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    Atlanta Hawks community, for the fans, by the fans

    lethalweapon3
    “A Tribe Called Champs!”

     
    It was the week of Atlanta’s discontent, May 2nd through 9th of this year. And TV viewers were subjected not only to another tidy four-game sweep of the Hawks at the hands of tonight’s opponents, the Cleveland Cavaliers (7:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports Ohio, NBATV, 92.9 FM in ATL), but also the incessant ESPN ads promoting an upcoming “30 for 30” special.

    “Believeland” was the title, showcasing the Beleaguered Land of sports off the shores of the occasionally flammable Lake Erie in Northeast Ohio. Viewers were subjected to the abject failures and disastrous annual denouements of Cleveland’s pro athletes over the past five decades. The intention was to tug at your heartstrings, to get you to empathize with a town pulling for its lovable loser teams, one of whom might, one day, finally kick Lucy’s football through the uprights.

    Hawks fans didn’t know for sure at the time, but their team helped usher that day into being, just over a month after their postseason came to a screeching halt. Not only did the Cavaliers goad Golden State into shaking off a hex that harrowed Cleveland since 1964, but their baseball brethren nearly followed suit, coming within one victory of their first World Series title since 1948.

    A lot has changed in once-sad-sack Cleveland since the last time the Hawks visited The Q. Heck, but for a 2011 draft-day blockbuster trade involving Julio Jones, who knows what the Browns might have accomplished by now?

    It began against Detroit in the opening round, but it was against Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semis that the Cavs finally found, and fully embraced, their true identity under coach Tyronn Lue: a three-point shooting team that feasts off of home-metro favorite LeBron James as the Association’s ultimate decoy.

    LeBron (7.8 APG vs. ATL in playoffs) drives: kick, swing, swish. James posts up: dish, spot-up, splash. Time out, Hawks! Go to break. “What if I told you…”

    Well before Kyrie Irving drained a series-clincher in Steph Curry’s deadeye, he was 12-for-18 in the Hawks series from deep. Kevin Love (19-for-40 3FGs), suddenly, seemed relevant. J.R. Smith was doing a full Petey Pablo, taking his shirt off and spinning it ‘round like a helicopter, before nailing 14 of his 28 attempts, many with a desperate Hawk hand perched in his face. The ghosts of Channing Frye (11-for-19 3FGs) and Richard Jefferson (5-for-6 3FGs) were summoned. Even Iman Shumpert (5-for-6 3FGs) got into the act.

    In the rare event of a Cav miss? No worries, since either one of Love or Tristan Thompson was there to grant their team extra chances to pelt the Hawks from afar. They were largely unimpeded by Al Horford, whose 11.8 D-Reb% for the series sat below that of Kent Bazemore (15.6%) Kyle Korver (11.8%) and even the lightly-used Kirk Hinrich.

    No NBA team had ever sunk 15 three-pointers in four consecutive games… playoffs or otherwise. An NBA-record 25 triples in Game 2 was just part of a record 77 made threes for a four-game series sweep. That volume blew away the 4-game record (57 threes) the Cavs established in the prior series versus Detroit.

    Cleveland has carried this identity into a new season that has them starting out at a perfect 6-0. Taking 40.1 percent of shot attempts beyond the 3-point arc, second only to Atlanta’s prior opponent (Houston’s 43.0% of FGAs), while hitting 38.5 3FG% (3rd in NBA), the Cavs’ offensive ideology is, thusly: if you must insist on driving inside to score (NBA-low 32.9% of points from shots in the paint), you had better come away with either points or drawn fouls.

    Well, the Hawks (4-2) would like to believe it’s a new day in Believeland. Not the least of which because they’ve held opponents to a mediocre 33.8 3FG% (14th-lowest in NBA) thus far, and because they’ve got a rebounding stopgap in center Dwight Howard (27.6 D-Reb%, 14th in NBA among players w/ 20+ minutes per game) elevating Atlanta’s team D-Reb% from 25th in 2015-16 to 10th thus far this season.

    Unlike Horford, Howard has been keeping opposing bigs honest around the other rim as well (NBA-high 18.9 O-Reb%, among players w/ 20+ minutes per game). While the Cavs have allowed 17.7 second-chance PPG (2nd-most in NBA), the Hawks have dwindled their number down to 10.3 per game (5th-fewest in NBA).

    The Hawks will need to avoid falling for the fakeouts presented by James (Eastern Conference Player of the Week for two straight weeks) and Irving on drives. LeBron, in particular, has taken 8.8 drives per game this season, NBA-high among non-guards, but has converted just 40.0 FG% on drives where he shoots, resulting in just 4.0 PPG. James dished out passes on 41.5% of those drives, third-most among the 14 players (including Atlanta’s Dennis Schröder, 29.0% pass rate on 11.5 drives per game) who has driven toward the hoop more frequently.

    Teamed with a more surehanded rebounder in the middle, Paul Millsap (2.3 SPG, 6th in NBA), Thabo Sefolosha (starting in place of Kyle Korver, who’s on paternity leave; 2.8 SPG, 2nd in NBA), and Kent Bazemore (2.0 SPG, 15th in NBA) can help roam the perimeter more aggressively. The active defense of rookie Taurean Prince, who moves up the depth chart in Korver’s absence, need not be slept on, either.

    The challenge for the Hawks is not just contesting Cleveland’s three-point bombers, but picking off and disrupting the Cavs’ inside-out and cross-court passes before the ball arrives in opposing shooters’ hands. The Hawks’ 19.2 deflections per game ranks 2nd in the league thus far. Even with all the steals and deflections, Atlanta has smartly committed just 18.2 personal fouls per game (4th-fewest in NBA).

    Thanks to the Hawks’ crafty forwards, Atlanta opponents have turned the ball over on an NBA-high 18.9 percent of possessions, leading to a league-high 23.7 PPG off their turnovers. If LeBron is trying to make highlight-reel plays running the full court, let them come while he’s transitioning to defense, and not the fastbreak (Cleveland’s 17.7 fastbreak PPG rank 5th in NBA).

    Atlanta made wise decisions on the offensive end on Saturday night against Houston (season-best 52.9 FG%; 29 assists), not engaging in a tit-for-tat perimeter shootout with the Rockets (12-for-36 3FGs vs. ATL). While much better defense can be expected from the opposition tonight, similar principles apply.

    James and Irving will have their high-volume touches and highlight-worthy plays, but it will be Atlanta’s job to keep the supporting cast from burying them in an avalanche of made perimeter shots. If the Hawks can do this well tonight, they’ll find some more Believers of their own in the house tomorrow night, against Chicago.

     
    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3

    lethalweapon3
    “Truth be told, Dwight… this wasn’t my first choice of fingers...”

     
    No one can shake me of my conviction that we are destined to see the first ever 200-point score by a team in an NBA game. Yes, it may take an overtime or two to get there. But in my mind, the only question is whether the 200 mark will be reached by the Atlanta Hawks’ visitors, the Houston Rockets (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast in ATL, ROOT Sports Southwest in HOU), one of the Rockets’ opponents, or both.

    “This town of 2.2-million population ain’t big enough for the two of us!” That was the theme of what would certainly make for the most passive-aggressive Texas Western flick ever, starring James Harden and Dwight Howard in a behind-the-scenes 2015 shootout for the heart and soul of Clutch City. The reigning Players’ Choice MVP of the time prevailed, as Howard hopped on his saddle and high-tailed it on a player option, heading toward greener and more familiar pastures in Georgia.

    Back in Houston, it’s more of a Spaghetti Western now, the Rockets directed by their new quick-draw coach, Mike D’Antoni. Aside from his uncanny Pringles-logo resemblance, he’s best-known for his former success with Six Seconds or Less in Phoenix. But SSOL was SOL in New York, and in Los Angeles, where he briefly coached Dwight in an ill-fated adventure. So now D’Antoni has taken up a new tack, and it starts and ends with Harden.

    The Bearded One, previously not well-regarded for his ability to involve his teammates, has been moved to point guard, a plan ushered into motion more fervently with the injury absence of Patrick Beverley (knee scope). As a result of that plus the reduction of post touches brought on by Howard’s departure, Harden’s offensive production has gone through the roof (31.8 PPG, 12.4 APG, 7.0 RPG. 60.0 2FG%, 39.1 3FG%) all would-be career-bests through the first 5 games for the 3-2 Rockets.

    But what of SSOL? Houston’s current pace is actually below-average (98.9 possessions per-48, 19th in NBA), significantly below the 100.1 (7th in NBA) run under the stopwatches of Kevin McHale and J.B. Bickerstaff last season, a team that crawled into the playoffs as an 8th-seed at 41-41 and stole a first-round game from Golden State.

    What’s happening now is, D’Antoni’s direction has Harden spreading out teammates on offense, granting him exclusive rights to dictate the action. If he can get by his man and blow to the bucket, drawing fouls and earning free throws, that’s great. He and Trevor Ariza have more reliable floor-spreading options now with former Pelicans Eric Gordon (17.6 PPG, 39.5 3FG%) and Ryan Anderson (42.3 3FG%) arriving via free agency. Backup big Nene, formerly of the Wizards, has joined the crew and is capable of lofting quality shots outside the paint (team-high 23.5% of 2FGAs from 10 feet and beyond, at 50.0 FG%).

    So the new gameplan under D’Antoni takes longer to execute, but manages to be simpler: if Harden has an advantage to exploit, he’ll take it. If not, be ready for the pass. Don’t like the look you’ve got? Time’s a wastin’! Get it back to Harden. Start the cycle over. Time running out on the shot clock? Get it back to Harden, and let that man cook.

    The Rockets’ two losses have only been by single digits on the road, to the are-these-guys-for-real Lakers and the Cavs. One night after losing in Cleveland, the Rockets (already playing their 5th away game tonight) committed a season-high 19 turnovers but otherwise dissected Derrick Rose and the Knicks’ defense along the way to a convincing 118-99 victory. Joakim Noah and Kristaps Porzingis would come out too high in an effort to keep Harden (30 points, 15 assists) from barreling downhill toward the basket. Their actions left a cornucopia of his teammates, like Montrezl Harrell (8-for-11 FGs, 10 rebounds, 5 offensive) open in-and-around the paint. Gordon and Anderson (8-for-16 3FGs) found themselves getting whatever looks they desired as well.

    As for defense… oh, c’mon, nobody’s got time for that! Rocket opponents are shooting 52.1 eFG% (4th-highest in NBA), and for any team with Harden and D’Antoni, the best defense (109.0 D-Rating, 27th in NBA) is one hella good offense. As teams like the Wizards (3rd-highest opponent eFG%) can tell you, their one saving grace is when a team like the Hawks (1-for-12 FGs to start last night’s 95-92 road loss) come out looking like The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.

    Continuously pitiful shooting by the pressing Kent Bazemore (0-for-7 FGs vs. WAS) and Kyle Korver (1-for-9 FGs, 4 TOs  vs. WAS) kept the Hawks behind the 8-ball the entire evening on Friday, and subpar output from The Anchorman, Paul Millsap (5-for-14 FGs, 5-for-10 FTs vs. WAS) couldn’t stop the Hawks’ ship from sinking in the first half. Home cooking and the Let’s-Go-Hawks fan rhythms may help a bit, but ultimately the Atlanta offense must find some level of consistency no matter the gym or the opponent.

    Who in the Atlanta backcourt is going to keep up with Harden, the 6-foot-5 ballhandler? Valid question! Dennis Schröder is post-up-able, rookie Malcolm Delaney just got here, Bazemore is still finding his bearings in a variety of areas, and Korver cannot reasonably be expected to stay with Harden. So, expect a very busy day, at both ends, for reserve Thabo Sefolosha, the team leader in steals (2.8 SPG, 2nd in NBA). The active hands of Sefolosha and Millsap should be able to spark the suddenly dormant Hawks’ transition offense.

    Howard’s recent matchups in the paint could work well as an episode of This Is Your Life. Just three years after being hailed as Houston’s savior and the next in a long line of great Rocket centers, he found his floortime getting eroded by management last year in favor of a second-year player: Clint Capela, who now takes Dwight’s place as the starter.

    Howard (20 points, 12 rebounds, 4 TOs vs. WAS) should again be able to put up high-volume points and rebounds, but his role in the Hawks offense must expand with more picks to free up Schröder (20 points, 3 assists, 4 TOs vs. WAS), this duo the only starters who bothered to put a net-positive imprint on last night’s game. Capela, meanwhile, will hopefully be the second-best Swiss player on the Philips Arena floor tonight.

    The Hawks need a diversified offensive approach to keep the Rockets off balance, and sound rebounding to control the clock and keep the ball out of Harden’s hands as often as possible. Atlanta could choose to engage in a three-point shootout with Houston (league-high 35.4% of offense from 3FGs; behind only the Lakers with 24.6% of 3FGs unassisted). But the chances are good that they won’t like the outcome of that movie.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3

    lethalweapon3
    “WE DON’T NEED NO EDUCATION…”

    With all deference due to Aaron Rodgers, five letters here, from fans of everybody out there in the lands of the Atlanta Hawks and their hosts today, the Washington Wizards (7:00 PM Eastern, CSN Mid-Atlantic). A. N. G. S. T!

    Early yesterday morning, the Chicago Cubs scratched their names off the list of the most championship-starved franchises in American professional sports. That event, 108 years in the making, scooches the Hawks (3-1) up the ladder one rung, into the top-five among the title-thirsty queue.

    Their last NBA championship, achieved while in St. Louis back in The Year of Our Pettit, 1958, was preceded by league titles for the Detroit Lions (1957), the then-Rochester Royals (now Sacramento Kings, 1951), the Cleveland Thigamajigs baseball club (1948, but thanks for 1995), and the (Chicago, ha) Cardinals (1947), situated today in some gawdforsaken Arizona burb.

    As an obnoxious Flyers fan back in the 1980s and 1990s, I could always resort to this joyful taunt: “1940!” That was the tried-and-true go-to comeback for those unbearable Rangers fans that dared to bring their Broadway Blue to Broad Street and try to talk smack about our lovable Bullies. “Yeah, and when was YOUR last title, exactly?”, we’d retort. “Was that back when World War I was just The World War? What did they use without a Zamboni back then, squeegees? 1940! Was that B.C.? Ha ha ha!”

    Well, Philly’s last NHL title in 1975 still smelled like current events at the time. And all the knee-slapping came to a halt after the Rangers dealt for Mark Messier and, a couple seasons late, got the proverbial monkey off their backs in 1994. Now, the joke’s on fans rocking the orange-and-black. “1975? Was K.C. even with the Sunshine Band yet? Hardy-har-har!”

    Hawks fans don’t need anybody asking them whether Alaska was even a state, or whether The Beatles were still The Quarrymen, back when their team last won it all. That’s one reason why, suddenly, we’re hearing all this talk about real championship goals, from the top on down. Tony Ressler wants a bleeping parade. Steve Koonin plans on renovating Thrillips only after the Hawks win the NBA title next summer. And Dwight Howard tells everyone within earshot about his yearning to bring a championship home. No interview is complete without D8 dropping The C-Word on people. No, that word isn’t “Contention.”

    They all know that just the fading memories of NBA championship pasts is enough to fill up Philips on the regular, as ably demonstrated by P.K. (post-Kobe) Laker fans during the Hawks’ 123-116 flop on Wednesday. So, no more of this “in the running”, “chance to do something special,” “putting ourselves in position” claptrap that we’re grown inured to over the decades. In the ATL, it’s all about the ‘chip now!

    Building up a Bandwagon of True Believers is always tough to do when your squad just gave up a metric ton of points to a veritable conga line of LOLaker guards. To continue backing up the championship promises they’re selling, the Hawks need perimeter players willing to read their scouting reports, willfully taking away opponents’ strengths and not just anticipating their foes will have off-nights. Atlanta also needs Dennis Schröder to play like a steady veteran point guard for more than the occasional quarter per night, even if he’s not one, so they won’t have to go out and find one.

    It will take the Hawks and a bunch of other teams going all the way before Wizards fans ever hear about “1978” from the garden-variety social media trolls. But there’s a much simpler bar that Washington, somehow, consistently fails to clear.

    The Warriors of their day, what was then the Washington Bullets (managed by Danny Ferry’s award-winning dad, Bob, and featuring current Laker GM Mitch Kupchak backing up Elvin Hayes), were the defending NBA champs in 1979. They won the Atlantic Division in their first year among that grouping, and sneaked past the Hawks and Spurs to come out of the Eastern bracket (San Antonio, yeah, the 70s were weird), but they blew a 1-0 lead to Seattle in the Finals rematch.

    A full quarter-century passed, and the Bullets changed their name (a novel concept, Washington!) but not their regular-season results. A charter member of the Southeast since the division’s inaugural 2004-05 season, the Wizards franchise has now gone an NBA-high 37 years, and counting, without ever being able to at least say they were the best in their division.

    Having two cracks at the #1-overall pick in the NBA Draft (Kwame Brown, John Wall) hasn’t changed the annual outcome. Remember the late Abe Pollin’s canary-suited wife making that O-Face back on Draft Night 2010? That’s the reaction you give when you suddenly expect your fortunes are about to change for the better, very soon, not seven-plus years down the road.

    The Wizards aren’t likely to snag the Southeast banner in 2017, either, certainly not if they continue to be the only team in their division with a single circular number in the ‘W’ column. That notion certainly must frustrate Wizards fans to no end. While the Hawks, Hornets, heat, and Magic are all recalibrating on the floor, the Wiz were supposed to be benefitting from a revamped coaching staff and a stable roster built (however poorly) around Wall.

    An All-Star and Top-3 assist-maker three years running, a Rookie Challenge MVP, and a 2015 All-Defense second-teamer, Optimus Dime is not even three years removed from a Slam Dunk contest championship. The immensely athletic Wall has built a rep as being among the league’s premier guards when it comes to top-end speed.

    And yet, with all those accolades, when the NBA’s 30 general managers were polled to identify the game’s “best passer”, Wall (career-bests of 22.3 PPG, 11.3 APG, 45.3 FG%, 2.7 SPG, and 1.0 BPG so far) got nary a mention… while future rookie Ben Simmons did. Wall hasn’t received a single vote in this preseason-poll category from any GM since he entered the league as a Dougie-dancing dynamo in 2010. He’s also still awaiting a single spot on any All-NBA team, despite career-bests of 19.9 PPG, 10.2 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.5 3FGs per game, and 4.4 RPG last season.

    Wall wants some respeck applied to his name, and deservedly so. But to get the acclaim that he deserves, he must at least show that his perceived superiority to division rivals Kemba Walker, Goran Dragic, Schröder and Elfrid Payton can translate to the standings. “They don’t respect me,” Wall tole Sports Illustrated this past week, but followed that gripe with, “You’re not getting any recognition as a point guard if you ain’t winning.”

    It’s a paradox of sorts for Wall, whose Wizards had to watch the 2016 playoff proceedings from home, that for his club to do more, he needs to do less. Even with Wall, Washington is middle-of-the-pack thus far in assist percentage. Opponents are clamping down on his mistakes (9 TOs in Wednesday’s home-opening loss to Toronto, despite 33-and-11), causing Washington to surpass those suddenly-revived Lakers with a league-worst 17.4 TOs per 100 possessions. No team has turned over the ball more frequently on a per-game basis than the Wizards (18.0, tied with OKC, Lakers, and Nuggets).

    “Wall’s been ball-dominant since he’s been in the league,” astutely observed another former #1-overall, Atlanta’s Dwight Howard, to CSN Mid-Atlantic prior to the Hawks’ season-opening 114-99 home win. “He’s always made plays for other people. But now, with moving around, his speed and quickness, he’ll be able to get easier buckets.”

    The idea was that, under Brooks, players like Bradley Beal (career-low 2.3 APG), Markieff Morris, and Otto Porter (75.0 2FG%, but one assist in 100 minutes) would become more than mere supporting cast members when it came to setting up the offense. Yes, this is the same Brooks that coached Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and James Harden in his prior coaching locale.

    Well, that delegation hasn’t transpired yet, with 12 teammates totaling 31 assists to Wall’s 34, and by result Washington’s O-Rating currently ranks 4th-worst in the East, its Net Rating worsened only by the Simmons-less 76ers. Wall (34.9 usage%, 6th in NBA) has gotten his share of baskets, but to avoid yet another All-NBA T.K.O., I think he’d better let it go.

    After getting dragged by his former Magic mentor for much of the season-opener, Marcin Gortat (4 points on 2-for-6 shooting, 11 rebounds @ ATL) now has Howard (11 points, 4-for-9 FGs, 19 rebounds vs. WAS) in his house. The Wizards’ frontline options will improve significantly once free agent acquisition Ian Mahinmi returns in a few weeks from torn meniscus surgery. But for now, Gortat (10-for-10 FTs vs. MEM on Oct. 30) needs to demand more post touches and work to get Howard in early foul trouble.

    After a missed shot, there was a time you could count on Al Horford for two things: (1) a sturdy clap, and (2) hustle down the floor to help his Hawks guard against quick transition buckets by the opposing offense. It’s this one aspect that Atlanta (16.6 opponent fastbreak PPG, 6th-most in NBA; 4th-fewest in 2014-15, 9th-fewest in 2015-16) has missed the most so far with Horford in Beantown. You can be sure the zippy Wall and his Wizards (18.7 fastbreak PPG, 4th in NBA) will seek to exploit opportunities that catch the Hawks flat-taloned.

    Howard and Paul Millsap will want to split offensive rebounding tasks, with the understanding that the other big is committed to running the floor in transition, helping take pressure off Schröder, Kyle Korver and the Hawks’ backcourt whenever opponents push the rock past the halfcourt line quickly.

    Dwight (1.0 APG) can also build up his assists, of the direct and hockey variety, and improve the team’s offensive flow by kicking the ball out when the inevitable double-team comes. That will prove to be a better option for Howard than accumulating shooting fouls (52.9 FT%) and routinely stopping the game clock, one which hopefully works at Verizon Center. Howard contributing to better ball movement in the halfcourt sets will open up better looks for struggling shooters like Kent Bazemore (17.6 3FG%, 43.5 2FG%) and Millsap (43.1 FG%, 30.8 3FG%).

    For many NBA clubs, the operative five-letter word in November isn’t A.N.G.S.T. -- it’s E.A.R.L.Y! But these teams with underwhelming histories (Washington has no 50-win seasons since 1979) know they cannot afford extended downward trajectories at the outset of the season. Both teams will have another game tomorrow, the relatively rested Wizards (only team with just 3 games under its belt) traveling down to division-rival Orlando, while the Hawks return home, where James Harden’s Rockets await after three days of scouting and rest.

    The elusive thing called respect won’t be gained tonight; that gets earned in the springtime. But the loser of this game between the Hawks and Wizards is certainly going to need some antacids handy. Never mind Respect. How do you spell Relief?

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3
    lethalweapon3
    “…’cept nobody is supposed to know. Ohh, So I Creep! Yeah… ‘cause she doesn’t know what I do…”

    When you hear the word, “Showtime!”, only one NBA team should come to mind. Of course, that’s the Atlanta Hawks, who look to stretch their season start to 4-0 against a team from Los Angeles they call the Lakers (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast, 92.9 FM in ATL; Spectrum SportsNet in LA).

    Only one team in basketball can presently boast of 24.0 PPG derived from opponent turnovers (+7.0 net PPG off TOs, 1st in NBA), and that’s Atlanta. The Hawks can capitalize even more against a Laker team that has allowed a league-high 24.5 PPG off TOs and is ahead of just three teams with 16.5 opponent fastbreak points.

    Is there a Bleak Mamba in the house? It’s going to take quite an adjustment for the Lakers (1-3) to compete with any level of consistency, especially now that Kobe Bean Bryant has laced ‘em up for the final time. They arrive in Atlanta looking to avoid a four-game slide after falling in Indiana last night, without the services of starting center Timofey Mozgov due to an eye injury sustained against the Pacers. But things are not all Tar Pits in La-La-Land. There remain several things to give new-age Laker fans hope for not just tomorrow, as in future seasons, but today, as in this year.

    You can start with the new head coach. The Golden State Warriors finished at 73-9, but they started out at 39-4 under the watchful eye of current Lakers coach Luke Walton. He implores his new starters not to wait until the ends of games to execute game plans, as if they’re hoping for some tight contest that’s in search of a heroball hero. After all, Kobe isn’t walking through that door anymore.

    “I don’t know why we didn’t come out with the intensity and hunger we should after early losses,” Walton told the OC Register after last night’s 115-108 defeat, a climb made difficult by allowing a 27-18 first-quarter deficit and 62 Pacer points in the opening half. Whenever the curtain has lifted on the Lake Show, so far L.A. coughed up an NBA-worst 121.6 opponent points per 100 possessions in opening quarters of play. Contrast with Atlanta, whose 83.3 first-quarter D-Rating ranks 3rd behind the Bulls and Pacers thus far.

    The Hawks themselves have gotten sloppy out of the gate in games, Dennis Schröder’s squad currently ranking behind the Lakers and 2nd-worst overall with 18.7 first-quarter turnovers per 100 possessions. Although he is still feeling things out in his new full-time starter role, it is Schröder’s challenge to keep this specific game from getting unnecessarily chaotic. His late-game scoring (7 fourth-quarter points) was crucial in completing the comeback against the Kings on Monday, but Dennis’ fourth-quarter production even more more useful if it’s to put a well-earned lead out of reach.

    To that end, Schröder must also disallow easy baskets by leading Laker scorer and playmaker D’Angelo Russell (15.0 PPG, 4.0 APG). With or without Kobe around, the Lakers have more than their share of players willing to create their own shot, from Russell to shooting guards Jordan Clarkson and ex-Hawk Lou Williams (44.4 3FG%), to swinger swingman Nick Young (32.0 3FG%). Whether said shot is a wise one, in the cases of Clarkson (15.4 3FG%) and Russell (33.3 FG%) remains to be seen.

    Another gem that is beginning to pan out for the Lakers is power forward Julius Randle. The man known in L.A.’s Spanish-speaking circles as “Don Julio”, Randle is averaging 7.5 RPG while shooting 64.7 FG%, showing a nifty knack for finishing shots around the rim. If he’s granted lots of undisturbed low-post touches, Randle will be a lot to handle, even for Atlanta’s Paul Millsap (77.2 D-Rating, second behind Thabo Sefolosha among NBA players averaging 20+ minutes). Sap and the Hawks forwards need to invite Randle to work on his lack of range tonight.

    The way it was supposed to work, Dwight Howard was destined to be the face of the Lakers franchise once Kobe reluctantly handed over the mantle. Didn’t quite work out that way. Howard expected to be top-banana right away, and the whole so-called superteam slipped on the banana peel in that fateful 2012-13 season as Bryant balked at Howard’s entreaties.

    Two teams later, D8 (NBA-highs of 3.3 BPG, 23.0 O-Reb%) suits up to face a Laker team (somehow, still with Metta World Peace on the roster) that will struggle to keep him away from the rim without hacking, specifically in the absence of Mozgov, who looked to be returning to pre-Mozgov’d form.

    Hawks assistant Neven Spahija hopefully has a gameplan cooked up to help the Hawks deal with his fellow Croatian, Lakers rookie Ivica Zubac. Zubac has yet to be activated this season, but Dwight’s size will likely be too much for his former Rocket backup Tarik Black (career-best 16.2 rebounds per-36) to contend with for long stretches of the game.

    The future success of the Lakers is connected very closely to their top pick, the long and lanky rookie Brandon Ingram, who is behind Hawks management favorite Luol Deng on the depth chart. How soon the Lakers return to a winning brand of basketball will depend upon how successful Walton is establishing Ingram within the flow of the offense, taking the leap, of course, that such a flow currently exists.

    Either of Ingram or Deng will be a haughty challenge for former Laker towel-waver Kent Bazemore. Baze is working out of his “Kent Yucky” early-season slump, as evidenced by his 11-point second-half output in the Hawks’ 106-95 victory over the Kings. If his open shots aren’t falling early, look for Bazemore to mimic his fellow starter Millsap (8 assists vs. SAC) by keeping the rock moving, an aspect of offense that the Lakers (46.7 assist%, 28th in NBA, league-low 0.95 assist/TO ratio) still struggle to execute.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3

    lethalweapon3
    “I like you. You like me. Let’s get out of S-A-C…”


     
    For the Sacramento Kings, who kick off their 5-game East Coast road swing this evening in Atlanta against the Hawks (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports South, 92.9 FM in ATL), it’s a golden age. They’ve got a new “Golden 1 Center” arena downtown. They’re coming in tonight with a sterling (for them) 2-1 record, the sole defeat coming at the hands of the Spurs on the tail end of a back-to-back. And, perhaps the best thing going thus far, the working relationship between Olympic gold medalist DeMarcus Cousins and his newest head coach, Dave Joerger, remains untarnished.

    Less than a week since tip-off, local media is already prodding Cousins for signs of discontentment off the court (it’s never difficult to find such signs on it). When asked to name a couple things that were positive about Joerger, the sixth head coach since “BOO!”gie arrived as a rookie six seasons ago, Cousins offered exactly that: a couple things. “I like him, and he likes me.” Well, considering all the grass-cutting, snake-showing, and back-stabbing that has gone on in recent years up in Norcal, those are probably the only factors that matter.

    Last season was largely deemed a disaster for the Kings, even as Cousins fumed, pouted and sulked his way through the best finish for the franchise (33-49; 29-36 with him, 4-13 without) since coach Reggie Theus was running the show back in 2008.

    Egged on by meddling owner Vivek Ranadive, then-coach George Karl pushed a league-high pace (highest by any team since Nellie’s Warriors in 2009-10) that was tough for DMC and his teammates (16.2 TOs per game, 28th in NBA) to maintain with any sense of cohesion. Speaking of pushing, Karl also pushed management to ship the moody Cousins (suspended thrice, fouled out 7 times) out of town behind the scenes, a failed endeavor that permanently soured whatever rapport they had.

    Slur-spitting, ref-bumping point guard Rajon Rondo helped Cousins (career-best 26.9 PPG, 1.1 3FGs per game in 2015-16; 3.3 APG, 3rd among qualifying centers) keep the Kings (17.7 assists per 100 possessions, 6th in NBA) from falling into the trap of DIY halfcourt basketball. Karl was officially given his walking papers after the season ended, and Rondo bailed for Chicago in free agency, leaving the Kings to settle on police-blotter subjects Darren Collison (currently suspended for domestic battery) and Ty Lawson (7.0 APG, 1.7 TO/game this season) to pick up where Rondo left off.

    Fresh from Grindhouse Memphis, Joerger is slowing things back down (27th in pace through 3 games) to a manageable level for the Kings. In return, though, he demands a modicum of defensive intensity from his players, something he has grown to expect even though his Grizzlies faded in 2016 under the weight of too many injuries.

    As the coach demonstrated in the first half of Saturday’s game versus visiting Minnesota, he’s willing to bench starters, including Cousins, that aren’t putting in the effort. That threat helped the Kings flip the script on the T-Wolves, going on a 24-1 third-quarter spurt after giving up 65 first-half points. Joerger’s can manage just fine if you miss a flight or two, but don’t miss his memo.

    Joerger brought along with him from Memphis free agent Matt Barnes, who has taken it upon himself to assume point-forward duties (9 assists, 3-for-6 3FGs vs. MIN) off the bench.

    Things are going as well as anyone could expect, which leads to the question that pops up anytime there’s an uptick in Skeptimento: How long can the good vibes possibly last? As Mayor KJ can attest, no matter how well festivities in Sacramento are meticulously planned, now matter how pleasant the proceedings, sooner or later, somebody’s gonna wind up with some pie on their face (probably coconut cream, if you must know the flavor).

    The Damocles’ sword hovers above Joerger, who remains committed to turning around Sacramento’s fortunes, but is paid by an owner who is at turns meddlesome and maniacal about how he wants his teams to play. Joerger wanted to push the pace in Memphis, but relented because of pushback from the vets on his roster when things weren’t going so hot at the outset.

    Here, he recognizes that he needs the tools to run with, before elevating the team tempo. But relying on players of the caliber of Arron Afflalo and former Hawk Anthony Tolliver suggests he’s not going to accomplish that for a season or two, barring some fortuitous trades. Does Ranadive, notorious for acting prematurely on former coach and Cousins confidant Mike Malone, have the patience to let Joerger see things through?

    Before the season could even begin, Rudy Gay (28 points on 11-for-20 shooting vs. MIN; $14.2 million player option for 2017-18) had his people advise the Kings’ brass that maybe it’s best for all parties that they stop seeing each other. Back when Karl took over the reins in early 2015, Gay met him with this Vincent Price-sounding introduction: “Welcome to Basketball Hell.” As often is the case with Karl himself, the urge to be brutally honest supersedes any sophistication that comes with biting one’s tongue.

    Ben McLemore (-15 plus/minus, but 2-for-4 3FGs vs. MIN), predictably, was not offered an extension deal, putting both he and Gay in Go-For-Yours mode offensively until they depart or get traded. Meanwhile, Barnes’ bench play so far has made perhaps the one person who truly wants to stick around, Omri Casspi, expendable.

    As for their All-Star, Cousins remained instead of Karl essentially for one reason: who’s face are you going to plaster outside your fancy new arena to sell tickets and hot dogs? Kosta Koufos? Willie Cauley-Stein? Yeah, sure.

    No matter what jersey he’s wearing, Cousins provides a unique challenge for Atlanta’s Dwight Howard, tonight and any night going forward. A big who can run the floor, pound away inside and now stretch the defense from the outside, Cousins (37 points, 16 rebounds, 3-for-5 3FGs vs. SAS last Thursday) roughly combines the youth and desire of Philly’s Joel Embiid with the skill and will of Washington’s Marcin Gortat.

    Boogie lives at the free throw line (NBA-high 49 attempts through 3 games, 80.4 FT%). So Dwight, who found himself in foul trouble early in Philadelphia, needs to work on playing him honest while depending on Paul Millsap and the Hawks’ forwards to keep Kings teammates from penetrating and receiving passes in the paint.

    Cousins will hack (league-high 3.6 personals per game), with about the same proficiency as he does drawing foul shots. As displayed late in the contest with Minnesota, he can be counted upon to lose both his cool and his mouthpiece at crucial junctures when things aren’t going his way. Last November, his prior visit to Atlanta was going quite splendidly (11 first-quarter points), when a wildly thrown elbow awoke the somnambulant Al Horford, sparking a Hawks run (without two Atlanta starters) from which Sacramento could not fully recover.

    Howard will continue working both sides of the rim on the low block, occupying Cousins and/or Cauley-Stein’s attention while opening up avenues for jumpers by Millsap (22.5 PPG, 5.0 APG through 2 games; 3-for-8 3FGs, NBA-high +21.0 per-game plus/minus) and drives for assists by Dennis Schröder (52.6 FG%; 11 assists and 2 TOs vs. PHI).

    Kent Bazemore (27.8 FG%, team-high 3.5 TOs per game) has been going through the motions out on the floor. To help him shake free of his early struggles, his teammates need to look for him out on the break when the inevitable live-ball turnovers are committed by Sacramento.

    It’s a similar deal in the case of Kris Humphries (1-for-7 FGs), who has been rebounding but not doing much more on the floor. These forwards will be needed even more to step up, given the news that Mike Scott will be missing several weeks of action for a non-surgical knee procedure. Mike Muscala and Thabo Sefolosha have each played superbly, but more consistent production from Bazemore and Humphries will make the Hawks all the more formidable over four quarters.

    Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s contest, Kings fans will wisely hold off until at least the All-Star break, to see where their team is in the standings, and who, from the GM on down to the assistants, remains in good standing. Winning may feel like a treat right now. But the trick always seems to be waiting right around the corner.

    Happy Halloween! Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3

    lethalweapon3
    “We Found Love in a Hopeless Place...” “We Found Love in Phila-del-phi-a!”

    Entrench The Process!

    The Sam Hinkie Reclamation Campaign is in full swing up in Philadelphia. That’s where giddy fans of the 76ers are about to enjoy a Saturday matinee pitting their newfound heroes against the Atlanta Hawks (12:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast, 92.9 FM in ATL) at The “Screw You, Wells Fargo!” Center.

    The general manager during the Sixers’ deep dive down the NBA’s tanking rabbit hole, Hinkie jumped before he could be pushed last spring by a reformulated brain trust. He left behind a 7,000-plus word manifesto that could have just as easily been initially drafted during his first day at the job in 2013. While we all had a good laugh at Hinkie and the 76ers’ expense, one man took up the mantle to make sure The Process lived on. Through him. Or is that, through Him?

    “He (Hinkie) Died For Our Sins”, hash-tagged Cameroonian-American 7-foot prospect Joel Embiid, having some semi-serious fun after a Sixer fan showed up with that sign on Draft Night. Months later, you’d have thought Embiid was speaking in third-person about himself, since the Philly Phaithful have transformed the center of their future into “J.E.sus!” My land, you’d think he had just turned Wishniak into wine!

    Ever since 2014, while rehabbing from pre-draft surgery for a broken foot, Embiid recognized his legacy would be intricately tied to the 76ers’ brain trust. After all, these were the individuals who drafted him third-overall despite his injury, charted his rehabilitation every step of the way, and fended off critiques from a skeptical Phanbase still smarting from the 2012 Dwight Howard multi-team deal that netted them Andrew Bynum.

    Well before anyone could be sure he’d be cleared to perform on an NBA court after two seasons off, Joel implored fans to begin calling him, “The Process.” He understood that the fans had to believe in the foundation Hinkie left behind. After all, Embiid recognizes, he IS the foundation!

    Last season, it became evident that the pugilistic pivot Jahlil Okafor could not be the answer to his team’s long-term hopes. But for Jeff Teague spilling the beans about his nagging patella problem during the offseason (anytime I realize I might have to go back to Philly, my knee starts aching, too!), Philly Phorward Nerlens Noel would be rocking Georgia Granite Gray right now. And when 2016’s tantalizing top pick Ben Simmons went down with a broken foot of his own, Phorsaken Philadelphians found themselves desperate for something, anything worth clinging to.

    Enter Embiid. He’s on a tight minutes-restriction, under orders from head coach Brett Brown. But, first through the preseason, then in 22 minutes of debut action on Wednesday night, he displayed the kind of boundless energy, ingenuity, and production that had 76ers fans leaping like they used to do in those 80s Toyota commercials. 20 points! 7 boards! Highlight-reel blocks! A three-pointer (thanks to all you "regular" people out there)! 7-for-8 from the charity stripe! You’d have thought his Sixers (0-1) beat Oklahoma City 103-97, not the other way around!

    Pump the brakes?? There ARE no brakes, Thelma! You wanna talk about his 4 turnovers? Ain’t nobody got time for that! Wanna know the fastest way to get Philly Physicians Phlipping you the Double Bird Special? Bring up his 6-for-16 shooting from the field, go ahead, I dare you. Yeah, they’ve got your 47.1 usage percentage right here...

    You’ll recall the days in 2010, when 2009 top-pick rookie Blake Griffin, coming off a year-long knee injury hiatus, suddenly morphed into “OMFG Blake Griffin! Must See BG!” That’s what Sixer fans are holding out for. They don’t want to just “trust” that Joel was worth the wait. They need to KNOW that. So, for 2016-17, the Human Instagram Post can do no wrong in their eyes.

    Everyone knows there’s a shelf-life to Philly sports fans’ patience; Joel will become “Embood” soon enough. But for now, J.E.sus is THE reason for the season. Donovan McNabb must be somewhere wondering where all this patience is coming from.

    One draft before Embiid, in 2013, Hinkie’s first tank job netted the Sixers their Point Guard of the Future with pick #11. And in his rookie debut (22 points! 12 assists! 9 steals!), knocking off the defending NBA champs, it sure looked like Michael Carter-Williams was gonna pan out, in spades!

    Well, so much for that. Fast forward three years. MCW kicks off the 2016-17 season riding the pine in Chicago, behind Rajon Rondo, after being traded for the second time, this last time in exchange for Tony Snell. Coincidentally, the next point guard taken in that 2013 draft was selected by the Hawks at #17. And it seems like this one’s a keeper!

    If you can excuse penciled-in All-Star point guard John Wall, like Griffin and Simmons a former #1 overall pick, for a lackluster season debut (3-for-15 FGs, 10 assists, 5 TOs) in Thursday night’s 114-99 loss by the Wizards in Atlanta, then you can certainly give a break to the Hawks’ freshly-minted, contract-extended starting point guard, Dennis Schröder, by three years Wall’s junior. While this was Wall’s first official game after offseason surgery on both knees, Schröder’s wrist had to be sore, certainly after signing all the papers on his 4-year, $62-million-plus contract extension.

    Dennis managed to sink 6 of his 12 shots, but committed 4 turnovers and produced just 2 assists, generally bogging down the Hawks’ passing-oriented halfcourt offense. But he’s got all season, plus some of the next four, to work through the kinks and perfect his game. After all, if there’s anything Carter-Williams teaches us, it’s that your NBA career is going to peak at some point, don’t let it happen in October, especially against the Wizards and 76ers.

    Washington’s big-time backcourt mates Wall and Bradley Beal (0-for-2 3FGs, 3 TOs) each had subpar offensive outputs thanks largely to forwards like Paul Millsap, Sefolosha, and Kent Bazemore checking them, everywhere from the 3-point line to right under the hoop.

    Keeping Wall from springing free while Schröder and Malcolm Delaney struggled through screens kept Markieff Morris (22 points, 9-for-18 FGs), who couldn’t believe his luck, open on the weak side all night. The Hawks picked the right poison, and nobody on the Wizards, including Morris, had a defensive answer for Millsap (28 points, 11-for-20 FGs, team-high 6 assists). Whether the Sixers will remains to be seen.

    The guard taken seven picks after Schröder in 2013 wound up in Atlanta, too, and he was the one who caught many Hawks fans ((looks in mirror)) by surprise on Thursday. After a horrific start to the preseason, Tim Hardaway broke out with 21 points (8-for-13 FGs, 3-for-5 3FGs), blistering the Wizards and managing to somehow outshine Thabo “Swissair” Sefolosha (6-for-8 FGs, 5 steals, 5 assists, 7 rebounds) off the bench.

    Going from facing fellow Wolverine alum Trey Burke on Thursday to Nik Stauskas (5-for-5 2FGs vs. OKC) this afternoon, Hardaway should find a lot of open shots and green lights. Anything resembling a facsimile of his season-opening performance will be welcome. Philly is instructed to crowd the paint defensively, so former 76er Kyle Korver should find ample daylight, as well.

    Embiid isn’t the sole reason Sixer fans are suddenly dropping their soft pretzels and rushing to The Center. Euroleague superstar Sergio “Spanish Chocolate” Rodriguez, last playing in the NBA as a 23-year-old with the Knicks back in 2010, is earning praise for becoming the steady hand the 76ers have lacked at the position for quite some time, as exemplified in his sturdy season debut (12 points, 9 assists, NO turnovers) versus Russell Westbrook and the Thunder. Sixer fans concur: nevermind Jrue, or MCW, or Canaan, or Ish… you, El Chacho, are our hope for the future at the point guard position! Until your contract runs out in April, at least.

    There was a time when wearing a “DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS MATTER” T-shirt would put you at risk of getting booted off the Philips Arena floor, but it appears the Hawks (1-0) have had second thoughts about that. Against the Wizards, Howard nabbed 19 rebounds (12 defensive), most by any player in their Atlanta debut, and seemingly could have grabbed any many caroms as he wanted against his old Magic understudy, Marcin Gortat.

    Howard will undoubtedly serve as a measuring stick in the minds of Embiid and his newfound legions of fans, but Dwight must remain true to coach Mike Budenholzer’s gameplans. With Rodriguez leading the charge, the Sixers will rely on plenty of roll men and lob cutters (from Embiid, to Euro-hope Dario Saric, to Okafor and Richaun Holmes) to finish in and around the paint, and Dwight must avoid overplaying and risking foul trouble.

    In Philadelphia, they say, “Winning Isn’t Everything… Full Stop.” Hinkie is gone from the 76ers in body, but not in spirit. Brown and the Sixers’ management remain satisfied with a collection of hustling players willing to give it their all, even when they know their best isn’t usually good enough over the course of 48 minutes, or 82 games.

    For the Hawks, the overriding objectives can be simple, if they want it to be. Share the ball, keep the Sixers off the free throw line, contest threes, secure rebounds, break out and convert transition points off live-ball turnovers. Put this game far enough out of reach, by the final quarter, that Coach Bud can grant his rookies (including St. Joe’s legend DeAndre’ Bembry… “The Hawk Will Never Die!”… and Taurean Prince) some extended playing time.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3

    lethalweapon3
    “Wow! All that offseason conditioning worked wonders for you, Shelvin!”


     
    ATLANTA!

    The New Atlanta! Real Housewives of… Atlanta! Preachers of… Atlanta! Love and Hip Hop… Atlanta! Say Yes to the Dress… Atlanta! Atlanta Exes! Atlanta Plastic! Big Rich Atlanta! R&B Divas: Atlanta! Little Women… of Atlanta!

    Take a sampling of the world’s most exquisite, cattiest, most loquacious, and most wannabe-popular women. Mix in a few of the world’s most trifling, most conceited, most wannabe-respected men, mostly of similar age. Place them together in lavish estates, three-plus-star eateries, and hotspot ultra-lounges. Then, manufacture some of the tawdriest, most outlandish, most superfluous interpersonal dramas among them, for the world to see. By all means, be sure to include input from their most psychologically challenged relatives!

    Take all of that, set it in a backdrop of… oh, say, Cleveland… and count the number of people who care using Jason Pierre Paul’s digits. Real Housewives of Toronto? Yawn. R&B Divas of Detroit? What is this, the 60’s? Boston Exes? I mean, aren’t they all by now, really?

    Scrap that. Instead, change your settings to the bright lights and warm, southern charms of The ATL. Now, sit back and watch as the eyeballs pop, watch social media platforms get set ablaze as viewers take sides with your characters, watch bloggers cover their mortgage payments by reviewing each salacious plotline of every episode, and watch ad revenues show up to your house in briefcases.

    Throw in fully-scripted shows like The Walking Dead (nice try, Fear The Walking Dead, but Hollywood zombies are a bore), feature a T.I. here, and a Tamar there, and you’ve got yourself a honeypot of diehard viewer demand. Taking just about anything remotely entertaining, and slapping “Atlanta” on the title, or placing Atlanta in the background, draws attention like no other city does these days. Not NYC, not Chicago, not even L.A. has drama for your mama quite like Atlanta does.

    On-air since 1968, the Real Hawks of Atlanta are kicking off the 2016-17 NBA campaign with a visit by the division rival Washington Wizards (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast, 92.9 FM). Nearly five full decades in, the team has yet to find a recipe that best profits from their host market’s insatiable appetite for pro basketball.

    Back in the Hawks’ early days, this sleepy burg was merely the place where they filmed B-flicks like Sharky’s Machine: where else could you blast people out of skyscrapers and not trouble anybody below? But today, Atlanta has transformed into a truly glitzy, sprawling metropolis, and wherever the “Action!” is, it’s sure to draw the “Lights!” and the “Camera!”

    With the help of one media-savvy exec, the Hawks are beginning to understand how to surf the small-screen-media wave. Being victorious in the NBA remains the overriding objective. But if you’re not winning the whole shebang, at least figure out how to be entertaining.

    “Pokemon Go!” was the superheated craze of this summer. But the practice of capturing odd, random creatures from out of virtually anywhere and prepping them for titanic battles had already taken up new roots in Atlanta a few years before. For small-w wizard Mike Budenholzer to be pried away from his coaching incubator in the Alamo City, he needed to entrust two individuals.

    First, a general manager buddy who understood intricately how he operated and the type of hoop talents he desired. Second, on the court, Bud needed a monster. One that was tall, rangy, team-oriented, and athletic. And, as was the case for his boss in Texas, one young enough that they could conceivably, together, achieve their pinnacles of success and eventually ride off into the NBA sunset.

    The one he found in Atlanta already had a torn pec, and then tore another one, but eventually was refashioned into an annual All-Star, one that helped lug the Hawks kicking and screaming into the Eastern Conference finals for the first time ever.

    PLOT TWIST: What happens when said monster raises up and sulks off into the New England hinterlands, never to return? This was never something Budenholzer anticipated.

    Of course, The Notorious B.U.D. wasn’t expecting the GM pal tied to his hip to read The Best of Blanche Knott in a conference call with their bosses and get run out of town on a rail. And yet, he made the best of that situation, getting named Coach of the Year in the process, and now gets to call the shots as an executive himself.

    Bud never imagined that, in 2016, he’d be in front of a jury dealing with some BSDUI charge, thanks to a busted taillight from three years ago. But he came away from that trial smelling like a rose, and not just the Derrick variety. This coach has already demonstrated he knows how to bounce back when fate lobs a curveball. So, losing the two connections that made him want to leave a stable NBA environment and come to Atlanta isn’t going to deter him from his goals, now that he’s entrenched here.

    Manning the pivot throughout the Modern Playoffs Era of Hawks basketball was Al Horford, a name which roughly translates from Dominican to NBA-speak as “vapid, at best”. The All-Star center elected to depart from Atlanta and make himself appear interesting to the otherwise uninformed by donning Celtics green.

    Speaking of green, Horford’s longtime point guard, Jeff Teague, has long been more Bill Bixby and less Lou Ferrigno, and was shipped off to Indiana this summer for a first-round draftee. However, the exodus of these two postseason pillars has introduced new opportunities for the Hawks to widen their mass appeal.

    A homegrown big man who is as renowned for his defensive imprint and vertical leap as he is his teased for his atrocious free throw shooting? You’ll excuse Atlanta fans if they feel like they’ve maybe been down this path before. But Dwight Howard is a different beast. Especially this particular edition of Dwight Howard.

    He’s no longer deliberately chasing promises of rings, rigged slam-dunk contest titles, or MVP trophies, nor is he striving to live up to Superman-style expectations. As he approaches 31 years of age, his ticket to Springfield is just about printed and punched. But the Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy product has rekindled an affinity for his hometown in recent years, even if said town hasn’t returned the sentiments in kind.

    Howard recognizes the chance to win over Atlanta, and the larger NBA universe, lifting his Q-Score to levels not seen since he began charting Shaq’s path to NBA glory by guiding Orlando to The Finals. It was certainly a glorious time in the Magic Kingdom for Howard, in the days before his ill-fated insistence on joining forces with Kobe in Tinseltown derailed him and ushered the term “Dwightmare” into the public consciousness.

    It will take more than his notoriously saccharine smile to turn perceptions around, something Dwight recognizes. He’s out to prove he hasn’t lost a significant step, is willing to run the floor, is unselfish, and remains willing to work on his game for his team’s betterment.

    Escaping from L.A., Dwight met privately with Budenholzer, then the new Hawks coach in the summer of 2013, before settling on H-Town. Howard came away impressed, but unenthused. Since then, he has witnessed firsthand what talent whisperer Budenholzer and the Hawks’ capable staff has done in recent years with not just Horford, but also once-lukewarm prospects like Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll, Teague, Dennis Schröder, and Kent Bazemore, as well as glue-factory-bound vets like Kyle Korver and Thabo Sefolosha. Suffice to say, he likes what he sees.

    Once Dwight brings his motivated, inspired play to the game, it will show up on the floor. Fans should grow to appreciate a defensive team effort that doesn’t get Al-ligator-armed once it’s time to secure the defensive rebound and terminate opposing possessions. Despite the natural downturn to his formerly annual All-NBA career, Howard enters this season ranking first among all active players with a 29.1 D-Reb%., tops in total rebounds per game, and second in blocks per game.

    Last season, in Houston, there was a virtual black hole situated where the power forward spot was supposed to be, next to Howard. This season, he has Millsap, an Eastern Conference All-Star in the past three seasons whose own defensive efficiency peaked after he surpassed age 30. Together, a well-conditioned tandem of Millsap and Howard can take “one-and-done” defensive basketball to unforeseen heights.

    In both L.A. and Houston, Howard found himself overcompensating for a high-scoring star teammate that was too often spaced out (and not in a good way) when it was their defensive responsibility to keep opponents in check. Here, Dwight has players in the backcourt, and on the wings, that aren’t dropping 30 PPG anytime soon, but are willing to put in the effort to D-up their assignments. Especially in L.A., he had to deal with coaches that didn’t have his best interests at heart, save for big-man assistant Darvin Ham. Now in Atlanta, Ham sits right beside Budenholzer in that Torch Red-hot lead-assistant’s chair.

    In Atlanta, Howard won’t be left feeling like a Beaver where everyone seems willing to Leave It to him. Here, he can again be that toothy franchise face, but without having to carry undue weight and excess baggage. Coach Bud will see to that. “The factor was the coach, and the city,” Howard explained to Sekou Smith, Lang Whitaker and the intown NBATV guys a couple weeks ago while munching together at Mrs. Winner’s (yay, it’s back!) in nearby hood-burb East Point. “This is the guy I want coaching me.”

    Much further north, the lamestream national media is suddenly chomping at the bit to lionize Horford in the same way they fall all over one another for the exploits and soundbytes of diminutive over-achiever Isaiah Thomas. The ability to be transformed in the public eye from NBA afterthought to The Chief ver. 2.0 was certainly appealing to the Son of Tito. Still, the heat of the summer might have caused Al’s memory to melt, forgetting his 2015 playoff series against his new team.

    Because it was Dennis Schröder who came off the bench to serve Thomas a taste of his own trolling, who made the crucial plays on both ends of the floor to finish off the series, who spoiled what was touted as Losing Isaiah’s coming-out party, who left Boston’s self-made star feeling some kind of way after the final buzzer sounded on the mediocre season of the Sell-Tix. Instead of selling more playoff tickets at the Gahden, Thomas found himself selling wolf tickets, to Schröder. Have fun with that, Alfredo!

    Schröder’s late-season emergence allowed Hawks fans to reminisce over the days when Teague rose from the end of the bench to dance toe-to-toe in the playoffs with former wonderboy Rose. Now, it’s Dennis, bursting at the seams with promise as-yet-unfulfilled, who enters this season as the top-dog among Atlanta’s ballhandlers. Even better, he knows he’s about to get paid handsomely to come up like Paper Boi, right here and nowhere else.

    Schröder’s gung-ho attitude is best displayed by his maddening forays into the paint, where he can exploit his quickness to occasionally devastating effect. Teague certainly earned his All-Star mettle here in Atlanta. But whereas Jeff’s lasting image as a Hawk is The Blown Uncontested Layup, Dennis is known around town by a singular catchphrase: “GOT HEEM!”. His preseason connections on lob plays with Howard (I have dibs on the phrase “Dunke Schoen”) have certainly borne promise, and we’re likely to see this play more routinely than we did ever from the Teague-Horford combo.

    As was the case for Teague, the acclimation to the gold-coiffed 22-year-old Schröder starting full-time is bound to have its share of missteps along the way. More turnovers under higher-quality defensive pressure, misfired passes out of the paint, occasionally lackluster defensive effort. But as Teague exemplified in his latter seasons, to reach full Potential, you have to endure the Po’ part. Nothing says, “through the slings and arrows, we trust you”, quite like, “Guess what? Malcolm Delaney is your backup.”

    Coach Bud and the Hawks are convinced it will be worth going through more growing pains with Schröder, whose 36.1 assist percentage last season ranked 10th in the league and eclipsed Teague’s 34.4. Dennis is a privateer who is learning how to become Budenholzer’s main floor general. There will be no training wheels, though, to start this season. Schröder will get to go eye-to-eye tonight with The Best Point Guard in the East, a player who new Wizards coach Scott Brooks suggests is “as fast as anybody in this league, probably in the history (of the NBA).”

    While working through offseason rehab, All-Star point guard John Wall has had to tapdance around the perceptions of strained relationships between he and shooting guard Bradley Beal. Once touted collectively, including by themselves, as The Best Backcourt in the East, Wall & Beal have had to watch from afar as tandems like Teague & Korver, Irving & Shumpert, Hill & Stephenson, and Lowry & DeRozan, earned trips to the Eastern Conference Finals.

    They’ve had to watch up close as other teams won the Southeast Division, and as rival teams like the Hawks and Pacers rolled through D.C. while advancing in the playoffs. Somehow, the team with the world’s fastest baller always winds up a split-second too late, one productive play short, a few wins behind when it counts.

    Injuries have long hampered this pair’s development, but so, perhaps, has their coaching staff, and their headstrong interpersonal relationship. To turn things around and make NBA fans believe again, they must find each other more often on the floor to complete plays (Beal insists passing is a part of his arsenal now), and find some sort of kinship after the buzzer. Mutual disappointment could become a bonding factor.

    You want to build a team around lottery picks? Tonight, we present to you mid-tiered first-rounder Schröder, and second-rounders Korver, Kent Bazemore, and Millsap, tipping off versus Wall, Beal, and Otto Porter. The latter three were all plucked by the Wizards among the first three selections in their respective NBA Drafts. Three seasons now under their collective belts, the lotto trio has yet to surpass 46 wins, or reach the NBA’s Final Four.

    Washington GM (still!) Ernie Grunfeld cashed in mid-level first-round picks to round out the starting unit with center Marcin Gortat in 2013, and power forward Markieff Morris this past winter. Yet even that constellation was insufficient to return to the playoffs.

    Washington faced the sobering reality this summer that, no, hiring Kevin Durant’s high school towel boy plus his former coach in OKC was not going to endear him any more to his home-area NBA team. But at least they got free agent big man and former Pacer Ian Mahinmi, who is ready to… oh, wait, he’s out for another month with a meniscus tear.

    The Hawks have benefitted from players who make “turning the corner” look as easy as traversing around the Washington Monument. Meanwhile, the Zards have been, and remain, loaded with youngsters who have yet to fulfill their once-hyped promise (add in momentary Hawk Kelly Oubre, and Tim Hardaway’s former collegiate co-star Trey Burke to that mix), with a few reclamation projects sprinkled in for good measure (Morris, Andrew Nicholson, Jason Smith).

    Even without the KD2DC gamble paying off, they’re a bit hamstrung financially, already top 10 in salaries and primed to pay their current core even more guaranteed salary in the coming year. They’re relying heavily on stability and organic, internal growth to save the day, and they hope that Brooks is the taskmaster who can help them pull through. Until they start winning games, consistently, they have one division rival to emulate.

    A winning brand (regular season, anyway) through internal development, without blockbuster deals or big-splash free agent hires, has been the theme in this town for quite some time. The official brand for the franchise, though, is “True to Atlanta.” Hawk draftees Horford and Teague stayed True to Atlanta in every game, right up until the moment it was time to shed their jerseys and head home.

    As for the players that remain? Schröder, an enterprising fellow, opened a hookah lounge in Buckhead. Sefolosha followed suit this summer with a luxury sneaker shop up the street. Bazemore rebuffed offers from desperate middling teams and stayed put, making a nonprofit bonanza out of his summer hanging around town.

    Korver (with K-baby #3 on the way in another week or two) and Millsap understand as professionals that nothing’s guaranteed, especially in this brave new NBA world of free-flowing cash. But these veterans have repeatedly expressed appreciation for the Hawks staff and a desire to grow DNP-OLD and maybe even retire here. Add to that group ATLien Dwight, who has had as much of an offseason presence in his hometown as any player that was paid to be here during his time in the league. Hawks fans have never had an assemblage of players who could hold up a “True To Atlanta” banner, and genuinely mean it.

    This is a daffier collection of players than we’ve seen in seasons past as well. With the Jolly Brown Giant now in the fold, the Funny Farm will be on display quite a bit. Bazemore, emoji pioneer Mike Scott, and Schröder are all-in on the Baze Gaze stuff. Mike Muscala is always ready for a good beatbox battle, while I think Howard has finally given up on planking.

    It will be fun to watch this cast of characters engage their dour-faced coach, and deadpan guys like Millsap and jack-in-the-box rookie Taurean Prince. Need a big foreign dude still sorting out American culture for comic relief? Edy Tavares is your guy. Further, no one on earth loves the Hairdo Game more than Atlantans, and no team in the league brings more to that table than the Hawks. Fros, dyes, braids, man-buns: what’ll ya have?

    A caveat, though: all the fun, frolicking, and pageantry works best when you’re winning games. Millsap, Korver, Kris Humphries and Sefolosha are the Fun Police, around to help keep the comics in-check when needed. But there’s always the possibility that bad strings of losses will turn the goofy laugh track into “womp-womp” around the locker room. If you’ve watched any kind of show with “Atlanta” on the name, even that’s good news. Comedy can be fun, but Drama sells!

    Which way this thing goes will depend a lot on Atlanta’s perimeter production. No team in the NBA came close to the 2015-16 Hawks in terms of creating open perimeter jumpshots. Well over a quarter of their overall shots were wide-open (no defender within six feet at the time of the shot), a league-high and a testament to the quality strategizing of the coaching staff. Problem was, much like k.d. lang, the Hawks on the floor rarely capitalized.

    They created nearly four more wide-open three-point attempts per game than the mighty Warriors. Yet, by hitting them at a pitiful 35.3 3FG% clip (26th in NBA), they wound up selling themselves short, making just 0.2 more baskets per game from downtown than Golden State. The departed Teague led the team in overall three-point accuracy with a career-best 40.0% mark, while Horford just began extending his own range before bailing for the exits.

    While he was no J-Smoove, converting leading scorer Millsap into more of a stretch-four was often a stretch of the imagination (31.9 3FG%). The Hawks occasionally turned last season to Scott, whose on-ball defensive acumen and perimeter shooting (career-high 39.2 3FG%) improved at the right time. Alas, Scott (out today, anyway, with mild knee soreness) has one external fire to stamp out before he can be relied upon as a steady rotation member.

    The good news is, Korver (6th among active NBAers in eFG%, while Howard ranks 3rd; 39.8 3FG%, lowest since 2008-09) has enjoyed a full summer regimen to get his conditioning back up to speed, after the 2015 playoff injury by Dellavedoveonya slowed Kyle’s roll. It’s a similar deal for Sefolosha as well. As for Schröder, Bazemore, Millsap, and Hardaway, when it comes to perimeter shooting accuracy, there’s hardly any way to go but up.

    The early preseason returns were not promising (team 31.4 3FG%, 24th in NBA) in this regard. But while sorting out the whole iron-unkind thing from three-point territory, the team is building its early offensive identity as one that will pound away at their opponent’s interior (NBA-high 42.3 preseason paint PPG), on the strength of sound passing (NBA-highs of 19.2 preseason assists per 100 possessions, 70.5% of baskets assisted).

    Meanwhile, Atlanta aims to make life miserable for their foes not only inside (NBA-low 34.9 preseason opponent paint PPG), but also around the arc (NBA-low preseason 27.4 opponent 3FG%). Backup shooting guard Marcus Thornton was the last regular season opponent to nail 5 triples in a game versus the Hawks, matching Korver’s 5-for-10 output in a losing effort back in March. Thornton will try to help Beal boost the Wizards offense tonight from the outside... if he can get good looks.

    Preseason opponents managed just a 19.6 offensive rebounding percentage (4th-lowest in NBA), a far cry from the 25.4 O-Reb% (5th-highest in NBA) Hawks opponents enjoyed in 2015-16. Illustrating how little help Dwight had around him, the Rockets were the worst in this category last season (27.2 opponent O-Reb%). Howard and the Hawks can make each other measurably better.

    For what it’s worth, the Wizards were dead-last in the league in second-chance points in 2015-16 (10.2 PPG, eight fewer total points than Atlanta), and there’s little reason to suspect that should change tonight.

    Howard is not as nimble running the floor as his Atlanta predecessor, and is much more likely to diverge from Budball by going after a few easy putbacks. That means it’s incumbent upon Atlanta’s wings and forwards to get back in transition and help the guards stem opponent runouts. The speedy Wall, pushing the ball up the floor for the Wizards, should provide a good test for the Hawks’ transition defense.

    Like the Hawks, the Wizards are also going the Euro-ball route to secure a backup point guard. A 2012 Draft-and-stash Czech, Tomas Satoransky is getting his first taste of full-time NBA ball, and Brooks is fascinated by the 6-foot-7 guard’s ability to play three positions. As with the intrigue of the season-opening Wall-Schröder matchup, Satoransky against his fellow Euroleague standout Delaney should be worth watching.

    There’s not exactly a Murderers’ Row of NBA opponents leading up to the Hawks’ November 8 tilt in Cleveland, home of the reigning NBA champions. Treat it more like an Aggravated Assailants’ Row. After these Wizards, there’s an afternoon affair in Philly this weekend. Then it’s Boogie and the Cousinnaires and the Lakers back here, followed by a trip to D.C. and a quick return home to face those Rockets on back-to-back nights. After the Cavs, it’s Bulls, Sixers, heat, Bucks, Hornets, Knicks, Pelicans. A few back-to-backs are in this early mix, but it’s a schedule versus moderate competition that the Hawks can use to either find their bearings early, or alternatively stumble out of the gate.

    Despite a modest 48 victories, we watched in horror last season as fully capable Hawks teams blew far too many contests to teams competing without their star players, without their head coaches, without much of anything worth speaking of. The coup de grace arrived in the regular season finale, when our Fine Feathered Friends punted away the opportunity to maintain its clutch on the Southeast Division banner and claim an infinitely more valuable higher playoff seed.

    They did that in Washington, against the Wizards’ B-Team and C-Team, against the likes of Ramon Sessions, Jared Dudley, Nene, and Garrett Temple, all of whom are now scattered about in new basketball locales. That victory granted the Wizards left behind renewed hope for the future that lay ahead.

    Especially with Teague, Horford, and their nonchalant dispositions out of town, these 2016-17 Hawks won’t be in such a gifting mood. This roster may not win more games or advance further than their predecessors have. But leave no doubt, this group cares about winning, for this organization and this city, as much as any we’ve seen since at least the days of the Atlanta Air Force.

    That collective “True to Atlanta” consciousness, with winning basketball, would create great storylines as the season wears on. Even on the other hand, with more losing than we’ve grown accustomed to, the emotional effect would create fascinating sideline drama. Whichever way things blow, there’s a new reality dawning in the ATL, and these Real Hawks of Atlanta are destined to create Must See TV. Even better yet… Must See Live!

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3

    lethalweapon3


    “Ya can’t spell ATL without AL!”

     

    Everywhere around Philips Arena, Tony Ressler looks, and sees opportunity. The majority owner of the Atlanta Hawks is not just another well-heeled rah-rah sports fan. He’s an investor, a private equity expert, a budding master developer. Whether it’s his Hawks or the downtown Atlanta area his team calls home, Ressler takes underperforming assets and strives to make them stronger, and longer-lasting.

    Standing outside the arena, Ressler sees vibrant parkspace, along with under-developed plots and parking lots, bustling hotels and floundering food courts. Then he can turn his attention to The Highlight Factory, site of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Hawks and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (3:30 PM Eastern, 92.9 FM in ATL, ABC, postgame on Fox Sports Southeast). Here, Ressler will find that the epicenter of this desired central-city synergy is a palace, but one propped up on pillars of salt.

    To a man, each of the Hawks have professed glee with the opportunity to play NBA basketball in Atlanta, working with a staff that seems committed to their professional development, playing for a team whose prospects for making the playoffs are doubted, for differing reasons, every season, a team that proves their doubters wrong in this regard every time.

    Ressler’s counterpart in Cleveland sees a reinvigorated downtown centered around his Quicken Loans Arena. In Dan Gilbert’s case, the pillar is made of firm marble, but has wheels on its base, and Gilbert has ultimately no control over when that pillar rolls away.

    So instead, Gilbert allows LeBron James to push for the decisions that might keep Cleveland’s palace upright. It means taking your lottery-handed top pick and swapping it for Kevin Love (21 points, 15 rebounds, 5-for-12 3FGs in Cleveland’s 121-108 Game 3 win). It means taking your handpicked head coach and tossing him in mid-season for LeBron’s preferred leader in Tyronn Lue.

    It means extending the payroll in ways that satisfies your superstar player in order to keep him around. It means that while a low-salaried team like Atlanta trades for Knicks like Junior Hardaway, you’re going after J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert. While Atlanta grabs bought-out free agents like Kris Humphries and scarcely uses him, your team grabs Channing Frye (27 points, 7-for-9 3FGs in Game 3) to be a difference-maker in seizing full control of a playoff series. Gilbert does what he can to keep the tent pitched. Ressler’s goal of basketball-team-as-catalyst for economic gains has yet to be realized.

    To achieve his much larger ends, Ressler must discern the just-happy-to-be-here employees from the commitment-to-championship-excellence workers on his payroll. That goes for everybody from the President of Basketball Operations (coincidentally, head coach Mike Budenholzer) to the 15th man on the Hawks roster.

    Although propelled by many moves brought about by ex-GM Danny Ferry, Coach Bud has re-established a measure of legitimacy to the franchise, no matter how questionable his decisions on game-to-game rotations and adjustments have been. Still, Ressler has to look at the POBO, and assess whether Budenholzer’s benefit in this seat has to do more with the head coach’s job security than anything else. If that appears to be true, then a shakeup at the top of the personnel department is in order.

    While LeBron serves as Gilbert’s Terminator, Al Horford (One solitary rebound in 31 minutes of Game 3, as the Hawks are out-boarded 55-28) is Ressler’s Not-Quite-Mad-Enough Max. Whether he returns this summer, or not, are fans going to hear more about salary caps and tax aversions than about the need to add star-quality talent to a competitive core?

    Is Jeff Teague, or Dennis Schröder, an invaluable member of this so-called core? Is Kent Bazemore? Is Paul Millsap ever going to provide a consistently strong effort at playoff time? Kyle Korver’s impact (5-for-9 3FGs in Game 3, but four of those threes in the first half) is fading fast, so who are his replacements beyond Hardaway? Are Marcus Eriksson, Walter Tavares, and Lamar Patterson going to develop into primetime-worthy stars anytime in the next half-decade?

    The Hawks’ players cannot do much more to impress their value upon Ressler going forward, and they can’t worry directly about such matters this afternoon. But they have at least one more chance to display the depth of their desire to win, especially when the world’s attention, and the heat from the Cavaliers’ glare, is placed squarely upon them. A full-court, full-48-minute effort leading to victories in Game 4 and Game 5 would create opportunities for the Hawks’ key contributors to prove they aim to be more than perennial honorable-mention winners.

    Meddling owners are usually bad news for sports franchises, and it is nice to see some stability and professional activity out of the brass. But whether the Atlanta Hawks season concludes after today, Game 5, 6, or 7, the ability to transcend the Hawks from just another NBA team to a championship-quality economic catalyst would require Tony to become a Tiger.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3

    lethalweapon3


     
    “DROPPIN’ THREES! DROPPIN’ THREES!”

     

     

    “Everyone has a plan… until they get punched in the mouth!”

    Even the originator of this famous boxing quote knows, firsthand, how a well-crafted pugilistic plan to stick-and-move and rope-a-dope becomes, “Chew his dang ear off!” once things clearly aren’t going his way. Turning any of the Cleveland Cavaliers into Van Gogh isn’t in the cards for the Atlanta Hawks, as the Eastern Conference semifinals scene shifts to the Highlight Factory for Game 3 (7:00 PM Eastern, 92.9 FM in ATL, ESPN, postgame on Fox Sports Southeast). But to avoid getting exposed once again, this time at home, the Hawks have to come up with a multifaceted approach that goes well beyond Plan A.

    “We came in with a gameplan we thought was really good,” said a hopelessly flummoxed Al Horford, “and it got discarded really quick.” Plan A had the Hawks jumping out to a 7-2 lead and feeling pretty good about themselves at the outset of Game 2. But Tyronn Lue’s Cavaliers have this thing called an adjustment, you see. The first of an NBA-record 18 first-half triples rained down on Horford’s Hawks, and they found themselves with no logistical answers.

    Kyle Korver continued to be stifled and the Hawks were a dithering 2-for-11 on threes in the first half, while the Cavs were a blistering 18-for-27. When it was well past time for a Plan B, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer unveiled… what’s this? A zone defense??? Where’s my Nick Young meme when I need it?

    Things aren’t turning out much different for the Hawks in this series than it was for the Boston Celtics in the opening round. There was a nip-and-tuck affair late in Game 1, and a virtual pillaging by the home team from the start of Game 2. Atlanta built its confidence knowing it could take the things that Boston does best, and do them even better.

    Cleveland’s players have the same confidence regarding the Hawks. They have more players capable of penetrating and kicking out, players who don’t need 17 screens in a possession just to get separation and an accurate shot off along the perimeter. These Cavs know, if they can drown the regular season’s best perimeter defensive team in a barrage of triples, they can break the Hawks’ beaks early.

    While Korver struggles to make himself relevant (first three-point attempt a desperate heave with his team already down by 27), and his teammates make his decoy plays look like dead ducks, the Cavs are nailing shots with hands in their face, shedding defenders off one dribble, and catching-and-sinking ricochets off Mike Muscala’s forehead.

    The Hawks can also recall how cocksure they were heading out on the road to Game 3, after going up 2-zip on Boston, and how that turned out for them within just a few days. Among Cavs assistant Larry Drew’s favorite utterances was the word “Respond,” and the Cavs show they know how to do that from one possession to the next. The Hawks have to find the trait that allows them to respond in kind, not simply waiting in vain hope that The Law of Averages will eventually turn in their favor.

    The 38-point lead the Cavaliers established in the first half could have been worse if the Cavs had better looks inside; they were just 6-for-21 on 2FGs (4-for-18 in-the-paint) in the half. Kevin Love’s six offensive rebounds and 3-for-4 shooting from deep made up for another woeful interior performance (0-for-8 2FGs) in Game 2.

    But the extra foot-in-the-box by the Hawks’ wings and forwards, the extra defender sticking out to show when LeBron James and Cleveland’s point guards came charging across the paint, left them consistently a step short when the Cavs effortlessly kicked the ball out. Paul Millsap and Horford have to defend the paint, get strips, pull chairs, and rebound with the understanding that help isn’t coming. They also have to demand the ball on offense and finish in the paint consistently, first, before trying any high-wire-act shots along the perimeter.

    Eight Cavalier turnovers (three Hawks steals) does not make for a winning recipe for Atlanta in any game, much less versus the defending Eastern Conference title holders. Teague, Schröder, Kent Bazemore, and Thabo Sefolosha must be aggressive with ballhandlers, rather than sitting back and allowing Cleveland to flawlessly execute their set plays.

    Budenholzer finally graced Atlanta with Kris Humphries’ presence with Cleveland up 35 midway through the third quarter, Mike Muscala entering the fray with the Hawks down 18 not long into the start of the second quarter. The Hawks cannot afford to waste time and wait until they’re falling behind by double digits before relieving Horford. Same deal with Jeff Teague and Korver -- don’t give up on Dennis Schröder and Junior Hardaway prematurely -- and if Mike Scott subs in, it needs to be for Millsap, not Horford.

    In the building that’s home to live mascots going rogue, dancers that pass out, shot clocks and timekeepers that may or may not be functional, and spectacularly failing trampoline dunkers, the Hawks are convinced a dash of home cooking will be a huge inspiration to come out victorious. Because sight lines, or something.

    But if Hawks fans wanted to see yet another postseason can of azz-whooping opened upon their favorite team, they’d hop in the time machine, and just watch Woodsonian-era basketball. Hawks fans are not here to endure another drubbing thanks to way-too-rigid game planning. Without major shifts in competitiveness and coaching strategy to stem Cleveland’s runs out of the gate, Hawks fans may not be here for Game 4, either.

    Let’s (Freaking) GO Hawks!

    ~lw3

    lethalweapon3


    “That’s enough of Schröder for me! I fold!”

     

    Clean Sweep? That’s not what happened last year when the Cleveland Cavaliers went 4-for-4 against our Atlanta Hawks. No, that was more of a Dirty Sweep. Thankfully, no Hawks were harmed in the making of this year’s Game 1 victory for Cleveland, where the Cavs had to pull away from late-charging Atlanta in the final five minutes.

    Still, the Hawks teased just enough to show they, in turn, could make a clean getaway from the Cavs in Game 2 tonight at The Q (8:00 PM Eastern, 92.9 FM IN ATL, TNT). And they may have to do just that, unless they have designs on somehow turning a ten-game playoff losing skid against LeBron James into a four-game winning streak.

    Stealing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals will require an Atlanta All-eged-Star (take your pick, from either of the past two years) showing up and making a positive impact from the jump. Offensive contributions in Game 1 from Al Horford (4-for-12 2FGs, six defensive rebounds), Paul Millsap (6-for-16 2FGs, five D-Rebs), and Jeff Teague (2-for-9 FGs, four assists) came too little, too late. The perimeter defense from the rested Cavs was pretty good, but I’m afraid Kyle Korver (37 minutes, 0-for-1 FGs, five D-Rebs) took the rap, “You only get ONE shot,” a tad too seriously.

    The Hawks’ so-called Veteran Leadership treating Game 1 like it was Veterans’ Day had the effect of overtaxing Atlanta’s roleplaying forward Kent Bazemore (3-for-10 3FGs, eight D-Rebs, -14 plus/minus), who had quite enough on his plate as it was, and supersub guard Dennis Schröder (career-high 27 points in 28 minutes, 5-for-10 3FGs, team-high six assists). The Cavaliers defense bore down and made The Other Guys beat them, and with a tad more energy, Schröder, Bazemore and Atlanta’s supporting cast almost did.

    We’ll never know if Dennis’ weekend was spent catching up on ultra-lounge business, but in any case, once he grew fatigued in the closing minutes of the game, and the unforced errors from he and Bazemore appeared, there was no help from the vets coming. They had long since hung those two out to dry.

    Atlanta loves to fail spectacularly at capitalizing on advantages handed to them on a platter. Millsap finds himself isolated on Matthew Dellavedova, and lofts a clunky mid-range jumper. Bazemore finds himself within dunking range, and elects to kick it out for a failed three-point attempt. Korver finds himself under the basket for a layup, and decides to see if anyone else wants to try their hand at three-point shooting. But maybe the worst were those moments when James was out of the picture.

    The Cavs’ star exits late in the opening quarter with his team up by 7, and by the time he returns to start the next quarter, the lead has widened to 11. James crumbles to the floor in an opera-worthy flop after missing a bunny with his team up 8, with under two minutes to go. But in the ensuing 17 seconds of 5-on-4 ball, the Hawks don’t take the ball anywhere near the hoop, settling for two hurried 3-point clankers and a loose ball foul on Horford. The ensuing free throws from Kevin Love (1-for-8 2FGs) capped off a 10-0 run for the Cavs (a run that included LeBron’s first, and only, free throw of the game) after Schröder and Bazemore helped the Hawks claw back in front three minutes earlier.

    J.R. Smith’s well-contested three-pointers only feel like six-pointers because the Hawks (10-for-33 3FGs, discounting Lamar Patterson’s garbage-time conversion) fail to convert on wide open shots no matter where they’re taken on the floor. Consistent with the regular season, Atlanta’s 16.6 wide-open 3-point attempts are 3.1 more than the next-highest Playoffs participant (Portland), but they hit only 36.2 3FG% on them, compared with the Cavs’ league-leading 47.4%.

    Only Miami (40.5%) converts worse on wide-open two-point shots than the Hawks (44.1 2FG%), compared to Cleveland’s 66.7% (albeit on just 3.6 attempts per game), again an NBA-best. While Atlanta was shooting blanks from point-blank, well-defended or otherwise, “Who Shot? J.R.” was 4-for-4 in Game 1 on threes with a Hawks defender no more than four feet away from him.

    To keep Smith from just loitering around the perimeters awaiting his next big play, the Hawks need to find a player, whether it’s Bazemore or Junior Hardaway, capable of driving to the hole off the dribble and forcing Smith to defend from his heels. The same applies when Richard Jefferson (2-for-2 3FGs) is in the contest.

    If Atlanta takes care of their own business in the opening half (5-for-14 first-quarter FGs in-the-paint in Game 1, 2-for-10 in the second quarter), the energy expended just to climb out from 18-point holes and hang on when it’s heroball time for the James Gang could instead be redirected toward efforts to sustain a more sizable late-game lead.

    Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer may have read up too much on the Kardashian Curse, but when teacher’s pet Horford is coughing up furballs, Coach Bud needs to hand him a Dunce Cap and throw lightly-used Kris Humphries to the head of the class for awhile. Going small worked fine against Boston, yet it makes rebounding look like child’s play for Tristan Thompson (7 offensive rebounds).

    Cleveland’s 11 points scored by result of offensive rebounds proved to be decisive in Game 1, while the Hawks were just 4-for-12 on shots following their own offensive rebounds, many of those attempted on putbacks by Millsap (8 O-Rebs). Atlanta’s bigs turning contact, particularly from Love and Thompson, into And-1s would press Cleveland’s less-trusted Timofey Mozgov into much more than spot duty.

    The Cavs’ spaced the floor more effectively than Atlanta in Game 1, while the Hawks failed to force turnovers and score at the other end. As another example of too little, too late, two minutes elapsed into the second half before the Hawks created a player turnover and converted it into points. Allowing Kyrie Irving (3-fot-5 3FGs, 8 assists, 2 TOs in Game 1) carte blanche to execute desirable plays works decidedly against the Hawks’ best interests. Atlanta needs to pursue more deflections of passes issued by James (5 of 9 assists in the first quarter of Game 1) and Irving in Game 2, and must put forth a better effort to collect loose balls.

    Despite Atlanta’s flaws, Cleveland is discovering it’s a little harder to mop the floor with this year’s healthier edition of the Hawks. Atlanta has a greater set of adjustments it can make to affect the outcome in its favor in Game 2. But what ultimately matters is the Hawks’ awareness of which adjustments to make, and their willingness to make them when they’re advantageous. Otherwise, Game 2 could simply be another case of Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

     
    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3

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