Moderators lethalweapon3 Posted January 18, 2013 Moderators Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 So nice… but can they do it twice? The Atlanta Hawks put together a solid performance for the home crowd at Philips Arena on Wednesday, outpacing the Brooklyn Nets 109-95 to momentarily stop a slide in the conference standings. Now, the scene shifts to Brooklyn for the Hawks’ debut at Barclays Arena. Against a team with sketchy perimeter defensive options, Jeff Teague stepped up with 28 points and 11 assists, his career scoring high and his fifth double-double of the season. Devin Harris piled on 18 rebounds, 5 assists, 4steals, and boundless vigor that was good to see from a veteran on this team. Harris will probably start again, but look for greater usage of Lou Williams tonight. While Lou is a decidedly better shooter at home (45.3 FG%; 39.4% on the road), he makes up for it by drawing more trips to the line on the road (3.8 FTA per game, vs. 2.5 at home). At power forward, Al Horford (17 points, 13 rebounds) outmatched Reggie Evans (just 5 rebounds in 21 minutes), while Zaza Pachulia had his way offensively (13 points, 6 offensive rebounds, 8 assists) with Brook Lopez. Brooklyn’s bigs shot well (29-for-38 among Lopez, Evans, Andray Blatche, Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace and Mirza Teletovic ). But that was neutralized by the Hawks’ collective speed and focus, shooting a season-high 57.7 FG% off 33 assists, also a season high for a regulation game. They effectively throttled the Nets’ handsomely-paid backcourt, as Joe, Deron Williams, and C.J. Watson logged heavy minutes and shot just 9-for-33 (2-for-13 on threes). Further, Atlanta’s 16 offensive rebounds were the most in over a month, a span of 23 games. The Nets will probably move Gerald Wallace, back from a rib injury, back into the starting lineup, and try to give him and Blatche a greater share of minutes in an attempt to wrest the rebounding advantage back tonight. How will Josh “Nino” Smith, returning after a one-game suspension for Keepin’ It Real in practice, keep the positive vibes going? He can help by being an effective finisher around the rim. Among players (minimum 25 games) taking more than one shot within two feet of the rim, Atlanta has three players among the top 25 of the league for FG% at that range. Smith (75%) joins Horford (77%) and Harris (74%) in that group, while Ivan Johnson (70%) isn’t far behind. The trick will be to have guards attack the rim as they did in Atlanta, and if they need to pass, the bigs must be ready to gather the ball and go up quickly before the Nets’ frontcourt can react. Ringing up assists in that way will improve their chances to win. Atlanta is 10-1 (the exception being a one-point loss to Detroit on Jan. 4) when they gather more than 25 assists. Aside from getting to the line (a perfect 7-for-7), Joe Johnson was a literal non-entity in the outcome of the game (4-for-15 FGs, 0-for-4 3FGs). A lot of that was, as AUhawksfan noted in the last Game Thread, was from Joe pushing up shots and passing out of double-teams. He’s certainly noticing it. When asked whether he deserves another All-Star nod, the New York Daily News reported Joe replied, "Definitely, if they're going to keep doubling and tripling me as hard as they doing.” Joe added, "It's not really frustrating to get trapped because I expected that. The frustrating part was not being in the right spots to make them pay. If we had made them pay a few times, then maybe they wouldn't have doubled so much. It just didn't seem like we knew where to be." He’ll certainly be looking for fellow All-Star Deron Williams when he’s getting trapped tonight. Deron averages just 14.8 PPG at away games, but 18.3 PPG on the herringbone floor at Barclays. The sweet spot for Joe himself is within 3-9 feet of the basket, particularly from the right side. He’s leading the NBA among players averaging more than two attempts at that range with 51.2 FG%. Atlanta going big will allow the fun of Josh Smith helping Kyle Korver and Harris deny Joe those spots on the floor. Free Johan Petro! The backup center started ten games and played in 59 of the Nets’ 66 games last season. He’d love to avoid another DNP-CD by spelling Pachulia for a short stretch. Anthony Morrow is back home with DeShawn Stevenson and will have to save their pseudo-homecoming for another night. With Indiana and Chicago on the road as well tonight, a two-game sweep of the Nets could bounce the Hawks back up as far as the 3-spot in the East. Go Hawks! ~lw3 View the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzachary Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Too bad Horford's hurt. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Too bad Horford's hurt. :(Huh...what'd I miss? Al not playing tonight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruckus Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Just saw that as well. That hurts. I'm thinking Josh will play a really well rounded game tonight. Hopefully we can get the W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Wow, wish I would have known Horf was hurt before I put cash on the Hawks moneyline.....One good thing that can come from tonight is that Josh lovers will have something to say if Smoove leads us to a victory over the Nets again, but this time without Horf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Mule Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Announcers said they didn't know how much, if any, Horford wouldbe able to play. Last season, Josh carried a heavy load without Horford. But, thatwas last season. Can he repeat that? We will see. Will Josh be "Bull of the Wood" or will he be a steer tonight? He's restedso let's hope for the best. GO HAWKS!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMeltdown Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 This is bad. Gonna miss Al's smart play as opposed to what Josh gives us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 This is bad. Gonna miss Al's smart play as opposed to what Josh gives us.Well hell, it is very convenient that we get a chance to see what the Hawks can do without Josh and without Al in back-to-back games... This could be another big statement game. If I am Smoove, I am avoiding the perimeter at all costs tonight and trying to pass smart and shoot smart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Al is hurt huh? Call me a conspiracy theorist but maybe the mandate came down from Ferry that he'd like to see the same Hawks team with Smoove instead of Horf playing the same Nets team that we beat comfortably in our last game just to see how differently we play. Sure things don't stack up quite equally as the Nets will be looking for revenge and they're at home, but those aren't huge differences. I just have a sneaking suspicion that this injury that we're just hearing about isn't a real injury after all and it's Ferry measuring his "star" players. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruckus Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Al is hurt huh? Call me a conspiracy theorist but maybe the mandate came down from Ferry that he'd like to see the same Hawks team with Smoove instead of Horf playing the same Nets team that we beat comfortably in our last game just to see how differently we play. Sure things don't stack up quite equally as the Nets will be looking for revenge and they're at home, but those aren't huge differences. I just have a sneaking suspicion that this injury that we're just hearing about isn't a real injury after all and it's Ferry measuring his "star" players. Was thinking the same exact thing. Didn't want to open that can of worms but since you just did... **cough cough** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IheartVolt Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Fck!!!! Lou is done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrReality Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Rookies getting pt. was thinking we r showcasing them for the prospect of a trade??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhillboy Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 (edited) Am I missing something? We had an assload of timeouts to advance the ball and draw up a play for a reasonable shot off Ashton's movement with 3 seconds at the end of the half. Brain freeze, Coach. Edited January 19, 2013 by benhillboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Poor Lou that looked really bad. Dolfan I was think same thing Ferry wants to see same team on the floor with smoove instead of hor...drreality I think u might be onto something...both rooks gettin lotta burn...I don't mind trading mike smith but would like to keep Jenkins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrReality Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Smoove turns the ball over and goes to the bench. That's different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Colin, I was gonna put cash on hawks but with the points not ml...I put money on hawks last game -3 and won I knew they would have great ball movement without smoove...I didn't do the bet tonight though I don't like bettin on road teams in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrReality Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Scott is a spurs kind of player Good rolePlayer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruckus Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Damn. We are gonna miss Lou I have a feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainview1981 Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 What happend to Lou? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cwell Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 What happend to Lou?Knee gave out on him during a fast break. The video is on nba.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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