from looking further into the numbers to change our minds for sure.
Looking into the Fabled Four Factors we see the following:
Team A: 102/100 Off/Def Efficiency, 48.63/47.33 EFG% (Own/Opp), 32.6/30.1 FT Rate, 14.58/14.21 Turnover Rate, 28.35/27.36 Offensive Rebounding Rate
Team B: 108.4/103.5 O/D Effic., 50.47/49.73 EFG%, 27.8/28.8 FTR, 11.38/13.72 TO Rate, 27.58/27.07 ORR
Pretty close, and those who watch the Hawks know that Team A is the Thunder and Team B, with the low own turnover rate, is Atlanta.
That turnover rate is the only thing, statistically, keeping the Hawks ahead of the Thunder at this current juncture, as it impacts both efficiencies. With the Thunder's age/experience difference, you might expect them to have a higher turnover rate than the more seasoned Hawks.
Weigh in that the Thunder are still rising this season, while the Hawks are tailing off a little bit from their league leading start. Even in the Basketball-Reference stat, SRS, the Thunder are closing in, ranking 10th while the Hawks have slipped from 1st to 5th.
Now look on the court, where OKC has taken care of the Hawks twice now. They are active and long defensively, out Hawks-ing the Hawks, giving ATL all kinds of fits inside, especially on the glass, where the Thunder outworked the Hawks for (17) offensive rebounds, including (5) from PG Russell Westbrook. The Hawks started the season faring better on the defensive glass, but have slipped back into the familiar twenties (21st before Tuesday's game) in that category.
Offensively, the Hawks, despite THHB's harping on sharing the ball more and working inside-out for better shots, still outpace the Thunder in Assist Rate, though OKC shoots a considerable lower percentage of three point shots per game than does ATL.
The Hawks have the great Joe Johnson, whose ability to score was on display again against OKC, under control for (37) points, with (4) of his (13) buckets assisted. Johnson hit on some iso, but the ball found him in good positions to score and Joe took advantage of a shifting defense to get in the lane and get higher percentage looks. All (4) of his assisted baskets occurred from the outside (16) feet.
They also have Al Horford who, while being recognized as one of the league's best as an All-Star, still plays timid at times around the rim. Horford shot 2-6 at the rim against OKC, and hasn't lost the habit of bringing the ball all the way down below his waist when preparing to hoist himself up around the rim. The process takes so long that the opponents can collapse on him and block his shot. This has caused Al to get into a habit of trying to sneak the ball into the basket, resulting in--on one occasion, sending the ball quickly and inaccurately way too high and hard off the glass versus trying to stuff it home or draw a foul.
Josh Smith, who became the youngest player in NBA history to reach (1000) blocked shots, had a nice game as well (15/6/3), gives the Hawks a nice triumvirate of talent, but neither he (5) nor Horford (2) got enough defensive rebounds to hold the Thunder in check. The (6) extra shots and (7) extra free throw attempts were enough to make the difference between winning and losing against the Thunder.
On the Thunder roster are a number of solid, young players. Jeff Green and James Harden provide toughness and shotmaking, and Westbrook is an energetic playmaker. But what has moved the Thunder so far, so fast, is the continued improvement of (surprise) Kevin Durant, and his ascent from potential to arrival.
Nobody has to be reminded that Durant is a superstar. His offensive prowess is evident, with his 100 rating stroke, but all of his rates are going up as well: rebounding, blocks, steals, etc. What we're seeing in OKC is the power of the superstar making the water rise to new levels. He's getting to the free throw line more and more, earning (14) throws against the Hawks.
It's the presence of the superstar that can lift franchises to greater heights than the team that is built around a number of fringe all-star caliber players. We've seen Cleveland go to greater heights than the roster around LeBron James would indicate---and OKC seems to be built much more efficiently than even that squad.
Looking back at the numbers, at this moment in time, the Hawks maintain an edge based on their ability to take care of the basketball. But the Thunder are right there statistically, and it won't be long before the star of Durant and the rest of the Thunder carries them above what even the talented Hawks can muster.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
THHB Special Commentary: Josh Smith and the All-Star Game
(Hi. I'm Jason Walker, founder and editor of The Human Highlight Blog. The following is a personal commentary and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the dozens that bring THHB to you daily.)
Now, I realize I may be jumping the gun here, but Yahoo! Sports is the proud news-breaker of the NBA All-Star Reserves.
On this precious list are the names of two Hawks:
Johnson, Joe
Horford, Al
That is all.
Left off the list is the player who may be most responsible for the step forward the team has taken this season---Josh Smith.
It was been well documented that Smith took his own step forward this season by showing the maturity in dropping his ill-conceived three point attempts and moving those forward to shots near the rim. ESPN's own Hoopinion has been tracking this all season long.
There may be no bigger barometer for this division leading team than Smith, and everyone who has witnessed this team this year knows Smith's ability to positively (and negatively) impact the team. Many who dared to forecast the list of reserves included Smith's name due to this impact and overall productivity.
So why then did Smith get left off the All-Star team?
One reason has to do with the puzzling roster requirements, which says that you have to name a "second team" along with two wild cards, which would eliminate a "who are the best seven players that aren't in the starting lineup here" decision making process.
Another is the fans voting in of Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett, one being a legacy pick (AI) and the other worthy on inclusion but had missed a decent part of the season to date (KG). Remove one or both of these guys and perhaps Smoove moves on in---certainly there are blogs for every team lamenting this for their most important "snub".
With the two reserve forward spots going to the uber-worthy Chris Bosh and long time vet Paul Pierce, it very may well have come down to Smith and another player of his ilk, Charlotte's Gerald Wallace.
Looking at the numbers between the two and you can see why they are compared to each other. Why then Wallace then over Smith, hypothetically?
One reason could be that Wallace's raw stats are better, more points per game, more rebounds per game, etc--a product of his (9) MPG advantage over Smith. Basketball has come some way in appreciating the finer aspects of the game rather than just looking at PPG, but not all the way, and if coaches were looking at Wallace's stats over Smith's, a difference of (3) PPG and (3) RPG might have tipped the scales for the Bobcats' first All-Star.
But that line of reasoning doesn't compute when you look at the selection of Horford over David Lee. Lee's advanced stats and raw stats are higher than Horford's, but so is his overall Usage Rate. Still, if raw numbers were what led to the selection of Wallace over Smith, why wouldn't Lee have been selected over Horford?
No, what I believe what ultimately led to Smith's exclusion this season, in addition to the smaller things already listed, was Smith's perpetual demeanor on the court and to his head coach.
On the court, Smith has a tendency to complain, complain, complain, and has already logged technical fouls at a rate that would compare him to Rasheed Wallace. Opposing coaches note this when their teams are up against the Hawks and they are the ones that cast the fateful ballots.
Also, Smith has engaged in some infamous battles with Coach Woodson and, despite whether things are good now, or overblown to begin with, those perceptions also linger. When you consider all other things equal, do you not vote for who you like better?
Smith has been petulant at times on the court---such behavior hasn't gotten him any favors on the court--and may have cost him some off the court as well.
Now, I realize I may be jumping the gun here, but Yahoo! Sports is the proud news-breaker of the NBA All-Star Reserves.
On this precious list are the names of two Hawks:
Johnson, Joe
Horford, Al
That is all.
Left off the list is the player who may be most responsible for the step forward the team has taken this season---Josh Smith.
It was been well documented that Smith took his own step forward this season by showing the maturity in dropping his ill-conceived three point attempts and moving those forward to shots near the rim. ESPN's own Hoopinion has been tracking this all season long.
There may be no bigger barometer for this division leading team than Smith, and everyone who has witnessed this team this year knows Smith's ability to positively (and negatively) impact the team. Many who dared to forecast the list of reserves included Smith's name due to this impact and overall productivity.
So why then did Smith get left off the All-Star team?
One reason has to do with the puzzling roster requirements, which says that you have to name a "second team" along with two wild cards, which would eliminate a "who are the best seven players that aren't in the starting lineup here" decision making process.
Another is the fans voting in of Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett, one being a legacy pick (AI) and the other worthy on inclusion but had missed a decent part of the season to date (KG). Remove one or both of these guys and perhaps Smoove moves on in---certainly there are blogs for every team lamenting this for their most important "snub".
With the two reserve forward spots going to the uber-worthy Chris Bosh and long time vet Paul Pierce, it very may well have come down to Smith and another player of his ilk, Charlotte's Gerald Wallace.
Looking at the numbers between the two and you can see why they are compared to each other. Why then Wallace then over Smith, hypothetically?
One reason could be that Wallace's raw stats are better, more points per game, more rebounds per game, etc--a product of his (9) MPG advantage over Smith. Basketball has come some way in appreciating the finer aspects of the game rather than just looking at PPG, but not all the way, and if coaches were looking at Wallace's stats over Smith's, a difference of (3) PPG and (3) RPG might have tipped the scales for the Bobcats' first All-Star.
But that line of reasoning doesn't compute when you look at the selection of Horford over David Lee. Lee's advanced stats and raw stats are higher than Horford's, but so is his overall Usage Rate. Still, if raw numbers were what led to the selection of Wallace over Smith, why wouldn't Lee have been selected over Horford?
No, what I believe what ultimately led to Smith's exclusion this season, in addition to the smaller things already listed, was Smith's perpetual demeanor on the court and to his head coach.
On the court, Smith has a tendency to complain, complain, complain, and has already logged technical fouls at a rate that would compare him to Rasheed Wallace. Opposing coaches note this when their teams are up against the Hawks and they are the ones that cast the fateful ballots.
Also, Smith has engaged in some infamous battles with Coach Woodson and, despite whether things are good now, or overblown to begin with, those perceptions also linger. When you consider all other things equal, do you not vote for who you like better?
Smith has been petulant at times on the court---such behavior hasn't gotten him any favors on the court--and may have cost him some off the court as well.
ATL-SA Game Review: Forgetting the Alamo
Who can tell?
Who can tell why, throughout the course of an (82) game season, some teams can't play at a high level every night?
That's probably why all championship teams don't win (70) games every year--why the greatest of all time are--the--greatest--of--all--time.
It takes special mental toughness, great talent, and a whole lot of luck.
In the matter of the Atlanta Hawks 105-90 loss in San Antonio Wednesday night, the Hawks had the talent, but not much else.
The Spurs came out with reckless abandon, using Tony Parker and company to attack the Hawks in the heart of the defense. The Hawks seemed shocked at the affront their hosts portrayed---how dare they treat their guests so rudely? Alas, the home team shot and scored quite often from the "painted area", scoring a majority of their (36) first quarter points, the quarter that would serve as the buffer zone from which they would play from for the remainder of the game, from there.
The apex of such perpetration was, with just a few seconds left to go in the quarter, when the Hawks witnessed Parker go coast to coast to score a bucket with .8 seconds left to go. Oh, and he got fouled, too.
Usually we use this opportunity to cascade blame across the Hawks offensive approach and deride their misuse of Al Horford. But not this time.
The Hawks actually seemed interested in going into the post, at least early on, but couldn't generate any positive effects. Horford was particularly bad, as he fell into his habit of wilting against longer opponents, something he needs to resolve before facing Kendrick Perkins and Dwight Howard over the next couple of games.
The whole offense and defense seemed off, as if they had raised the curtains on the troupe and they were still getting dressed. Nobody moved on offense, the Spurs consistently beat them on the glass at both ends---the whole beginning of the game was a disaster.
Still, the Hawks kept plugging as Joe Johnson (31 points), Josh Smith (14/16/7), and Jamal Crawford (25 points) had their boogie shoes ready to go. The Hawks wasted productive, in control, volume shooting nights from both Johnson and Crawford (both shot greater than 50 percent), which kept them in the game even until the fourth quarter.
The Spurs led by as many as (28), but the Hawks had the lead down to (9) with around nine minutes left, but Crawford missed a three, Zaza turned the ball over, and the Hawks botched a fast break op and the Spurs pulled away again.
Wait Til Next Year
Guess the Hawks can't rid themselves of all of their road demons in one season---selfish of us to want them to, come to think of it---so the SA streak, which has lasted all of Tim Duncan's lengthy career, rolls on---until, as the subtitle suggests, next year.
If the AS game doesn't come knocking, Al Horford can't blame anyone but himself---well, and the coaching staff and teammates for not using him more this season. We already mentioned Horford's weakness when it comes to taller men, and it's something that bears repeating. Horford didn't want anything to do with getting close to the basket, attempting only (2) of his (10) shots around the rim. Horford was a miserable 1-8 from outside that comfort zone and was way too quick to settle for the outside jumper. He did have a nice block on a Duncan finger-roll, however---just sayin'.
Mike Bibby, in (27) minutes, posted one of the most empty lines he has authored as a member of the Hawks. Bibby missed all (7) of his shots and had a single assist and rebound. With the post hanging an "Out of Order" sign on it, the Hawks needed every bit of firepower to overcome their first quarter defensive malaise---and Bibby couldn't muster it.
Tim Duncan, especially after Parker turned his ankle in the third quarter and couldn't return, got all nostalgic on the Hawks and posted a career high in rebounds with an eye-popping (27) rebounds. We missed when the Finals began on Wednesday night because Duncan was locked in like it was Game 7, dishing out (6) assists as well and hitting all (11) of his free throws. True, the Hawks held him to a wacky 5-20 from the field, but his (10) offensive rebounds and those assists definitely helped teammates like Antonio McDyess (8-9, 17 points) have good nights from the field in his stead.
DeJuan Blair was 2-4 with (4) points and had (9) rebounds in a mere (16) minutes. In those minutes, the Spurs were +9. The lesson---we don't like the Spurs or their fancy luck.
Oh, by the way, Jamal Crawford did the 4-Ball again, giving him (23) for his career, one shy of the all time mark held by noted Hawk Hater, Reggie Miller. It's payback time, Reggie. Payback time.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
PHX-ATL Game Recap: Yahtzee!
Jamal Crawford rose up and let a three point basket fly from 25 feet with the Hawks down two and time running out.
The fact that the Hawks were in position to care about the outcome of Crawford's shot was good fortune indeed.
The Phoenix Suns had rolled into Atlanta losing (8) of their last (9) road games and blowing big leads to boot. They like to run (4th in Pace on the season, averaging nearly 99 possessions per game) and shoot three pointers, ranking third in 3pt rate in the NBA (3 pointers attempted/field goals attempted-almost 27 percent of the Suns shots are threes), trailing only the trigger happy Knicks and Magic.
So that the Suns shot (15) percent of their shots in 3-pt territory and made only (2) when their average is (9) while playing at a pace (94 possessions) that is in line with Atlanta's rate would lead you to believe that the Suns were playing the Hawks game. Advantage, Atlanta, right?
Well....here's the thing about Friday night's game. Yes the Hawks got the Suns to play the Hawks way at the Hawks' pace---only Phoenix was doing it better than the home team was.
Oops.
The Hawks came out, by ESPN's Hubie Brown's observation, as flat and without energy and the Suns pounced, racing out to a quick lead on the back of aggressive plays at the rim and the Hawks struggling from the same. The Hawks opened an amazing 1-11 at the rim with Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Joe Johnson all struggling to score in the paint.
Then the Hawks second unit came in and was thoroughly spanked by the Suns' energetic bunch, falling behind a dozen points in the second quarter before Al Horford and Johnson returned from a brief respite. With those two returning, the Hawks got busy getting back into the game. Crawford made a quick jump shot and then Johnson hit a three pointer for his first bucket of the night (9:20 left in the half).
Then, with the Hawks now trailing seven, a break for the Hawks---Goran Dragic threw a bad pass that was eventually corralled by Crawford, who immediately turned up the floor. Dragic committed a clear path foul, affording Jamal (2) throws (which he made) and the Hawks retained possession. Then Jared Dudley was caught not defending anybody for three seconds in the lane and Jamal knocked down another free throw. After Joe Johnson and Josh Smith completed a baseline alley oop lay-in, the Suns lead was down to (2). Somewhere after the Hawks most recent (5) point play, Doc Rivers was shaking his head in remorse.
The lead would go back and forth, with Josh Smith getting over his early misses and continued to dominate the boards (15 rebounds on the night). Al Horford took advantage of Amare Stoudemire's early foul trouble by taking at the big man and the not-as-strong-as-Al Channing Frye for (11) first half points.
Meanwhile the Suns kept taking it in the paint--the Suns would outscore the Birds in there 48-38 Friday night---with great success. Grant Hill was killing Marvin Williams by moving without the basketball (15 first half points, 21 overall) and while Steve Nash wasn't shooting, he had (6) first half assists to give the Suns a (5) point halftime lead.
The second half began with the Hawks two best first half scorers, Johnson and Horford, picking up where they left off in the second quarter, with Al getting (9) more points in the q and Johnson (6). The Hawks got the lead up to as many as (7) before the Suns pulled back in and took the lead early in the fourth quarter. They got the lead by getting the ball to Amare Stoudemire and the Hawks bad bench combined with their usual fourth quarter missed jump shots.
The Hawks had missed their last (3) three point attempts and the Suns had got their lead out to (4) when Mike Bibby finally cashed in one of the open threes the Hawks had taken in the quarter and cut the lead down. Horford made another shot off the last of Bibby's (10) assists on the night to give the Hawks a slim lead.
The Suns continued to pound the ball inside, such a departure for the long range trigger happy team, with Stoudemire and Robin Lopez providing good results. By the time Steve Nash woke up and made (2) of his (3) field goals on the game, Phoenix had a (6) point lead with 4:17 left to play. Hill made a free throw to stretch it to (7) and then Jamal Crawford got back to attacking the lane and used his ability to penetrate the Suns zone to find Josh Smith for a jam, a hook shot, and another jam and the Hawks found themselves tied in a crowded, rocking house with a shade under (2) minutes to play.
After Steve Nash missed a three and Stoudemire traveled following their offensive rebound, disaster struck. The Suns finally got wise to Crawford's penetration/creation strategy and double teamed Jamal by surprise at the perimeter. Crawford jumped but could do little other than flutter the ball back towards Bibby. The Suns jumped on it and tossed it Dragic, who jammed it home to give the Suns the lead. After Johnson missed a three, Stoudemire hit a jump shot and the Hawks suddenly found themselves down (4) with (40) seconds left.
The Hawks stayed patient and Smith drove to the hoop and was met by a slew of Suns who forced him to cough up the ball. Fortunately Smith chose to get the ball to a rim-arriving Horford, who was fouled by Hill. Horford calmly made his 23rd and 24th points of the night and the Hawks trailed by (2) with 31.4 seconds to play.
The Hawks decided to face up defense rather than foul--but their constant craving to switch left the pick and rolling Suns with Nash breaking down Horford. As the shot clock (and game clock) wound down, Horford almost picked Nash's dribble, sending Nash grasping for the ball. Nash recovered and took Al to the hoop--while Al did a great job for the most part moving his feet, he hooked Nash's arm (or Nash hooked his) and one of the best free throw shooters was sent to the line to ice the game with (10) seconds left.
(This is the part where you hear THHB tell you that Nash uncharacteristically missed one or both of his free throws. Nope. He made them both.)
So the Hawks were down (4) with 10 seconds left. The Hawks had left (2) 20 second timeouts and used one to advance the ball. Bibby missed a three, but Smith grabbed his fifth offensive rebound of the night and got fouled. Smith made the first to cut the lead to (3), but then bricked the second unintentionally.
The Suns all seemed to jump for the rebound, but it caromed off the colliding visitors and into the hands of Crawford. Jamal seemed to glance to see if anyone was set for a game tying three, but in that split second noone appeared and he jammed home the gift, putting the Hawks down by one with 3.5 seconds to go.
The Suns called their last timeout and advanced the ball. With new NBA rules, teams can toss the ball into the backcourt. The vision of Nash zipping into a dark corner of Philips Arena and running out the clock was easy to imagine but the Hawks played that option very well and the ball had to be in-bounded to Stoudemire, who was immediately fouled. Amare had made 9-12 free throws to that point but missed the first shot to the delight and hope of all the ATL fans on hand. Stoudemire made the second one and the Hawks used their last timeout.
With the ball advanced to halfcourt, the Hawks used Mike Bibby to inbound. We might have thought the Suns would have a big to guard the inbound pass to make it more difficult on the Hawks. But the Suns sent Nash to front Bibby and Mike triggered the inbounds play.
First he looked to the corner where Johnson was rushing to catch the ball. Nash jumped that passing lane and Bibby was left to toss the ball to near mid-court to Crawford.
With Dudley guarding him, Crawford charged towards his man and rose up with a single second left on the clock. As the ball flew past the shot clock, the horn sounded and the red lights danced. The ball ripped through the net, giving the Hawks the most improbable win of the season, 102-101.
Buzzin' like Jolt Cola
Crawford's three gave him (21) points on the night, (9) of those in the fourth quarter. Crawford leads the NBA in minutes per fourth quarter and his complete fourth quarter effort Friday night only boosts that stat. Jamal, in fact, played the final 16 1/2 minutes in the game and still had the giddy-up to rise up for that game winner.
The shot reminded those in THHB Viewing Center of the Vince Carter shot that led the Nets past the Birds last season. We weren't as sure that Jamal's hoop was going in as we were certain Hawk Hater Carter's was, but we were not beefing about the shot, make or miss.
Among the items the Hawks wanted and got (Suns playing the Hawks' pace, Suns only hitting two threes, etc.) was that the Suns, who are next to last in the L on defensive rebounding, gave up (20) offensive rebounds to the Hawks, including those two huge rebounds by Smith and Crawford.
It was a game that Phoenix seemed to outplay the Hawks in many ways--beating them at the Hawks' own game. Maybe it was an indictment of the Suns' inability to close or the tenacity of the home team on this night that the Hawks could steal the game on a buzzer beater--whichever way it was, it's good to be on this side of a game winner---very good. Enjoy the highlights below.
The fact that the Hawks were in position to care about the outcome of Crawford's shot was good fortune indeed.
The Phoenix Suns had rolled into Atlanta losing (8) of their last (9) road games and blowing big leads to boot. They like to run (4th in Pace on the season, averaging nearly 99 possessions per game) and shoot three pointers, ranking third in 3pt rate in the NBA (3 pointers attempted/field goals attempted-almost 27 percent of the Suns shots are threes), trailing only the trigger happy Knicks and Magic.
So that the Suns shot (15) percent of their shots in 3-pt territory and made only (2) when their average is (9) while playing at a pace (94 possessions) that is in line with Atlanta's rate would lead you to believe that the Suns were playing the Hawks game. Advantage, Atlanta, right?
Well....here's the thing about Friday night's game. Yes the Hawks got the Suns to play the Hawks way at the Hawks' pace---only Phoenix was doing it better than the home team was.
Oops.
The Hawks came out, by ESPN's Hubie Brown's observation, as flat and without energy and the Suns pounced, racing out to a quick lead on the back of aggressive plays at the rim and the Hawks struggling from the same. The Hawks opened an amazing 1-11 at the rim with Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Joe Johnson all struggling to score in the paint.
Then the Hawks second unit came in and was thoroughly spanked by the Suns' energetic bunch, falling behind a dozen points in the second quarter before Al Horford and Johnson returned from a brief respite. With those two returning, the Hawks got busy getting back into the game. Crawford made a quick jump shot and then Johnson hit a three pointer for his first bucket of the night (9:20 left in the half).
Then, with the Hawks now trailing seven, a break for the Hawks---Goran Dragic threw a bad pass that was eventually corralled by Crawford, who immediately turned up the floor. Dragic committed a clear path foul, affording Jamal (2) throws (which he made) and the Hawks retained possession. Then Jared Dudley was caught not defending anybody for three seconds in the lane and Jamal knocked down another free throw. After Joe Johnson and Josh Smith completed a baseline alley oop lay-in, the Suns lead was down to (2). Somewhere after the Hawks most recent (5) point play, Doc Rivers was shaking his head in remorse.
The lead would go back and forth, with Josh Smith getting over his early misses and continued to dominate the boards (15 rebounds on the night). Al Horford took advantage of Amare Stoudemire's early foul trouble by taking at the big man and the not-as-strong-as-Al Channing Frye for (11) first half points.
Meanwhile the Suns kept taking it in the paint--the Suns would outscore the Birds in there 48-38 Friday night---with great success. Grant Hill was killing Marvin Williams by moving without the basketball (15 first half points, 21 overall) and while Steve Nash wasn't shooting, he had (6) first half assists to give the Suns a (5) point halftime lead.
The second half began with the Hawks two best first half scorers, Johnson and Horford, picking up where they left off in the second quarter, with Al getting (9) more points in the q and Johnson (6). The Hawks got the lead up to as many as (7) before the Suns pulled back in and took the lead early in the fourth quarter. They got the lead by getting the ball to Amare Stoudemire and the Hawks bad bench combined with their usual fourth quarter missed jump shots.
The Hawks had missed their last (3) three point attempts and the Suns had got their lead out to (4) when Mike Bibby finally cashed in one of the open threes the Hawks had taken in the quarter and cut the lead down. Horford made another shot off the last of Bibby's (10) assists on the night to give the Hawks a slim lead.
The Suns continued to pound the ball inside, such a departure for the long range trigger happy team, with Stoudemire and Robin Lopez providing good results. By the time Steve Nash woke up and made (2) of his (3) field goals on the game, Phoenix had a (6) point lead with 4:17 left to play. Hill made a free throw to stretch it to (7) and then Jamal Crawford got back to attacking the lane and used his ability to penetrate the Suns zone to find Josh Smith for a jam, a hook shot, and another jam and the Hawks found themselves tied in a crowded, rocking house with a shade under (2) minutes to play.
After Steve Nash missed a three and Stoudemire traveled following their offensive rebound, disaster struck. The Suns finally got wise to Crawford's penetration/creation strategy and double teamed Jamal by surprise at the perimeter. Crawford jumped but could do little other than flutter the ball back towards Bibby. The Suns jumped on it and tossed it Dragic, who jammed it home to give the Suns the lead. After Johnson missed a three, Stoudemire hit a jump shot and the Hawks suddenly found themselves down (4) with (40) seconds left.
The Hawks stayed patient and Smith drove to the hoop and was met by a slew of Suns who forced him to cough up the ball. Fortunately Smith chose to get the ball to a rim-arriving Horford, who was fouled by Hill. Horford calmly made his 23rd and 24th points of the night and the Hawks trailed by (2) with 31.4 seconds to play.
The Hawks decided to face up defense rather than foul--but their constant craving to switch left the pick and rolling Suns with Nash breaking down Horford. As the shot clock (and game clock) wound down, Horford almost picked Nash's dribble, sending Nash grasping for the ball. Nash recovered and took Al to the hoop--while Al did a great job for the most part moving his feet, he hooked Nash's arm (or Nash hooked his) and one of the best free throw shooters was sent to the line to ice the game with (10) seconds left.
(This is the part where you hear THHB tell you that Nash uncharacteristically missed one or both of his free throws. Nope. He made them both.)
So the Hawks were down (4) with 10 seconds left. The Hawks had left (2) 20 second timeouts and used one to advance the ball. Bibby missed a three, but Smith grabbed his fifth offensive rebound of the night and got fouled. Smith made the first to cut the lead to (3), but then bricked the second unintentionally.
The Suns all seemed to jump for the rebound, but it caromed off the colliding visitors and into the hands of Crawford. Jamal seemed to glance to see if anyone was set for a game tying three, but in that split second noone appeared and he jammed home the gift, putting the Hawks down by one with 3.5 seconds to go.
The Suns called their last timeout and advanced the ball. With new NBA rules, teams can toss the ball into the backcourt. The vision of Nash zipping into a dark corner of Philips Arena and running out the clock was easy to imagine but the Hawks played that option very well and the ball had to be in-bounded to Stoudemire, who was immediately fouled. Amare had made 9-12 free throws to that point but missed the first shot to the delight and hope of all the ATL fans on hand. Stoudemire made the second one and the Hawks used their last timeout.
With the ball advanced to halfcourt, the Hawks used Mike Bibby to inbound. We might have thought the Suns would have a big to guard the inbound pass to make it more difficult on the Hawks. But the Suns sent Nash to front Bibby and Mike triggered the inbounds play.
First he looked to the corner where Johnson was rushing to catch the ball. Nash jumped that passing lane and Bibby was left to toss the ball to near mid-court to Crawford.
With Dudley guarding him, Crawford charged towards his man and rose up with a single second left on the clock. As the ball flew past the shot clock, the horn sounded and the red lights danced. The ball ripped through the net, giving the Hawks the most improbable win of the season, 102-101.
Buzzin' like Jolt Cola
Crawford's three gave him (21) points on the night, (9) of those in the fourth quarter. Crawford leads the NBA in minutes per fourth quarter and his complete fourth quarter effort Friday night only boosts that stat. Jamal, in fact, played the final 16 1/2 minutes in the game and still had the giddy-up to rise up for that game winner.
The shot reminded those in THHB Viewing Center of the Vince Carter shot that led the Nets past the Birds last season. We weren't as sure that Jamal's hoop was going in as we were certain Hawk Hater Carter's was, but we were not beefing about the shot, make or miss.
Among the items the Hawks wanted and got (Suns playing the Hawks' pace, Suns only hitting two threes, etc.) was that the Suns, who are next to last in the L on defensive rebounding, gave up (20) offensive rebounds to the Hawks, including those two huge rebounds by Smith and Crawford.
It was a game that Phoenix seemed to outplay the Hawks in many ways--beating them at the Hawks' own game. Maybe it was an indictment of the Suns' inability to close or the tenacity of the home team on this night that the Hawks could steal the game on a buzzer beater--whichever way it was, it's good to be on this side of a game winner---very good. Enjoy the highlights below.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Happiness Is a Hot Cup of Coffee on a Cold Day and a Lottery Team On the Schedule
Ah--we love the smell of cynicism in the morning.
First things first---Yes, the Hawks did break their (4) game losing streak courtesy of the now 3-32 New Jersey Nets with a 119-89 win Wednesday night but, with the exception of the beginning of the game and some improved ball movement (read: less isolation) they did it simply by making the large amount of jump shots they took, rather than some ideological shift to what they were doing earlier in the year to improve their efficiency.
Disagree?
Ok, hands up who believes that the Hawks will continue to win consistently by shooting more shots from beyond (16) feet than inside (40-35)? Keep your hands up if you believe that the Hawks will be able to pull past the Celtics by only scoring (34) points in the paint?
The Backcourt took more shots than the frontcourt 32-20--they just made the shots that they took to the tune of (57) percent as a team. Joe Johnson took (13) shots and (11) of them were longer than 16 feet, of which he made (8). Whoohoo! All is well!
As we stated, at the beginning of the game, the Hawks came out motivated and with a lot of energy. They pushed towards the basket and scored----scoring almost half of their game points in the paint in the first quarter (16). The ball moved well, usually a result of some penetration and inside-out play which resulted in better 16+ foot shots than in previous games when those shots were much more contested as a result of isolation and stagnation. Ball movement was part of this for sure, but the Nets have lost all but three of their games this season for a reason---and their close out defense on jump shots in this game gave some clues.
But after that first quarter, the Hawks seemed less motivated towards going inside, especially since thier pet shot, the jumper, was successful. The Hawks led by (17) after that motivated first quarter and every time the Nets made what amounted to a run, the Hawks answered with jump shots. Good for them--they were due--but it's not what's going to make for long lasting success, as we have seen often in the past.
Eeyore Is Our Consult
Before the game we were informed that the Hawks were going to "take what defenses give us" going forward. We had to laugh---that might indulge a largely jump shooting approach as it takes much more work to move the ball around and try to get into the paint. And all the Hawks backcourt players can say "aw, shucks--we just took what the defense gave us". Indeed.
Al Horford is not going to the All-Star game, gang--at least not as a participant. Horford is used less than many frontcourt players and despite the Hawks great record and our belief of how good Horford is and how much more they should run the offense through his high and low post skills, the Hawks won't utilize him as such, which is why players like Brook Lopez and Yi Jianlian get more run and more counting stats that The Boss. He is ignored by his own team, why should we think the league will recognize him?
In the interest of fairness, the Hawks won a game where they shot over (21) three pointers, taking (22) against the Nets. This puts them at 3-6 when shooting that many in a game for the season, with those wins over Chicago, Toronto, and now New Jersey, all at home.
We Got A Pocketful of Sunshine
Josh Smith showed excellent activity early and tremendous hustle. Maybe the Hawks lost that collective juju after an easy first quarter, but Smith spent the rest of the game arguing for calls, picking up a technical, etc. Smith ended with an 11/9/7 primary stat line, but we feel like someone should continue to tell him that his griping is like being in officiating quicksand---the more you fight and struggle, the more you sink into the abyss.
We also liked the fact that Marvin Williams went in hard for a challenge jam (he missed) and Jamal Crawford did the same twice (he missed on one, fingertipped the other for the score). Williams did get a jam to go down with a nifty steal, tiptoe the sidelines, and then gather himself for a fast break jam.
In broadcast news, Bob Rathbun mentioned Effective Field Goal percentage when talking about the Hawks efficiency during the game. Thanks to places like Hoopdata.com (which is where we got our data for today), we know the Hawks were an incredible (66) percent in that particular stat. The fact that Bob Rathbun, a "seasoned" broadcaster, knows about these advanced stats and is willing to bring them forth in a telecast can definitely be stated as progress. And kudos to Rathbun for taking the time to explain it to the viewing public.
Next to the phenomenon of Flopping---the next non-basketball move that we abhor is the art of drawing fouls while not even remotely caring whether or not your shot is even heading for the basket. Now, we know that we have one of the best on the roster in Zaza Pachulia, but he doesn't do what Devin Harris does and did against Atlanta. In the manner in which many have done the same before him (Reggie Miller, Bobby Sura, and more recently, Kevin Martin), Harris lunges into players, wanting to draw a whistle for some easy points from the free throw line, often initiating contact himself. It's not good basketball to be driving to the hoop and then jump 45 degrees backwards with your shoulder down just so the ref can blow the whistle. Harris doesn't even need to do that kind of chicanery--he's so quick, like on the play where Al Horford nearly fell into the third row on a Harris stop and shoot, that he can get any shot he wants nearly--unfortunately, the shots he wanted mainly against the Hawks were free throws.
First things first---Yes, the Hawks did break their (4) game losing streak courtesy of the now 3-32 New Jersey Nets with a 119-89 win Wednesday night but, with the exception of the beginning of the game and some improved ball movement (read: less isolation) they did it simply by making the large amount of jump shots they took, rather than some ideological shift to what they were doing earlier in the year to improve their efficiency.
Disagree?
Ok, hands up who believes that the Hawks will continue to win consistently by shooting more shots from beyond (16) feet than inside (40-35)? Keep your hands up if you believe that the Hawks will be able to pull past the Celtics by only scoring (34) points in the paint?
The Backcourt took more shots than the frontcourt 32-20--they just made the shots that they took to the tune of (57) percent as a team. Joe Johnson took (13) shots and (11) of them were longer than 16 feet, of which he made (8). Whoohoo! All is well!
As we stated, at the beginning of the game, the Hawks came out motivated and with a lot of energy. They pushed towards the basket and scored----scoring almost half of their game points in the paint in the first quarter (16). The ball moved well, usually a result of some penetration and inside-out play which resulted in better 16+ foot shots than in previous games when those shots were much more contested as a result of isolation and stagnation. Ball movement was part of this for sure, but the Nets have lost all but three of their games this season for a reason---and their close out defense on jump shots in this game gave some clues.
But after that first quarter, the Hawks seemed less motivated towards going inside, especially since thier pet shot, the jumper, was successful. The Hawks led by (17) after that motivated first quarter and every time the Nets made what amounted to a run, the Hawks answered with jump shots. Good for them--they were due--but it's not what's going to make for long lasting success, as we have seen often in the past.
Eeyore Is Our Consult
Before the game we were informed that the Hawks were going to "take what defenses give us" going forward. We had to laugh---that might indulge a largely jump shooting approach as it takes much more work to move the ball around and try to get into the paint. And all the Hawks backcourt players can say "aw, shucks--we just took what the defense gave us". Indeed.
Al Horford is not going to the All-Star game, gang--at least not as a participant. Horford is used less than many frontcourt players and despite the Hawks great record and our belief of how good Horford is and how much more they should run the offense through his high and low post skills, the Hawks won't utilize him as such, which is why players like Brook Lopez and Yi Jianlian get more run and more counting stats that The Boss. He is ignored by his own team, why should we think the league will recognize him?
In the interest of fairness, the Hawks won a game where they shot over (21) three pointers, taking (22) against the Nets. This puts them at 3-6 when shooting that many in a game for the season, with those wins over Chicago, Toronto, and now New Jersey, all at home.
We Got A Pocketful of Sunshine
Josh Smith showed excellent activity early and tremendous hustle. Maybe the Hawks lost that collective juju after an easy first quarter, but Smith spent the rest of the game arguing for calls, picking up a technical, etc. Smith ended with an 11/9/7 primary stat line, but we feel like someone should continue to tell him that his griping is like being in officiating quicksand---the more you fight and struggle, the more you sink into the abyss.
We also liked the fact that Marvin Williams went in hard for a challenge jam (he missed) and Jamal Crawford did the same twice (he missed on one, fingertipped the other for the score). Williams did get a jam to go down with a nifty steal, tiptoe the sidelines, and then gather himself for a fast break jam.
In broadcast news, Bob Rathbun mentioned Effective Field Goal percentage when talking about the Hawks efficiency during the game. Thanks to places like Hoopdata.com (which is where we got our data for today), we know the Hawks were an incredible (66) percent in that particular stat. The fact that Bob Rathbun, a "seasoned" broadcaster, knows about these advanced stats and is willing to bring them forth in a telecast can definitely be stated as progress. And kudos to Rathbun for taking the time to explain it to the viewing public.
Next to the phenomenon of Flopping---the next non-basketball move that we abhor is the art of drawing fouls while not even remotely caring whether or not your shot is even heading for the basket. Now, we know that we have one of the best on the roster in Zaza Pachulia, but he doesn't do what Devin Harris does and did against Atlanta. In the manner in which many have done the same before him (Reggie Miller, Bobby Sura, and more recently, Kevin Martin), Harris lunges into players, wanting to draw a whistle for some easy points from the free throw line, often initiating contact himself. It's not good basketball to be driving to the hoop and then jump 45 degrees backwards with your shoulder down just so the ref can blow the whistle. Harris doesn't even need to do that kind of chicanery--he's so quick, like on the play where Al Horford nearly fell into the third row on a Harris stop and shoot, that he can get any shot he wants nearly--unfortunately, the shots he wanted mainly against the Hawks were free throws.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Al Horford is Good Enough To Do the Hawks' Laundry, But Not Good Enough to Eat at the Dinner Table
If the Hawks haven't learned by now, after losing three straight games in a similar manner, we can't hope they ever will.
The Hawks' isolation, jump shooting approach to the end of games does not work. Period.
We're not saying it will never work---but as a method of winning close games of any circumstance---and certainly in the playoffs---it doesn't scale.
Once again on Friday night the Hawks build a lead by getting into the paint and scoring---and once again the Hawks fritter that advantage away by shooting jump shot after jump shot down the stretch. Whether this is an homage to Joe Johnson or Mike Woodson simply doesn't trust Josh Smith or Al Horford at the end of games, one can only guess, but the fact of the matter is that the league knows what the Hawks will do in fourth quarters of tough games, and what the eventual endgame will be--and it isn't good for the ATL.
Al Horford was magnificent again, but apparently his effectiveness doesn't count in the eyes of Mike Woodson or his veteran backcourt because Horford, who scored (20) points on 10-12 shooting in a variety of ways in the paint, wasn't allowed to get the ball in the fourth quarter despite no inside presence that could stop him without a double team.
It's as if that fourth quarter offensive cabal pats Al on the head and says, "Thank you for participating in the game up to this point, but now it's time for the grownups to play."
"Hey, if you get the offensive rebound, make sure you toss it back to the big boys because they know better than you how to score in the fourth quarter. Oh, and come up here and get me a pick, alright?"
It's disappointing in that this team has become much more than just one player---and nobody learns from this though we have watched time and again the futility of passing the ball among the guards and watching contested jumper after jumper even though the team is much better served, and has proven throughout the same games, moving the ball inside-out, making the defense move, and getting better shots.
Joe Johnson is a marvelous player, but that (nor his All-Star appearances) does not lend itself to solely depending on him in the last half of an entire quarter. No ball movement, no variety, it's "Here Comes Joe!" and the rest of the team is supposed to watch and wait. Joe is not good enough to beat teams one on three down the stretch---and the shame of it is the Hawks don't have to.
Nate Robinson had an amazing night, but would it have been as much if the Hawks had simply stuck to what worked against a team with no shot blockers and pounded the ball inside? Would any team with a talent like Horford have ignored him completely for the last (14) minutes of the game given his consistent proficiency inside?
The Hawks have some serious questions to answer about this---the franchise has moved beyond the point where they need to cross their fingers and hope Joe can win games on his own. We wonder if Mike Woodson, Mike Bibby, and Joe Johnson will ever acknowledge it--and if they can change their habits in time to move this team forward when it matters.
Party Favors
Josh Smith + Al Horford = 19-28, 8-12 FT, 46 points
Joe Johnson = 12-30, 4-13 on threes, 0-1 FT, 28 points
We mean, c'mon--Just sayin', right?
The Hawks continue to stink when launching 21 or more threes. Friday Night's Epic Fail sent them to 2-6 on the year.
Nate Robinson will (deservedly) get the headlines, but Wilson Chandler played a fantastic game (10-19, 24 points, 17 rebounds) and was another steady force that kept the Knicks within striking distance. Unlike some of his teammates, he didn't always settle for the long shot and his aggressiveness paid off big for the Knicks tonight.
THHB wishes all a Happy New Year and shamelessly asks that you check out the End of the Decade Hawks Recap available on this blog now. Discussion and easy to point out omissions can be left in that posts Comments Area.
The Hawks' isolation, jump shooting approach to the end of games does not work. Period.
We're not saying it will never work---but as a method of winning close games of any circumstance---and certainly in the playoffs---it doesn't scale.
Once again on Friday night the Hawks build a lead by getting into the paint and scoring---and once again the Hawks fritter that advantage away by shooting jump shot after jump shot down the stretch. Whether this is an homage to Joe Johnson or Mike Woodson simply doesn't trust Josh Smith or Al Horford at the end of games, one can only guess, but the fact of the matter is that the league knows what the Hawks will do in fourth quarters of tough games, and what the eventual endgame will be--and it isn't good for the ATL.
Al Horford was magnificent again, but apparently his effectiveness doesn't count in the eyes of Mike Woodson or his veteran backcourt because Horford, who scored (20) points on 10-12 shooting in a variety of ways in the paint, wasn't allowed to get the ball in the fourth quarter despite no inside presence that could stop him without a double team.
It's as if that fourth quarter offensive cabal pats Al on the head and says, "Thank you for participating in the game up to this point, but now it's time for the grownups to play."
"Hey, if you get the offensive rebound, make sure you toss it back to the big boys because they know better than you how to score in the fourth quarter. Oh, and come up here and get me a pick, alright?"
It's disappointing in that this team has become much more than just one player---and nobody learns from this though we have watched time and again the futility of passing the ball among the guards and watching contested jumper after jumper even though the team is much better served, and has proven throughout the same games, moving the ball inside-out, making the defense move, and getting better shots.
Joe Johnson is a marvelous player, but that (nor his All-Star appearances) does not lend itself to solely depending on him in the last half of an entire quarter. No ball movement, no variety, it's "Here Comes Joe!" and the rest of the team is supposed to watch and wait. Joe is not good enough to beat teams one on three down the stretch---and the shame of it is the Hawks don't have to.
Nate Robinson had an amazing night, but would it have been as much if the Hawks had simply stuck to what worked against a team with no shot blockers and pounded the ball inside? Would any team with a talent like Horford have ignored him completely for the last (14) minutes of the game given his consistent proficiency inside?
The Hawks have some serious questions to answer about this---the franchise has moved beyond the point where they need to cross their fingers and hope Joe can win games on his own. We wonder if Mike Woodson, Mike Bibby, and Joe Johnson will ever acknowledge it--and if they can change their habits in time to move this team forward when it matters.
Party Favors
Josh Smith + Al Horford = 19-28, 8-12 FT, 46 points
Joe Johnson = 12-30, 4-13 on threes, 0-1 FT, 28 points
We mean, c'mon--Just sayin', right?
The Hawks continue to stink when launching 21 or more threes. Friday Night's Epic Fail sent them to 2-6 on the year.
Nate Robinson will (deservedly) get the headlines, but Wilson Chandler played a fantastic game (10-19, 24 points, 17 rebounds) and was another steady force that kept the Knicks within striking distance. Unlike some of his teammates, he didn't always settle for the long shot and his aggressiveness paid off big for the Knicks tonight.
THHB wishes all a Happy New Year and shamelessly asks that you check out the End of the Decade Hawks Recap available on this blog now. Discussion and easy to point out omissions can be left in that posts Comments Area.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Starting Five Too Much for Any Amount of Pacers
On Saturday night in Indianapolis the Atlanta Hawks hit the rewind button to the game at home against the Utah Jazz, using an insane early defensive blitz to force the Pacers into early turnovers and themselves some easy baskets en route to a fairly simple 110-98 win over the Indiana Pacers.
The starters jumped out to a 33-16 lead using that energy and the work of Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, and Al Horford. Smith used the passing lane as his personal Steal to Dunk Current, Johnson had the hot touch, and the Pacers had no answer at any point for Horford during his 40+ minutes on the court.
The Pacers were able to keep the game close by providing an immense amount of bench production in a way that has been trending badly for the Atlanta Hawks. TJ Ford, Tyler Hansbrough, and Luther Head were part of the Pacers (63) point bench effort. After the Hawks jumped out to that early lead, these guys helped chip away with aggressive play, close shots, and second effort. But every time the Pacers would launch a run, the Hawks starters would be back out there to push it back and allow for yet another game that they would not have to be on the court when the final buzzer sounded.
Deeper---Deeper---You are Getting Sleepy---Sleepy
Al Horford was seriously undefendable by the Pacers, as when the Hawks decided to go into him, he time and again delivered. He was too quick and strong for any of them, resulting in the best defensive play of the night by Troy Murphy when he was resigned to trying to push Al when getting to the middle to shoot instead of actually trying to defend---Al made the shot anyway and hit the free throw on his way to a team high (25) points. Horford also led the effort on the glass, grabbing (19) of those along with (5) blocks.
Both Horford and Josh Smith can thank the Pacers for force-feeding Tyler Hansbrough on the Hawks interior. Hansbrough had a Usage Rate that Horford can only dream about and he used all of those possession to gain his (19) point night. Tyler is what we thought he was--a below the rim player who will have to use trickery, traveling, and forearm clear outs (which weren't called last night) to score inside. Otherwise, he will have his shot blocked continuously, which he did (6) times last night. much to the statistical delight of the aforementioned Al and Josh. Tyler also displayed a nice face up jump shot, which he will likely depend on throughout his NBA career, and his well chronicled motor, which does allow him the ability to give his team second chances to score.
The lack of efficiency of the bench has now been upgraded to a trend as once again a nice early advantage has turned south as soon as Woodson has his second unit standing on the floor. Primarily troubling is the play of rookie Jeff Teague, who has hit a stretch of play that has seen him completely lose his control of the floor. Teague had, early on this season, showed a nice command of running the point and getting good shots for the team. Now we see Teague as looking lost offensively at times and not having a positive impact or any control at all on the floor. Whether this is due to Jamal Crawford feeling the need to lead the second unit by isolating and scoring on his own (we'll be watching this closer in games to come) or if teams have made some sort of adjustment to Teague's quickness, we're not sure, but it bears watching as what looked very strong early on this year (bench production) has fallen off.
We hadn't seen it before Saturday night, but we've been waiting for it---the first Jamal Crawford (4) point play. We believe we saw this happen against the Hawks twice in one game while Crawford was a member of the Knicks, and this is a well known Crawford special--the art of being fouled while making a three pointer. Crawford did indeed complete a 4-pt play against the Pacers and now has (21) all time, three short of the all-time mark set by former Pacer Reggie Miller.
Calling All Fans
We were very surprised to see the Hawks fans being called out all over the Hawks Blogging Nation this season considering the high level at which the team is playing, especially at home. Peachtree Hoops and Hawks Str8Talk have noted it and so have we as we have seen many empty seatwatching from the comfort of THHB Official High Definition Viewing Center. Now the Hawks attendance is being noted and discussed in areas outside the ATL.
CBS Ken Berger discussed the NBA as a whole declining in ticket revenue (which are tickets actually sold, not giveaways/distributed) including this note specific to the Hawks.
Still, as Bill Simmons notes, this still has Atlanta in a less than enthusiastic club:
Finally, Bill Shanks, in an item for the Macon Telegraph, says the Hawks need to do more to reach outside the boundaries of the I-285 perimeter.
THHB is still cleaning up from an fun-filled but very messy company Christmas party. Happy Kwanzaa to those who began celebrating yesterday--hope your cleanup is less dreadful than ours.
The starters jumped out to a 33-16 lead using that energy and the work of Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, and Al Horford. Smith used the passing lane as his personal Steal to Dunk Current, Johnson had the hot touch, and the Pacers had no answer at any point for Horford during his 40+ minutes on the court.
The Pacers were able to keep the game close by providing an immense amount of bench production in a way that has been trending badly for the Atlanta Hawks. TJ Ford, Tyler Hansbrough, and Luther Head were part of the Pacers (63) point bench effort. After the Hawks jumped out to that early lead, these guys helped chip away with aggressive play, close shots, and second effort. But every time the Pacers would launch a run, the Hawks starters would be back out there to push it back and allow for yet another game that they would not have to be on the court when the final buzzer sounded.
Deeper---Deeper---You are Getting Sleepy---Sleepy
Al Horford was seriously undefendable by the Pacers, as when the Hawks decided to go into him, he time and again delivered. He was too quick and strong for any of them, resulting in the best defensive play of the night by Troy Murphy when he was resigned to trying to push Al when getting to the middle to shoot instead of actually trying to defend---Al made the shot anyway and hit the free throw on his way to a team high (25) points. Horford also led the effort on the glass, grabbing (19) of those along with (5) blocks.
Both Horford and Josh Smith can thank the Pacers for force-feeding Tyler Hansbrough on the Hawks interior. Hansbrough had a Usage Rate that Horford can only dream about and he used all of those possession to gain his (19) point night. Tyler is what we thought he was--a below the rim player who will have to use trickery, traveling, and forearm clear outs (which weren't called last night) to score inside. Otherwise, he will have his shot blocked continuously, which he did (6) times last night. much to the statistical delight of the aforementioned Al and Josh. Tyler also displayed a nice face up jump shot, which he will likely depend on throughout his NBA career, and his well chronicled motor, which does allow him the ability to give his team second chances to score.
The lack of efficiency of the bench has now been upgraded to a trend as once again a nice early advantage has turned south as soon as Woodson has his second unit standing on the floor. Primarily troubling is the play of rookie Jeff Teague, who has hit a stretch of play that has seen him completely lose his control of the floor. Teague had, early on this season, showed a nice command of running the point and getting good shots for the team. Now we see Teague as looking lost offensively at times and not having a positive impact or any control at all on the floor. Whether this is due to Jamal Crawford feeling the need to lead the second unit by isolating and scoring on his own (we'll be watching this closer in games to come) or if teams have made some sort of adjustment to Teague's quickness, we're not sure, but it bears watching as what looked very strong early on this year (bench production) has fallen off.
We hadn't seen it before Saturday night, but we've been waiting for it---the first Jamal Crawford (4) point play. We believe we saw this happen against the Hawks twice in one game while Crawford was a member of the Knicks, and this is a well known Crawford special--the art of being fouled while making a three pointer. Crawford did indeed complete a 4-pt play against the Pacers and now has (21) all time, three short of the all-time mark set by former Pacer Reggie Miller.
Calling All Fans
We were very surprised to see the Hawks fans being called out all over the Hawks Blogging Nation this season considering the high level at which the team is playing, especially at home. Peachtree Hoops and Hawks Str8Talk have noted it and so have we as we have seen many empty seatwatching from the comfort of THHB Official High Definition Viewing Center. Now the Hawks attendance is being noted and discussed in areas outside the ATL.
CBS Ken Berger discussed the NBA as a whole declining in ticket revenue (which are tickets actually sold, not giveaways/distributed) including this note specific to the Hawks.
The Atlanta Hawks (15-6), long challenged in the attendance department but off to their best start in a decade, have seen a league-high 26.8 percent increase in net gate receipts – to $468,036 per game, up from $369,157 at this point last season. Atlanta is selling an average of 10,573 tickets per game, up from 7,900 at this point last season.
Still, as Bill Simmons notes, this still has Atlanta in a less than enthusiastic club:
Eight teams (Philly, Sacramento, Charlotte, Memphis, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Indiana and Atlanta) already reside in the dreaded "We Make Less Than $500,000 Per Game" Club.
Finally, Bill Shanks, in an item for the Macon Telegraph, says the Hawks need to do more to reach outside the boundaries of the I-285 perimeter.
Well, let’s think about this for a second. They aren’t filling the seats with people from Atlanta, and then they don’t draw well from outside the metro area either? Sounds like they may need to reach out to the fans and say, “Come see us!”
When’s the last time you’ve seen or heard anything from the Hawks in Middle Georgia promoting their team? Do you see billboards or hear or see advertisements? Nope.
THHB is still cleaning up from an fun-filled but very messy company Christmas party. Happy Kwanzaa to those who began celebrating yesterday--hope your cleanup is less dreadful than ours.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Working Hard, But Hardly Working
The Atlanta Hawks wiped out the Denver Nuggets earlier in the season in Atlanta---and Wednesday night the Nuggets returned the favor.
When the teams played last, JR Smith and Kenyon Martin did not, with Smith serving a suspension. In their 124-104 blitz of the Hawks in Denver, JR Smith was making up for lost time.
Smith became the epitome of the player who is "on fire"--making a back breaking (10) three pointers in a Kama Sutra like variety of poses and left the Hawks, who worked hard at trying to overcome an early lapse, panting and eventually waving the white flag of defeat.
To win on the road against a club that is actually winning, you must protect your possessions offensively and make teams miss defensively. Early on, it was clear the Hawks were not on the right tracks.
The Hawks came out and found an energetic Nugget defense who was more than willing to dare the Hawks to take jump shots, of which the Hawks made some early and then tailed off considerably. Meanwhile, Denver was busy getting to the rim and softening up the Hawks defensive underbelly. In a coincidentally bad merging of events, the Hawks seemed gun shy defensively after being in severe foul trouble the night before in Minnesota, allowing any size Nugget a free shot inside the paint. In fact, it was reported before the game by James Verrett that Woodson told his guys not to "pick up fouls" as a result of the issues in the previous game.
So as the Hawks missed jump shots the Nuggets, who allowed the Hawks only (6) offensive rebounds for the game, got into transition and blistered the Hawks to establish an early lead. In fact, despite the long range bombing and general jump shooting prowess of the Nuggets on the night, the home team outscored the #2 team in the league of total points in the paint 50-40 inside.
The Hawks continued to work, but never were able to galvanize their defense long enough to make a significant run. The Nuggets simply outdid the Hawks in almost every category---they shot better, rebounded more, had more assists, and easily won the turnover battle (15-8). That's a recipe for protecting home court--well, that and a Dennis Scott like eruption from Smith--and it's not the formula for road success against playoff teams.
Memories
The defensive malaise, fraidy-cat, and laissez-faire approach Al Horford and Josh Smith took to the defensive end stung the Hawks. Smith still ended up with (5) fouls and Horford had (2)---glad they didn't foul out---whew!
Maurice Evans, who has played very well so far this season, made his first shot of the night---and then proceeded to put up a string of very bad shots, one so bad it hit the side of the backboard. Soon after that Evans hurt his head and then picked up a technical. As Woodson mercifully pulled Mo from the game, it was clear Evans, while sitting on the bench now, asked Woodson "Why did you take me out of the game?" Woodson turned and gave an unknown response to which the coach turned and shook his head incredulously. Not a good game for Mo.
Joe Johnson was eliminated from this game by the Nuggets double-team strategy. THHB thought the team had graduated to the point where the Hawks made teams pay for such strategy, but again the Hawks were lured into making them pay with outside shots from Marvin Williams, Evans, and Mike Bibby, who were not nearly as hot as Mr. JR Smith (2-10 combined vs 10-17 for Smith). The Hawks weren't completely addicted to the three, but were cold enough from the outside for the Nuggets to make them pay every time they missed.
In conjunction with that, we would like to see Marvin take advantage of his length and strength and take it inside more when the ball swings around to him. Too often Marvin seems to have 10 yards of daylight in front of him but goes ahead and takes the lower percentage shot. We know he can get to the line--just ask Larry Brown last season--but Marvin seems to have it in his head that he is a spot shooter---and that just doesn't do his talent the most justice. His new range should be used to lure defenses out so he can whip by them and get better shots, not the other way around.
Meaningless stat or Harbinger of Doom?
The Hawks are now 2-5 in games where they attempt (21) 3-pointers or more which, if our University of Florida education still holds up, means that they are 18-3 in games where they shoot under (21) threes a game. (Hey, the math works--we still got it!)
Here Comes Santa Claus Right Down the Middle of the Lane
Offensively, Al Horford played a great game (18 points to go with 11 rebounds) and the Hawks should have taken their time and run the offense through Al more tonight. (We know--don't stop us even if you've heard that before.) Horford was 7-9 and had good matchups--Al is only less effective (read: rushes shots and moves) against taller guys--Nene and Chris Andersen were neither tall enough (Nene) or strong enough (Andersen) to stop Horford, and while the Hawks weren't ignoring that channel as much as in years past, they weren't dedicated to that approach either. Going to that early on instead of taking the jump shot bait (fool's good as The Namesake calls it.) might have changed the tenor of the game.
The Hawks didn't play too badly---just not efficient enough on either end to beat a hot shooting winning team in their house. Better luck next time, eh?
THHB wishes everyone a marvelous Christmas Vacation and we'll see you all after the Indiana game on Saturday. Merry Christmas!
When the teams played last, JR Smith and Kenyon Martin did not, with Smith serving a suspension. In their 124-104 blitz of the Hawks in Denver, JR Smith was making up for lost time.
Smith became the epitome of the player who is "on fire"--making a back breaking (10) three pointers in a Kama Sutra like variety of poses and left the Hawks, who worked hard at trying to overcome an early lapse, panting and eventually waving the white flag of defeat.
To win on the road against a club that is actually winning, you must protect your possessions offensively and make teams miss defensively. Early on, it was clear the Hawks were not on the right tracks.
The Hawks came out and found an energetic Nugget defense who was more than willing to dare the Hawks to take jump shots, of which the Hawks made some early and then tailed off considerably. Meanwhile, Denver was busy getting to the rim and softening up the Hawks defensive underbelly. In a coincidentally bad merging of events, the Hawks seemed gun shy defensively after being in severe foul trouble the night before in Minnesota, allowing any size Nugget a free shot inside the paint. In fact, it was reported before the game by James Verrett that Woodson told his guys not to "pick up fouls" as a result of the issues in the previous game.
So as the Hawks missed jump shots the Nuggets, who allowed the Hawks only (6) offensive rebounds for the game, got into transition and blistered the Hawks to establish an early lead. In fact, despite the long range bombing and general jump shooting prowess of the Nuggets on the night, the home team outscored the #2 team in the league of total points in the paint 50-40 inside.
The Hawks continued to work, but never were able to galvanize their defense long enough to make a significant run. The Nuggets simply outdid the Hawks in almost every category---they shot better, rebounded more, had more assists, and easily won the turnover battle (15-8). That's a recipe for protecting home court--well, that and a Dennis Scott like eruption from Smith--and it's not the formula for road success against playoff teams.
Memories
The defensive malaise, fraidy-cat, and laissez-faire approach Al Horford and Josh Smith took to the defensive end stung the Hawks. Smith still ended up with (5) fouls and Horford had (2)---glad they didn't foul out---whew!
Maurice Evans, who has played very well so far this season, made his first shot of the night---and then proceeded to put up a string of very bad shots, one so bad it hit the side of the backboard. Soon after that Evans hurt his head and then picked up a technical. As Woodson mercifully pulled Mo from the game, it was clear Evans, while sitting on the bench now, asked Woodson "Why did you take me out of the game?" Woodson turned and gave an unknown response to which the coach turned and shook his head incredulously. Not a good game for Mo.
Joe Johnson was eliminated from this game by the Nuggets double-team strategy. THHB thought the team had graduated to the point where the Hawks made teams pay for such strategy, but again the Hawks were lured into making them pay with outside shots from Marvin Williams, Evans, and Mike Bibby, who were not nearly as hot as Mr. JR Smith (2-10 combined vs 10-17 for Smith). The Hawks weren't completely addicted to the three, but were cold enough from the outside for the Nuggets to make them pay every time they missed.
In conjunction with that, we would like to see Marvin take advantage of his length and strength and take it inside more when the ball swings around to him. Too often Marvin seems to have 10 yards of daylight in front of him but goes ahead and takes the lower percentage shot. We know he can get to the line--just ask Larry Brown last season--but Marvin seems to have it in his head that he is a spot shooter---and that just doesn't do his talent the most justice. His new range should be used to lure defenses out so he can whip by them and get better shots, not the other way around.
Meaningless stat or Harbinger of Doom?
The Hawks are now 2-5 in games where they attempt (21) 3-pointers or more which, if our University of Florida education still holds up, means that they are 18-3 in games where they shoot under (21) threes a game. (Hey, the math works--we still got it!)
Here Comes Santa Claus Right Down the Middle of the Lane
Offensively, Al Horford played a great game (18 points to go with 11 rebounds) and the Hawks should have taken their time and run the offense through Al more tonight. (We know--don't stop us even if you've heard that before.) Horford was 7-9 and had good matchups--Al is only less effective (read: rushes shots and moves) against taller guys--Nene and Chris Andersen were neither tall enough (Nene) or strong enough (Andersen) to stop Horford, and while the Hawks weren't ignoring that channel as much as in years past, they weren't dedicated to that approach either. Going to that early on instead of taking the jump shot bait (fool's good as The Namesake calls it.) might have changed the tenor of the game.
The Hawks didn't play too badly---just not efficient enough on either end to beat a hot shooting winning team in their house. Better luck next time, eh?
THHB wishes everyone a marvelous Christmas Vacation and we'll see you all after the Indiana game on Saturday. Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Against These Teams, There Is Only One Enemy
This season the Hawks have taken their team basketball to another level. And that's not really saying enough---it more like another galaxy.
For those who have watched the Birds for longer than--oh---this season, we realize that going on the road, even in cities such as Chicago and Minnesota, and to play winning basketball as the Hawks have done this season, is a remarkable step forward.
(Sidenote: Ok, we realize they didn't actually win in Chicago, but they should have. If not for deciding that, with six minutes or so left to go in the game and a three possession lead that it was a good time to take the air out of the ball and then roll back the clock to a year ago and stand around and watch Joe Johnson go one on five down the stretch--no matter how hot he was---the Hawks could have closed the deal. Anyway, much like the Hawks over the weekend, we digress.)
Tuesday night in Minnesota, the Hawks got ahead early with a lot of energy and then seemed content to keep the Wolves at arms length for the rest of the game, sealing the deal with a 112-87 win over the Timberwolves. The Hawks forced a lot of turnovers, went strong to the basket, and shot the ball well---in fact if not for a lot of interesting foul calls on the Hawks big men, it might have been another soft fourth quarter for the starters.
As it was the foul trouble gave Josh Smith a short night (20 minutes) and fouled out Zaza Pachulia and Randolph Morris. That meant the weight of defending Kevin Love and Al Jefferson (who, um, can play a little bit) fell on the broad shoulders of Al Horford.
Horford played the most minutes of any Hawk by far (41--Joe was next with 34) and spent such extended play time being omnipresent, posting a 16/11/4 game with (2) steals and a block. Horford challenged shots inside, even when the officials made it hazardous for any Hawk to do so. He set an amazing amount of solid screens, freeing The Backcourt to light it up with (65) points between the three members. On one great play in the fourth quarter, Randolph Morris came down with a rebound and, with all the little men safely down on the other end of the court and nobody to bring the ball up, he flipped it to Al, who calmly dribbled down and started the offense. No problem.
The Hawks' only enemy right now is themselves--as they showed in Chicago by their odd decision making offensively and again at times against Minnesota. The Wolves showed they had little interest in actually defending Atlanta, allowing the Hawks to get wherever they wanted to on the floor. They sent soft double teams which the Hawks exploited with open shots, they let Johnson, Horford, et al dance into the lane, where the Hawks did score (42) points. But there were also many times where the Hawks bailed the defenseless Timberwolves team out by taking jump shots when the paint was wide open. Such decisions ultimately led to a large discrepancy in free throws, only somewhat blunted by the endgame garbage free throws. There was no reason tonight why the Hawks couldn't have exceeded their seasonal average in points in the paint (almost 50) and toed the line more than their ultimate total of (25).
Look, we understand that no team can exclusively rush the lane, but the Hawks tend to get away from it too easily, especially frustrating when such a strategy has led them to the advantage they now wish to exploit by going jump shot and allowing the other team to gather themselves defensively and get back into the game. With the way they are playing defensively (especially rebounding), this is the only thing that can hold them back from winning every game from lottery bound and lesser teams such as the Wolves and the Bulls.
Fortunately tonight the Hawks made a lot of those jump shots (9-20 on threes) and they did get into the paint and use Horford enough to make sure that the Wolves were never really in the game (their largest lead was zero, after all).
Stocking Stuffers---But You Can Keep the Kisses
Randolph Morris has had a fine year towards the end of the Hawks bench--but we saw why Woody is most comfortable using him when the game is not really in doubt. Morris inspired myriad gesticulations from his head coach on his way to a 3 point, 2 rebound, 6 foul night in (10) minutes.
Mo Evans may not have had much, and Jeff Teague may be playing a little loose lately---but we might have liked to have seen them in the game when the Hawks bigs got into trouble than the Jandolph Show we were treated to. Oh, and change that might to definitely. Sorry, Jandolph.
So he's stopped (for the most part) launching jays, so the next step in Josh Smith's Incredible Basketball Maturity is to stop the crying and campaigning after every foul called on him. Heck, even when he bowled over the Wolves in the fourth quarter on the way to the hoop and was obviously charging, he seemed to have to tell himself that, yes indeed, he did foul. THHB has seen a lot of basketball and we haven't seen an instance yet where berating, scowling, swearing, or anything other negative message has won an official over. Maybe Smith believes he can pioneer the effort, but we think that in doing so he'll accumulate a Rasheed Wallace amount of technicals while testing the theory. Pretty selfish behavior there for a guy who has taken things seriously enough in the other areas to make himself potentially visible in the actual All-Star game.
BTW, if you haven't voted yet, we've installed an easy to use widget on the sidebar that will assist you in stuffing the virtual ballot box, China style, for the home team. THHB showed no shame across the board in saluting Johnson, Crawford, Horford, and Smith. Sorry, Mike Bibby--couldn't vote for the entire Backcourt.
Speaking of Bibby, he managed to log in an (18) and (6) game throughout his (27) minutes. Bibby has amazingly taken his True Shooting Percentage and Effective Field Goal Percentage up some notches this season. He might, and history shows that he likely will, slow down from this current rate, but he's also being used less than ever, so maybe less quantity is leading to more quality this season.
One last note---we love Corey Brewer, but there is a reason many Gator fans called him "The Drunken Dribbler" while in Gainesville. It was a nice trip back to those championship seasons Tuesday night watching Horford dunking, Hollins flailing, and Brewer dribbling---it was like nothing changed.
THHB would like to offer the Hawks a sincere Christmas gift of thanks for such a fine first (27) games of basketball. It's been a blast thus far. Napkins and Party Favors can be setup in the Comments Area.
For those who have watched the Birds for longer than--oh---this season, we realize that going on the road, even in cities such as Chicago and Minnesota, and to play winning basketball as the Hawks have done this season, is a remarkable step forward.
(Sidenote: Ok, we realize they didn't actually win in Chicago, but they should have. If not for deciding that, with six minutes or so left to go in the game and a three possession lead that it was a good time to take the air out of the ball and then roll back the clock to a year ago and stand around and watch Joe Johnson go one on five down the stretch--no matter how hot he was---the Hawks could have closed the deal. Anyway, much like the Hawks over the weekend, we digress.)
Tuesday night in Minnesota, the Hawks got ahead early with a lot of energy and then seemed content to keep the Wolves at arms length for the rest of the game, sealing the deal with a 112-87 win over the Timberwolves. The Hawks forced a lot of turnovers, went strong to the basket, and shot the ball well---in fact if not for a lot of interesting foul calls on the Hawks big men, it might have been another soft fourth quarter for the starters.
As it was the foul trouble gave Josh Smith a short night (20 minutes) and fouled out Zaza Pachulia and Randolph Morris. That meant the weight of defending Kevin Love and Al Jefferson (who, um, can play a little bit) fell on the broad shoulders of Al Horford.
Horford played the most minutes of any Hawk by far (41--Joe was next with 34) and spent such extended play time being omnipresent, posting a 16/11/4 game with (2) steals and a block. Horford challenged shots inside, even when the officials made it hazardous for any Hawk to do so. He set an amazing amount of solid screens, freeing The Backcourt to light it up with (65) points between the three members. On one great play in the fourth quarter, Randolph Morris came down with a rebound and, with all the little men safely down on the other end of the court and nobody to bring the ball up, he flipped it to Al, who calmly dribbled down and started the offense. No problem.
The Hawks' only enemy right now is themselves--as they showed in Chicago by their odd decision making offensively and again at times against Minnesota. The Wolves showed they had little interest in actually defending Atlanta, allowing the Hawks to get wherever they wanted to on the floor. They sent soft double teams which the Hawks exploited with open shots, they let Johnson, Horford, et al dance into the lane, where the Hawks did score (42) points. But there were also many times where the Hawks bailed the defenseless Timberwolves team out by taking jump shots when the paint was wide open. Such decisions ultimately led to a large discrepancy in free throws, only somewhat blunted by the endgame garbage free throws. There was no reason tonight why the Hawks couldn't have exceeded their seasonal average in points in the paint (almost 50) and toed the line more than their ultimate total of (25).
Look, we understand that no team can exclusively rush the lane, but the Hawks tend to get away from it too easily, especially frustrating when such a strategy has led them to the advantage they now wish to exploit by going jump shot and allowing the other team to gather themselves defensively and get back into the game. With the way they are playing defensively (especially rebounding), this is the only thing that can hold them back from winning every game from lottery bound and lesser teams such as the Wolves and the Bulls.
Fortunately tonight the Hawks made a lot of those jump shots (9-20 on threes) and they did get into the paint and use Horford enough to make sure that the Wolves were never really in the game (their largest lead was zero, after all).
Stocking Stuffers---But You Can Keep the Kisses
Randolph Morris has had a fine year towards the end of the Hawks bench--but we saw why Woody is most comfortable using him when the game is not really in doubt. Morris inspired myriad gesticulations from his head coach on his way to a 3 point, 2 rebound, 6 foul night in (10) minutes.
Mo Evans may not have had much, and Jeff Teague may be playing a little loose lately---but we might have liked to have seen them in the game when the Hawks bigs got into trouble than the Jandolph Show we were treated to. Oh, and change that might to definitely. Sorry, Jandolph.
So he's stopped (for the most part) launching jays, so the next step in Josh Smith's Incredible Basketball Maturity is to stop the crying and campaigning after every foul called on him. Heck, even when he bowled over the Wolves in the fourth quarter on the way to the hoop and was obviously charging, he seemed to have to tell himself that, yes indeed, he did foul. THHB has seen a lot of basketball and we haven't seen an instance yet where berating, scowling, swearing, or anything other negative message has won an official over. Maybe Smith believes he can pioneer the effort, but we think that in doing so he'll accumulate a Rasheed Wallace amount of technicals while testing the theory. Pretty selfish behavior there for a guy who has taken things seriously enough in the other areas to make himself potentially visible in the actual All-Star game.
BTW, if you haven't voted yet, we've installed an easy to use widget on the sidebar that will assist you in stuffing the virtual ballot box, China style, for the home team. THHB showed no shame across the board in saluting Johnson, Crawford, Horford, and Smith. Sorry, Mike Bibby--couldn't vote for the entire Backcourt.
Speaking of Bibby, he managed to log in an (18) and (6) game throughout his (27) minutes. Bibby has amazingly taken his True Shooting Percentage and Effective Field Goal Percentage up some notches this season. He might, and history shows that he likely will, slow down from this current rate, but he's also being used less than ever, so maybe less quantity is leading to more quality this season.
One last note---we love Corey Brewer, but there is a reason many Gator fans called him "The Drunken Dribbler" while in Gainesville. It was a nice trip back to those championship seasons Tuesday night watching Horford dunking, Hollins flailing, and Brewer dribbling---it was like nothing changed.
THHB would like to offer the Hawks a sincere Christmas gift of thanks for such a fine first (27) games of basketball. It's been a blast thus far. Napkins and Party Favors can be setup in the Comments Area.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Dispensing With Formalities
THHB loves roller coasters.
They go up, down, upside down, and really fast.
So, it seems we love and follow the right team.
This season the Hawks spin themselves to deliriously delicious heights with terrific execution on both ends, but then our stomach drops when the team falls back into some destructive habits and so on until we arrive back at the station with either a win or loss. This season, there have been many smiles after the train has pulled up.
The 96-83 win at home Friday night over the Utah Jazz gave the home fans maybe the most dominant defensive stretch we've seen in the Mike Woodson era certainly, and maybe we've ever seen.
From the tip, the Hawks appeared to anticipate every pass the Jazz were about to make, stealing pass after pass, deflecting balls, and generally making the back cutting Utah team irrelevant for the entirety of the starters time on the floor. In doing so, it kept the Jazz as a jump shooting team who was stuck isolating to create shots and in turn had a miserable night. This from a team that is Top 10 in offensive efficiency and Effective FG% and Top 3 in assists per game (despite rocking a top 10 slowest pace rate).
Consider that a fully healthy Deron Williams joined the Frustrated Hawks Opponent Stars Club (too wordy?) founded this season by Chris Bosh, by shooting a brutal 1-8 with (4) assists and (4) turnovers. Carlos Boozer was swallowed up by the Hawks All-Star caliber front court, doubling Williams' field goals (2) but also contributing (4) turnovers with his (6) points.
We didn't check, but we're pretty sure the Jazz lose all games where Deron and Booze combine for less than (10) points total. Ok, make that very sure.
The suffocation was a total team effort, but led by the team's signature player---Josh Smith. Smith covered the Jazz passing lanes like Deion Sanders, and then soared down the court for a couple of easy 3-pt plays as the Hawks were firmly establishing that there would be no Jazz festival at Philips Arena.
Smith nearly pulled off a rare 5 X 5 with his (16) point, (8) rebounds, (5) assist, (5) steal, and (2) block night. Might have happened too, but the Hawks blitzed the Jazz starters so completely that, for the second time in a row a coach pulled his starters in the third quarter, never to return again, leaving all Hawks starters below (30) minutes.
Another brief game meant that while Joe Johnson got more rest than he has ever likely had while healthy, it cost him a shot at a luxury statistical item as well, the triple-double. Johnson rang up (9) rebounds and (7) assists with his (12) points against a single turnover.
The Hawks hardly took advantage early on as, after jumping out to a quick double digit lead, they fell into the jump shooting trap and allowed the Jazz to gather momentum as the bench underproduced relative to their usual stellar efforts. However after the full starters returned, so did the energy and the momentum. After the Hawks returned from a halftime break that saw them up by (10), they took it upon themselves to make sure the game was no longer in doubt by the time the third quarter was over.
In that third quarter, the Hawks scored (17) fast break points alone and overwhelmed the visitors by a 37-17 margin. It was a clinic in how not to play against Atlanta--settling for jump shots and not getting back to stop the tidal wave of ATLiens rushing towards the hoop. It was a stunning display that served to whet all Bird Watchers appetites of what could be when this team revs up the defensive machine.
We've long stated it: All scoring runs start and are sustained through defensive effort. It triggers long rebounds, turnovers, and in turn--easy basket opportunities. The Hawks delivered even when being locked into a half court game with some terrific ball movement which led to such a number of open shots that Jerry Sloan had to be wondering what he was watching from his team. Their team was so discombobulated that Deron Williams played through Sloan's attempt to call a time out. He missed a shot, went down to the other end and got a rebound and this time yielded to his coach's desire for a stoppage of play. He and the rest of the starters would not return.
So When Do We Give The Bench a Break?
We could nit pick and describe how the remainder of the (17) minutes were spent watching the Hawks bench play so poorly that the Jazz got the game back down to the final margin, but just because the other Hawks played like they wanted to join the starters on the sidelines for the company Christmas party doesn't mean we'll spend time analyzing that. They have been terrific all season and, hey, maybe they're overworked.
If you haven't seen Jeff Teague's block of Wesley Matthews' layup, you should check it out in the NBA recap embedded below. Good times.
Off to Chicago to hopefully continue to take advantage of the dysfunction junction that the Bulls have been thus far this season--and a team the Hawks leveled by (35) the last time the teams hooked up.
They go up, down, upside down, and really fast.
So, it seems we love and follow the right team.
This season the Hawks spin themselves to deliriously delicious heights with terrific execution on both ends, but then our stomach drops when the team falls back into some destructive habits and so on until we arrive back at the station with either a win or loss. This season, there have been many smiles after the train has pulled up.
The 96-83 win at home Friday night over the Utah Jazz gave the home fans maybe the most dominant defensive stretch we've seen in the Mike Woodson era certainly, and maybe we've ever seen.
From the tip, the Hawks appeared to anticipate every pass the Jazz were about to make, stealing pass after pass, deflecting balls, and generally making the back cutting Utah team irrelevant for the entirety of the starters time on the floor. In doing so, it kept the Jazz as a jump shooting team who was stuck isolating to create shots and in turn had a miserable night. This from a team that is Top 10 in offensive efficiency and Effective FG% and Top 3 in assists per game (despite rocking a top 10 slowest pace rate).
Consider that a fully healthy Deron Williams joined the Frustrated Hawks Opponent Stars Club (too wordy?) founded this season by Chris Bosh, by shooting a brutal 1-8 with (4) assists and (4) turnovers. Carlos Boozer was swallowed up by the Hawks All-Star caliber front court, doubling Williams' field goals (2) but also contributing (4) turnovers with his (6) points.
We didn't check, but we're pretty sure the Jazz lose all games where Deron and Booze combine for less than (10) points total. Ok, make that very sure.
The suffocation was a total team effort, but led by the team's signature player---Josh Smith. Smith covered the Jazz passing lanes like Deion Sanders, and then soared down the court for a couple of easy 3-pt plays as the Hawks were firmly establishing that there would be no Jazz festival at Philips Arena.
Smith nearly pulled off a rare 5 X 5 with his (16) point, (8) rebounds, (5) assist, (5) steal, and (2) block night. Might have happened too, but the Hawks blitzed the Jazz starters so completely that, for the second time in a row a coach pulled his starters in the third quarter, never to return again, leaving all Hawks starters below (30) minutes.
Another brief game meant that while Joe Johnson got more rest than he has ever likely had while healthy, it cost him a shot at a luxury statistical item as well, the triple-double. Johnson rang up (9) rebounds and (7) assists with his (12) points against a single turnover.
The Hawks hardly took advantage early on as, after jumping out to a quick double digit lead, they fell into the jump shooting trap and allowed the Jazz to gather momentum as the bench underproduced relative to their usual stellar efforts. However after the full starters returned, so did the energy and the momentum. After the Hawks returned from a halftime break that saw them up by (10), they took it upon themselves to make sure the game was no longer in doubt by the time the third quarter was over.
In that third quarter, the Hawks scored (17) fast break points alone and overwhelmed the visitors by a 37-17 margin. It was a clinic in how not to play against Atlanta--settling for jump shots and not getting back to stop the tidal wave of ATLiens rushing towards the hoop. It was a stunning display that served to whet all Bird Watchers appetites of what could be when this team revs up the defensive machine.
We've long stated it: All scoring runs start and are sustained through defensive effort. It triggers long rebounds, turnovers, and in turn--easy basket opportunities. The Hawks delivered even when being locked into a half court game with some terrific ball movement which led to such a number of open shots that Jerry Sloan had to be wondering what he was watching from his team. Their team was so discombobulated that Deron Williams played through Sloan's attempt to call a time out. He missed a shot, went down to the other end and got a rebound and this time yielded to his coach's desire for a stoppage of play. He and the rest of the starters would not return.
So When Do We Give The Bench a Break?
We could nit pick and describe how the remainder of the (17) minutes were spent watching the Hawks bench play so poorly that the Jazz got the game back down to the final margin, but just because the other Hawks played like they wanted to join the starters on the sidelines for the company Christmas party doesn't mean we'll spend time analyzing that. They have been terrific all season and, hey, maybe they're overworked.
If you haven't seen Jeff Teague's block of Wesley Matthews' layup, you should check it out in the NBA recap embedded below. Good times.
Off to Chicago to hopefully continue to take advantage of the dysfunction junction that the Bulls have been thus far this season--and a team the Hawks leveled by (35) the last time the teams hooked up.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Taking Care of Business--Weekend Style
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.
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.
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