Same Time, Next Year

On January 9th, 2009, the Orlando Magic pasted the Atlanta Hawks 121-87 in Orlando.

On January 9th, 2010, the Orlando Magic pasted the Atlanta Hawks 113-81 in Orlando.

You can go ahead and get out on that limb that says THHB wishes not for a Trilogy.

Simon: Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet your captain, Captain Oveur.
Clarence Oveur: Gentlemen, welcome aboard.
Simon: Captain, your navigator, Mr. Unger, and your first officer, Mr. Dunn.
Clarence Oveur: Unger.
Unger: Oveur.
Dunn: Oveur.
Clarence Oveur: Dunn. Gentlemen, let's get to work.
Simon: Unger, didn't you serve under Oveur in the Air Force?
Unger: Not directly. Technically, Dunn was under Oveur and I was under Dunn.
Dunn: Yep.
Simon: So, Dunn, you were under Oveur and over Unger.
Unger: Yep.
Clarence Oveur: That's right. Dunn was over Unger and I was over Dunn.
Unger: So, you see, both Dunn and I were under Oveur, even though I was under Dunn.
Clarence Oveur: Dunn was over Unger, and I was over Dunn.

So, to be clear from this weekend's Hawks hoop activity---the Hawks match up well with the Celtics (especially without Kevin Garnett) and do pretty well with this season's Cavaliers, but with Orlando....not so much.

Orlando, once again, demoralized, discouraged, dismantled, and disassembled the Hawks with an aggressive mindset from the beginning and continued great shooting throughout.

On the first Hawks' possession Joe Johnson drove into the lane and offered a very high floater toward the hoop. Alas, it was not high enough as Dwight Howard soundly altered the flight path, showing that the Magic--who like the Hawks had played the night before---wanted to finish their back to back with a bang. It just so happened that bang was the good vibrations from the Birds' strong win over Boston the night before crashing to the ground.

Whereas the Hawks had the fabled "deer in the headlights" look from the Howard block on for the entirety of the game, the Magic treated Atlanta as their personal chew toy, attacking the rim with no negative consequences and then using that torture to free up a cavalcade of open three pointers, which they were in turn very efficient in completing (12-28)..

When the Hawks are interested in winning, their trademarks are energy and athleticism. Under this category falls such effective techniques as ball movement, defensive rotation, steals, blocks, fast break points, and points in the paint. That Atlanta all but vacated these against Orlando tells as much of the story as the final score.

Early on it was clear that Howard picked up on items that THHB (among many others) have been discussing and advancing---such as that the Hawks don't even think about Al Horford in the half court offense and love, with any amount of encouragement, to go one-on-one.

Saturday night was no exception as the Hawks were strictly a one-pass-and-go-one-on-one offense and didn't ever seem to break pattern until they accidentally got the ball into Horford in the third quarter and he drew fouls inside on Howard--while scoring. Novel!

With Howard free from worrying about either Horford or Pachulia being a factor (since they presumably won't appear at the top of the key and try to break down an entire half court defense), this defensive juggernaut was free to assist in deterring shots such as the opening effort by Johnson.

The Hawks were ill-equipped mentally for the task of energizing their production as they hung like wallflowers still basking in the "glory" of a regular season home win over the Celtics. Their demeanor was one of "Hey, wasn't that win great last night?" rather than "Let's do it again!"

The ball didn't move, the Magic--without Hawk Hater Vince Carter either--rammed the ball down the Hawks' throat, passes whistled by unsuspecting teammates, players dribbled the ball out of bounds, there was a ridiculous attempt at a frustration foul (yes, Josh Smith, the officials didn't see it but we did) and so on. When you look like clowns on the court, you get clowned on the court. For one night, all that was missing for Atlanta were the red rubber noses.
 
It's too bad because such an approach and "effort" in a game such as this shows just how far mentally this team has to go to win further in the playoffs. Such a mentality was on display in the first round of last year's playoffs when, despite the fact (OK, it's our opinion) that the Hawks far outtalented the Heat, that series not only went to seven games, but that the losses incurred were ugly, passive losses such as the one Saturday night in Orlando.

Taking nights off from playing the right way becomes habitual--and teams can't just decide before the playoffs that they will give good effort every night starting then. It can only come from being practiced in the every game grind known as the regular season.

There's still plenty of games left to get into that habit--and they've shown they can do it--hopefully they'll get it done sooner rather than later so we won't have to watch this game again on January 9th, 2011.

Hawks Decade in Review 2: Top Hawks by Statistical Category

First we tackled the Top 20 Events of the previous decade for the Atlanta Hawks.

Now we look at the men who were the Hawks of the Aughts by statistically sorting through the advanced stats (brought to you by Basketball Reference) to look at the top guys in each category.


Categorically Speaking:

We looked at players who played at least 100 games (seemed like a good enough number to get beyond a single season look) with the Hawks in the Aughts--This yielded (32) players for our sample and we looked at each of the Advanced Categories (and the traditional counting stats at the bottom) to see which Hawks led in each one. (Glossary of Terms found here)

PER : 

1. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (211 games) 20.4
2. Joe Johnson (334 games)  18.3
3. Dikembe Mutombo (131 games) 18.3

Shareef provided a 50 point game, fundamental basketball, consistency and little else. Pete Babcock acquired him in the middle of his prime and Billy Knight dumped him at the end, preserving his 20+ PER. 

Trends: We expect that Josh Smith (17.6) will creep into this group by the end of the year or next season.

Others: Jason Terry (17.2), Al Horford (16.6)


Usage Percentage:

1. Joe Johnson   26.2
2. Shareef Abdur-Rahim   25.4
3. Al Harrington (142 games)  24.7

Surprise? Eh, no. Each represents the player upon which the ball stopped in their particular time in the decade. Shareef from 2002 to 2004, Harrington for the next two seasons, and Joe until present (and counting).

Interesting: If we expanded the sample out to (50) games, Isaiah Rider (28.8), Glenn Robinson (28.8), and Antoine Walker (27.9) would have led this category.

Others: Salim Stoudamire (T4th with JT and Josh Smith, 23.1), Dion Glover (7th, 21.0), Al Horford (19th, 16.3--extremely underused)

Total Rebounding Percentage:

1. Dikembe Mutombo   21.7
2. Nazr Mohammed  (198 games) 17.3
3. Al Horford (182 games) 17.1

When Mohammed signed his 5 year, 28.5 million dollar contract in 2001, we thought it was too pricey, but Nazr was plenty productive as a Hawk--similar to Zaza Pachulia, who just missed this list.

Would like to see Josh Smith get a little further up this list--currently, he is 9th at 13.3 career.

Others: Shelden Williams (4th, 16.8), Zaza Pachulia (5th, 15.3), Lorenzen Wright (6th, 14.1)

Assist Percentage:

1. Jason Terry (403 games) 28.3
2. Jacque Vaughn (153 games) 27.9
3. Mike Bibby (146 games) 25.8

Wow. Mike Bibby has already played 146 games with the Hawks. This list illustrates the lack of pass-first point guards in the past decade--something not likely to be reversed anytime soon.

Others: Anthony Johnson (4th, 25.7), Joe Johnson (5th, 25.6), Tyronn Lue (6th, 24.5)

Block Percentage:

1. Theo Ratliff (137 games) 7.4
2. Dikembe Mutombo       5.8
3. Josh Smith  (410 games)  5.4

The Hawks have had themselves some prolific shotblockers (and THHB loves shot blockers)--Ratliff was injured the first season in Atlanta, but before being sent with Abdur-Rahim to Portland Ratliff led the league in blocked shots his two seasons in the ATL.

Others: Solomon Jones (4th, 4.2), Al Horford (5th, 2.8), Cal Bowdler (T6 w/Nazr Mohammed, 2.3), DerMarr Johnson (9th, 2.1)


Steal Percentage:

1. Mario West (117 games)  3.0
2. Jason Terry        2.2
T3. Anthony Johnson (133 games)  2.0
T3: Royal Ivey  (188 games)  2.0
T3: Dion Glover  (273 games) 2.0

Yowza! That's some role playingly goodness. We still marvel at Royal Ivey playing 188 games with the Hawks. Among players with significant minutes on the list are Mike Bibby and Josh Smith (T6, 1.9).


Effective Field Goal Percentage:

1. Josh Childress (285 games)  .543
2. Solomon Jones  (156 games)  .537
3. Maurice Evans  (114 games)  .534

Deke and Horford are next on the list (.530 and .526 respectively), leading players who actually start for the team. It's fitting that Childress and Evans are together on this list--considering one was brought in to replace the production of the other.

Others: Mike Bibby (7th, .514), Joe Johnson (9th, .499), Jason Terry (10th, .485), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (12th, .480)

Offensive and Defensive Rating:

OR:

1. Josh Childress     120 
2. Maurice Evans     117
3. Solomon Jones    116

DR:

1. Dikembe Mutombo  100
2. Theo Ratliff        102
3. Nazr Mohammed  103

The only player to appear in the Top 5 in both lists? That would be Al Horford (115, 105).


An Homage to Statistics Past:

Points Per Game: 

1. Joe Johnson    21.8
2. Shareef Abdur-Rahim  20.4
3. Al Harrington  18.1

Surprise, surprise---the guys who use the most possessions get the nod in a counting category involving scoring. As with the Usage category above, when we move the line to (50) games, Glenn Robinson, Antoine Walker, and Isaiah Rider all popped into the Top 6.

Others: Jason Terry (4th, 16.2), Josh Smith (5th, 14.1)


Rebounds Per Game:

1. Dikembe Mutombo    14.1
2. Al Horford                  9.6
3. Shareef Abdur-Rahim  8.9

We always took the approach with Shareef while he was here that--while they said he was a 20/10 guy when he came in, he was really a 19/9 guy--in other words a cut below the star level that usually coincided with the 20/10 plateau. When you look at his numbers, he did put up 20/9 for the Hawks, and a good PER, but was certainly a cut (or two) below the perennial all-stars.

Others: Josh Smith (4th, 7.4), Theo Ratliff (5th, 7.3)

Assists Per Game: 

1. Joe Johnson     5.6
2. Jason Terry     5.5
3. Mike Bibby      5.2

Whew---no league leaders there, eh? Babcock's drafting of JT and subsequent "is he or isn't he" approach to the PG position (a philosophy that led to the Bimbo Coles, Emanual Davis and Brevin Knight minutes next to JT) and Billy Knight's "guards are guards" approach left the Hawks rudderless at the point for the decade until the arrival of Bibby. Bibby provided presence and leadership at the point, but was never a pass-first/playmaker type that usually throw up 8-9-10 assists a game.

Others: Tyronn Lue (T4 w/Jacque Vaughn, 3.6)


Blocks Per Game:

1. Theo Ratliff              3.2
2. Dikembe Mutombo  3.1
3. Josh Smith               2.4

Did we mention we love shot blockers? Ratliff had a (7) block game against the Celtics the week he was traded that helped to seal the deal over Mt. Mutombo.

Others: Al Horford (4th, 1.2), Nazr Mohammed (T5 w/Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 0.7)

Next Up in the Decade Installment: THHB Top 10 (and more) Hawks of the Decade

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.

Too (Insert Reason Here) to Win in Miami

Four in a row.

Six of the last eight.

The 92-75 pasting of the Hawks Monday night at the hands of the Miami Heat isn't an aberration, it's now a trend.

Bird Watchers have noted that the losses have all had a certain jump shot happy smell to them, usually in the hands of The Backcourt in the fourth quarter. The Hawks doubled down on the strategy by moving the fourth quarter offense into the first quarter against the Heat, to the predictable result of a 30-14 first quarter deficit--and they never recovered from there.

But it wasn't just the fact that the Hawks are in a Lindsey Lohan type relationship with the jump shot (35 percent vs. the Heat) that hurt them against Miami. They didn't rebound, losing that particular battle 52-30. They didn't share the ball, garnering only (11) assists. They managed (2) steals, (3) blocks, and (7) offensive rebounds--all indicators of the effort level put forth by the Hawks in this game.

Poor effort usually is from fatigue, laziness, injury, or all of the above. It takes maturity, patience, and ball movement to get good shots and movement and effort to defend. The Hawks looked like they had a collective "South Beach Diet" from the night before and like they would rather have slept it off versus trying to do what was necessary to beat Miami.

Even Al Horford and Josh Smith were launching bombs, though the offense left them little choice--as every play called seemed to be a high pick so that a guard could catch the ball and shoot. Nobody other than Jamal Crawford, who was the only Hawk to get the picture that the jump shot approach was failing (again) with (12) of his team high (23) point coming from the free throw line, and Joe Johnson (11 points on 15 shots) scratched double digits in scoring.

The Heat, meanwhile, were basket attacking maniacs, outscoring the usual prolific lane scoring Hawks 40-32 in the paint, getting offensive rebounds (13), and getting many open looks from the outside with penetration and ball movement.

This is a dog day part of the season--the month before the All-Star break---but the Hawks are in danger of slipping into some old, familiar habits permanently if they don't snap out of their "but jump shots are easier" approach to the offensive end--and that will not bode well for overall growth for the season.

Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid--But Nobody Listens Anyway

It wasn't as if the Hawks added to their 2-6 record when launching (21) or more threes (they had 14 attempts), but they weren't getting into the lane either. The in-between nature of the shot selection is somehow symbolic, but we're just not clever enough to figure out what it symbolizes.

Joe Johnson is the king of taking a wide open shot and making it into a last second, impossible fallaway jumper. Big crown for that guy.

Jeff Teague made a mess on the couch one time too many apparently because even in a game that screamed for a playmaker who would get into the lane, the rookie only got to play in Jandolph time. Not a good sign for the young man or folks who might like to see their first round pick get the run he was seeing earlier in the season.

We're guessing Joe Smith wonders where the playoff team who signed him went off to. When he got injured the Hawks were a juggernaut charging through the league. Now, the Hawks look as lost as the New Orleans Saints, trying to figure out how to get the lovin' feeling back.

Shocking statistic of the night: Jamaal Magloire is only (31) years old. We were surprised because Magloire has played like a grandpa for the last few seasons and has become an end-of-the-bench entity so we assumed he was in his fifties. Seriously, the Heat announcers talked in amazement over his (10) rebounds--as if this was Satchel Paige of the basketball court. And then to find out he's only (31)--wow--we were stunned---seems like he was in the ABA.

Shameless Self-Promotion Dept., Third Floor

Hoopinion did Hawks fans (and the team if they wanted to look at it) a great service in breaking down the Hawks break downs in recent fourth quarters. THHB thinks that this game served as a prime exhibit of the team getting right to the closing argument. Case closed.

Many thanks to Peachtree Hoops for their kind words around our End of the Decade Special on the Hawks. For the record, they called it a "novel length post of awesomeness" and that's high praise indeed. We were beginning to think our intimidating presence/unassailable knowledge was scaring folks away from debating the order of the Top Hawks Happenings of the past decade. Now that reality has been restored---get over there and read and tell us where we were wrong (or right, you can do that, too)!

And big ups to Drew for getting in Ken Sugiura's Hawks coverage for the second time. Ken's doing good work there in the aftermath of Sekou Smith's departure to NBA.com---it's nice to have someone on the beat who is willing to write about what we are talking about---and giving the community a nod in the process.

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.