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.

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.

Opening Night Victors

We love Opening Night.

We especially love Opening Night at home.

The Atlanta Hawks gave us plenty to love about Opening Night at Philips Arena Wednesday night by kicking off the 2009-2010 season the same way they did it last season, by winning--this time casting aside the Indiana Pacers 120-109.

The Hawks started slow, picked up steam by halftime, and then battled the Pacers into the fourth quarter where, as they have made it a pattern of doing so against lesser comp (especially at home), they put the guests away behind strong interior play and clutch shooting.

The Pacers started the game shooting hot, and it helped them to a 53/56/84 night against the Hawks. They likely would have assumed a win if they had known before the game how they would shoot, as they also had the Hawks playing their tempo and their game, but the great equalizer was a massive (25) turnovers to the Hawks (10), allowing the Hawks to close the early gap and eventually overtake the game.

The Preseason is the Land of Illusions and Game One Reveals All

Game One of the season puts some of the fluff of the off-season aside and begins to paint the mural that will become the regular season. In the beginning of a mural, anything is possible, and as the first game concluded THHB saw plenty for Bird watchers to smile about.

Al Horford answered the bell by being very beastly all around against the slower Roy Hibbert and the less talented Jeff Foster. Horford scored (24) points by playing a very confident, powerful game. He shot without hesitation, he took the ball to the hoop without doubt, and finished with plenty of authority. He corralled (3) offensive rebounds, all of which seemed to lead to putback or tip dunks and owned the glass overall, finishing with a game high (16) rebounds. Defensively, in addition to collecting the boards, he contested shots without drawing fouls, blocking a pair to go with (4) assists on the offensive end, thereby filling out the stat sheet. Saying Al Horford set the tone might be stretching it too much, but in his game we saw the bigger picture of how the Hawks won; a consistent effort which, when the game concluded, showed its full value.

Hawks fans also got to see the tuned-in Josh Smith in Game One. Smith was extremely aggressive on both ends against the Pacers, contesting shots, going after steals, and taking the ball to the hoop with extreme prejudice. Smith is becoming one of the best in the entire league at finishing around the hoop. No, not just on the dunks, of which there were some fantastic throw downs by Smith, but anytime he went to the basket, even when fouled, you felt confident it would go in---and it usually did. Smith took only (1) Ty Corbin Three all night long, and there were times where he was definitely tempted. For his efforts to delay gratification, he was rewarded with a 7-10 shooting night (0-0 on real threes) and drew enough attention with his interior scoring that he was able to distribute (8) assists on the night as well. This is what Smith can be when he is dialed into playing the game the right way---and is faced with a less than average defense.

Joe Johnson took the game high scoring (25), but truth be known he captured the mark by launching a space shuttle shot to beat the shot clock with (6.5) seconds remaining in the game. Johnson definitely mirrored the early game struggles the Hawks had getting things flowing correctly, but once Joe was locked in, he lost the half court discomfort and had the typical ho-hum 25 points, 6 assist, 4 steal game we come to expect and dismiss from him.

Game One also showed some of how Woodson may plan to deploy his bench and not use Mike Bibby so much. In what was not a settled game until the fourth quarter wound down, Bibby still logged just (30) minutes. He used that rest to make three big fourth quarter shots that gave the Hawks the lead and then put it out of reach. Two of the buckets were bombs that were standard issue open Bibby looks, but the 2-pointer sandwiched in between was a runner in the lane in which Bibby seemed to lose the handle on, but was able to sneak it by the taller players inside and get the bucket. That basket gave the Hawks a (4) point lead with 7 1/2 minutes left and the Hawks never trailed again.

To be able to give that kind of rest meant that Woodson was already comfortable letting rookie Jeff Teague get his feet wet in his first official NBA game. Teague looked good in his debut, modeling a new take on the Josh Childress Memorial Jump Shot in going 2-7, but he seemed very comfortable at the point and was able to penetrate, dish, and get into the open floor enough to score (4) assists against (ZERO) turnovers. That his first game ended in a win and his first basket an impressive dunk were pretty tasty cherries on the winning sundae.

Nice Guys Finish With Eleven Minutes

For all the build up regarding Jamal Crawford as a Hawk and what it all means, he ended up playing a meager (11) minutes off the bench and his best shot of the night didn't even count. Crawford had (3) assists and a steal to go with his (3) points in such limited action, but his best action came when he missed a jump shot with about (4) seconds left in the first quarter and then, as the Pacers tried to throw the ball down the court to get a last second shot off, he leaped high to deflect the pass, collected the ball, and then turned against his body from about mid-court to try and beat the buzzer. The shot went in, but it was overturned in replay.

For what it's worth, it looked like there was .2 seconds left when the lights came on, but it could have been un-synced on the telecast.Great shot anyway. Welcome to ATL, Jamal.

Good Thing He Wasn't Healthy

Danny Granger was questionable health-wise before the game, but he was able to suit up and play (22) minutes for Indiana. This was probably helpful to the Hawks because when Granger was in the game he must have been wearing his Cloak of Invisibility, because he found himself wide open a bit too much for someone of his considerable talents. Granger cashed in (5) of (10) three point attempts in his short amount of time on the floor--scoring (31) points in all.If he had been able to go more tonight we might have had a more somber story to relate.

Elsewhere, unlike in March where TJ Ford obliterated the Hawks guards for (29) points, Ford was unable to accomplish anything positive against the Hawks in this new season. Ford was 1-9 from the field and didn't find the job of scoring as easy as he did about (7) months ago. The reason? Quite a few times it was Joe Johnson handling the action on Ford. Case closed.


Speaking of Clock Problems and Things Remaining the Same



It took exactly (3) seconds into the season for the Philips Arena clocks to go haywire. That in itself isn't funny, especially considering the the reputation the official scorers and the electronics have in the arena. What was funny was that, after the Hawks had won the tip and the game underway, the game had to stop--which frustrated the fans, most of whom we're guessing have seen this a time or two. Clearly annoyed, the ATL faithful booed lustily.


Ahhh--good to be back, isn't it?


THHB believes that winning is better than losing. Arguments to the contrary can be laughed at inside the Comments Area.

Home Court 'Stache

To celebrate the pending home court clinching in the first round of the playoff, the Atlanta Hawks took the wrapper off of Marvin Williams, who had missed a surprising (16) games with his injured back.

That he only scored (5) points or played a mere (12) minutes in the Hawks fourth-place clinching 122-118 win over the Indiana Pacers was almost irrelevant--the Mustache and its mystical healing powers was back.

To gauge the impact that Marvin has made on the people that watch and surround the team, one need only note that the crowd gave Marvin a standing ovation (no, they weren't shooting t-shirts into the crowd at that time) when he entered the game for the first time. That, combined with the anticipation built up from the blogs and newspapers (ok, just the AJC) and it's clear many were eager for the 'Stache's return.

All of which is a testament not only to the improvement Marvin has made from last season to this one, but also the obvious good guy label everyone has noticed and begun to embrace--he is dependable, productive, and from all forms that we have to check this sort of thing, a good teammate. The Mustache also has the power to solve a Rubik's cube in (2) minutes---don't underestimate, appreciate.

He's gone from the guy who isn't someone else to a player that the ATL appreciates for his own skills and contributions. They won't give a Most Improved Award to him this year, but this season marks a massive step forward in our books.

On the court, the Hawks did one thing a little better than in recent games in that they seemed to go at the paint a little more regularly, which allowed for a more efficient (though we will wait for the official breakdown of that when Hoopinion rolls out the statistical barrel later to know for sure) offensive night.

The Hawks attacked and went to the line for a staggering (45) free throws, of which they made (34), led by the high scorer of the night, Josh Smith. Smoove didn't completely rid himself of the many on the court demons that can sabotage his overall effectiveness, but he did have a strong night across the board, even attacking the glass on both ends. His offensive rebound late in the game helped seal the game---he hit the floor a couple of times----Josh was genuinely using his massive powers for good, and the box score filled up accordingly.

Also on the attack was Al Horford, who spent his night, as he does on most nights, sprinting up and down the court---Against the Pacers, the Hawks actually rewarded his efforts on a number of occasions, as he relentlessly raced slower matchups like Roy Hibbert and Jeff Foster and was able to cash in from a very generous Mike Bibby (9 assists) and Joe Johnson as well. Horford owned the glass, grabbing (13) of his (15) rebounds on the defensive end. In all, a stellar 22/15/5 game from Al, who proved he can--if you let him.

Someone in the Hawks blogging nation mentioned it, and since the HHB working crew is short due to the Holiday (celebrate!) weekend, we aren't staffed appropriately to figure out who (we guess Peachtree Hoops), it's fun when Joe Johnson is hitting his threes as he was against IND (5-8), including one off of a Horford pick that was so sweet we wish we had the sound on a hot key---beautiful music. Joe was so good last night that it speaks volumes that Smith and Horford seemed to overshadow the Backcourt. 24/4/4 on a mere (15) shots--he's good, he's good.

For all of the goodness that the Hawks were displaying offensively, the defense didn't seem to coincide. For every terrific shot (like the aforementioned 3 from Joe) the Pacers raced the ball back up the court and caught the flatfooted Hawks scrambling to get in transition position. There were too many open Danny Granger and Troy Murphy looks from long range---and they made the Hawks pay.

In fact, if not for an abnormally bad night from the free throw line by Granger (7-11 is awful for the 89 percent shooter), the endgame would have been different. He did, though, and the Hawks did enough to win and clinch that first round home court, which means that the ATL can now make plans to be there and be loud for Games 1 and 2.

Agate Type:

Between Acie Law and Mo Evans inactivity (Sidenote: they mentioned Evans' Family Matters so much it sounded like a TBS promo for the old sitcom), Marvin being limited minutes to his (12) minutes, and an in game injury for Zaza Pachulia---it meant seeing a starting assignment for Flubber West and more minutes for Solomon Jones.

As for West---though he made a couple of plays out there---his output does not match his energy. To play (14) minutes, including a lot with the other (4) starters and put up the line that he did seems to be Exhibit A to Hawks GM Rick Sund on building the deeper bench next year. (5) fouls, (3) turnovers, and a whopping (-8) when he was playing with the starting lineup that all had positive +/- should tell Woody not to do that anymore, or at least send Hawks fans lining up to hope that Mo Evans' Family Matters are a short term issue.

As for Jones, he gives up so much to the other team when he is on the floor, but the difference tonight is that he was able to give some of it back for the Hawks with (7) points, rather than just being a liability all night.

That the Hawks played West and Jones together for portions of the game--like towards the end of the first quarter when the Hawks original lead melted away quickly---and came away with the win further spotlights, highlights, and demonstrates just how really good Johnson, Bibby, Smith, and Horford were.

The HHB wants to hear the ATL from its comfortable Orlando HQ---just like last year---However, if you want you can leave Game 1 tickets for us in the Comments Area.

Somewhere TJ Ford is Scoring Again

Hey, if there is one thing we know about this Atlanta Hawks team, who by the way---and we don't know if you've heard---won their 38th game of the season, passing last year's total and their most wins since their last 50 win season in 1997-98, is that they can win some games at home.

In fact, they are too good at it, falling behind in their 101-87 win over the Indiana Pacers by as many as (13) before turning it around in the second half once again.

Now, we've written that the Hawks have been down this road before, pushing their slow starts so that they have to really turn it on to get back in front of the opposition. Earlier in the season, these shenanigans caught up to the team, culminating in the embarrassing 20+ point beatdown by the Clippers, at home no less.

Hawks announcer Dominique Wilkins (namesake alert!) kept sounding the alarm Friday night, constantly, that the Hawks can't keep doing this come playoff time. You fall behind big, you'll lose big, or something to that effect.

But lest we get too gooey on the team that is making us look prophetic a few posts ago (50 wins, y'all!), let's review what happened to the team Friday night:

For every TJ Ford layup, there must be a Marquis Daniels jump shot.

TJ Ford was a stone cold murderer--flying through the lane, taking advantage of the Hawks guards, and making seemingly everything he put up on his way to (29) points.

Conversely, Marquis Daniels was serving up a big plate of bricks, as was Troy Murphy and Jarrett Jack. Murphy, in fact, looked like he was well aware that his 11 game double-double streak was coming to an end--jacking up some late ill advised bombs but coming up---wait for it---(3) points short. Awww--too bad.

Ford did expose the Hawks as all quick guards do, but without Danny Granger, the Pacers didn't have enough people to actually make shots to outlast the home team.

Speaking of Granger, the report earlier in the day was that Granger would return for the Hawks, which would be of no surprise to the ATL, who has for years seen players suddenly better in time to play the Birds. But in what may be a significant turn for the franchise, Granger went naked (didn't dress) for the game against the Hawks. If he turns up for their next game Sunday in Toronto, we'll know the good guys have indeed moved up in the NBA pecking order.

Joe Johnson played a carbon copy game of his effort against Utah, to the tune of 30 points on 12-23 shooting and (6) assists. But the HHB thinks that everyone was so all over Wednesday's ho-humming of Joe's efforts that folks were more aware of Joe doing his thing Friday night. That and the fact that Peachtree Hoops called the Nation out (including themselves) after the collective "Meh" that his game engendered from fans after beating the Jazz.

We think it is now safe to say that Al Horford has officially taken a step forward in his career progression from his stellar rookie campaign. His 17 points/15 rebound affair fairly illustrates his omnipresence over the proceedings Friday night. He also decided that (4) assists and (3) blocks were fit for the evening as well. And he saw that it was good.

Horford has clearly improved the volume of his numbers, even if all agree that the effort is the same. His improvement in recent weeks has been equal parts increased health, increased maturity, and definitely increased opportunity.

Mo Evans hit a couple of big threes in this game, but his play of the night was the steal of an inbounds pass under the Hawks basket and then finishing strong to seal the deal. It was the kind of play folks expected from good guy Evans--but haven't seen enough of. Evans needs to be that thorn in the flesh of the opposition night in/night out and that steal is a proper indicator of the pain that should follow. Well done tonight, #1---

Acie Law looked right presidential out at the point at times. His defense was the only of the point guards that seemed to keep the bleeding down. He didn't shoot straight, but his (3) assists, zero turnover effort lends more hope, as does his near exclusive play at backup PG. The HHB loved the play of Mike Bibby tonight, but was pulling for Acie for defensive purposes.

The Hawks defense did indeed seem to be more energetic in the second half--and that combined with their athleticism causes real problems for other team's offenses. Slow pace (brought to you by Hoopinion--defensive rates, affordable prices!) and that energy limited the high scoring Pacers well below their defensive "average". The Hawks could not turn the Pacers over in the first half, only getting a single possession swapping mistake out of the visitors, but had (5) in the second half and a slew of poor shots from IND.

The Hawks were one Josh Smith missed free throw away from a perfect night from the line! OK---they took fewer free throws for the game than Dwyane Wade does in a half, but hey---10/11 is mathematically better than the usual 70 percent the Hawks offer, says the Official HHB statistician.

Solomon Jones had a great putback bucket, and nice jump shot, (3) rebounds, and no fouls in almost (6) minutes---no word on whether Jones tried to take home the game ball to commemorate the effort.

The HHB will turn the lights down on the Official High Definition Viewing Center to mourn the end of the Florida Gators basketball season Friday night---Cards and well wishes can be dropped off in the Comments Area.

We Won? (And Other Convoluted Thoughts)

We're confused.

We watched the entire game against the Pacers, including an excruciatingly long 3rd quarter (Louis Grillo, Joe DeRosa, and Violet Palmer, everybody!) and we can't figure it out.

We won this game?

This was a game where we wore what's known around these parts as the "carrot face" (think sucking on a lemon and also wanting to throw up) for most of the second half---a game that will not make the end of the season highlight reel of the best executed games---on the road, on the tired end of a back-to-back---we won this game?

How?

To us, it came down to two things:

In a third quarter which was horrifically over-officiated, the Hawks lost their cool early, fouling the Pacers into the bonus within 4 minutes of the second half and getting a technical foul on Marvin Williams. But it was the Pacers that ended up freaking out more, inviting the Birds into the bonus soon after and getting a technical foul of their own on Marquis Daniels.

When a game is obviously poorly officiated, it's the team that doesn't allow those factors to alter their game or focus that will win the game. In seasons past, the Hawks were not that team. As we watched tonight, the Hawks were, and the team regained composure and rode out the quarter with the lead.


The other, natch, was Joe Johnson.

Not that it's a surprise, but in the last 7:44 of the game, with the exception of a single Josh Smith layup, Johnson made all the Hawks field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers that kept the Hawks at least two possessions ahead down the stretch.

The last one was the end result of a series of passes and player movement. It looked like it might end badly, as Smith was hurdling toward the basket with no shot and it looked like he was going to do one of his patented "hurl the ball anywhere, but with great force!" passes that usually leads to a turnover. Instead, he two-hands-over-the-head soccer passed the ball to an inexplicably wide open Joe Johnson, who put the three ball down and sealed the Pacer fate.

Joe started the quarter with 15 points and ended with 27. Ball-Game.


Other Thoughts:

You had to know, as everybody passed along the BP article that showed the Hawks 3-point prowess, explaining the Hawks rise to "power" in the East, that the Hawks would come out and brick away---and so they did, (6-23, .261). In fact, the shots were so off that they looked like they were shooting at the old playground hoops with the double rims---it was ugly.

If Josh Smith were a roommate, he would be the type that you would have a great time with, have all the cool electronic toys, life of the party, good times all around, but he would always drink the last of the milk and would never do the dishes. We have said before, Josh Smith Lives--and Therefore We Die---and it was true again versus the Pacers. He was one of the main reason for the carrot face, with his careless, careless passing, his unnecessary lunges into the passing lanes, and of course the jump shots. But then there he is, 7-8 on free throws in that marathon third quarter--there he is, making the big pass, and making a key bucket late---there he is, stealing an inbounds pass and scoring on a night where easy baskets were more than usually welcome---Bottom line is we win with Smoove in the lineup, so we'll have to deal with the carrot face for oh, about six more years at least.

For those who might have wanted to select Roy Hibbert after G'Town's runs through the tourney---whooo, you may want to count your blessings---Zaza owned him down low when he was in the game and for a guy who is listed at 7'2, you would like to see a presence on defense at least--13 minutes, Zero rebounds and Zero blocks. Oy.

The Pacers are a classic team without a point guard. Oh yes, Jarret Jack scored well and was aggressive--but the one Approved Point Guard, TJ Ford, jacked up 8 shots of his own in only 11 minutes. The broadcast team (IBR and Nique) was saying how Indiana was lamenting their close game losses this year. Hey, hey! Look no further than your lack of floor general to control situations like the third quarter and down the stretch and you will find your wins.

We should know---since we have received our Approved Point Guard, things haven't been the same. 21 wins before the new year for the first time since 1979 and winning games like this one, where we wonder how in the world we whistled out of a tough place like IND with a win.

Thank you, Mike Bibby!

The HHB is flipping through basketball cards of Hawks point guards past---Emanual Davis, Brevin Knight, Anthony Johnson I, II, and III---If you wish to trade, leave a Comment in the Comments area.