Official Game Thread: Hawks - Bucks

[lethalweapon3]

^{"Prince's 1979 self-titled album? Yeah, I'm a big fan."}

Following a horrendous road trip, the Atlanta Hawks return to the comfier confines of Philips Arena and are likely to kiss the floor when they arrive. Zaza Pachulia and Head Coach Larry Drew of the Milwaukee Bucks may very well join the Hawks in the floor-smooching festivities tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Wisconsin).

A rousing ovation is likely for one of the most endeared Atlanta Hawks of the past decade. More than a few golf claps will also be in order for the last coach to lug the Hawks (27-35) into the NBA postseason.

The Republic of Georgia native happily remains a State of Georgia resident. Zaza still maintains a home and many of his business affairs here in the 404. Pachulia will get to soak in some pregame cheers as a Bucks starter, but this was certainly not the role he signed up for when he joined Drew in Milwaukee this summer. This ain’t exactly the way Larry drew things up, either.

For the Bucks (13-51), their ability to contend this season was based on a lot of “ifs”. If contract-extended Larry Sanders could maintain his professional composure, if free agent pickup O.J. Mayo was inspired to become a consistent scorer, if Ersan Ilyasova could be an efficient shooter, if offseason acquisition Brandon Knight could improve by leaps and bounds, if Carlos Delfino could contribute in a meaningful way, if veterans Caron Butler, Gary Neal, and Luke Ridnour could stay patient while youngsters Knight, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nate Wolters, John Henson, and Khris Middleton all cut their teeth and work their way into Drew’s rotation…

Well, that all de-escalated quickly. Now, they’re the worst team in the league, still two games behind a Philadelphia 76ers team that has dropped 18 in a row, and playing their third game in four nights today.

Sanders got about a month-and-a-half of hoops action following the embarrassment of the nightclub incident. One game after dropping 25 and 15, he broke a bone in his eye socket, and will be out indefinitely. Without Sanders for much of the year, Pachulia has been pressed into heavy minutes, leading to a broken foot that sidelined him for a couple months. Delfino was declared done for the season from the start, after undergoing preseason foot surgery.

Wisconsin native Butler got downright petulant with his minutes dwindling, and now he’s on the outs along with Neal and Ridnour. Mayo lost his starting gig in mid-December, essentially handed by Drew to rookie second-rounder Nate Wolters, and hasn’t earned it back. Ilyasova was probably the worst-shooting NBA starter prior to the All-Star Break. As the losses pile up without any “sense of urgency”, LD is trying to ensure his initials won’t stand for “Lame Duck”, seeking the optimal starting lineup to help the Bucks win back-to-back games at least once this season.

The concept of tanking brings forth its own set of unique challenges for GM Jon Hammond in Brewtown. If their top pick morphs into a can’t-miss forward, what does that do to the development plans for the Greek Freak, Antetokounmpo, or Middleton or Henson? If the injured Joel Embiid falls into their lap with a top pick, is he the next Kenyon Martin in the making? And what trade value would the moody Sanders, recipient of an $8 million raise next season, hold if Embiid can’t play alongside him? Would the Bucks dare to reach for a steadier point guard, and compel Knight to come off the bench? All in all, it’s hard to tell if the guys on the floor for Milwaukee are part of the team’s immediate future, or if they’re merely showcasing themselves for their next employer.

There are silver linings to be found, if you dig deep for them. Ilyasova (starting tonight after missing Tuesday’s loss due to a sore right ankle) has recovered from early-season back issues and has improved immensely since the All-Star Break. Although his long-range jumper is still broken, he’s averaging 14.4 PPG and 7.6 RPG while shooting 51% from the floor since the break -- 16 PPG, 8 RPG, and 53.7 FG% this month.

While Mayo has been occupied with serving up throat punches to random stiffs, Knight has emerged as the scorer the Bucks thought they were getting out of Mayo, averaging 20.1 PPG and 5.2 APG (44.9 FG%) since the break and blending better in the backcourt alongside Wolters (41.0 FG% and 18.4 3FG% pre-break; 50.4 FG% and 41.2 3FG% post-break).

Middleton can occasionally get hot from deep, and seems to have locked down a starting spot while shooting 50.0 3FG% in his last ten games. Antetokounmpo is good for the occasional highlight to keep Bucks fans awake. Zaza is known to get fancy with the rock when it fancies him, and dished out a career-high 10 assists during the loss at Minnesota on Tuesday night, the Bucks shooting 52.7 FG% in the game.

All of that would be encouraging if the Bucks could figure out how to stop anybody. The only team with a worse defensive rating than Milwaukee (107.7 opponent points per 100 possessions, 29^th in NBA)? The last opponent the Hawks barely vanquished, the Utah Jazz (108.0 defensive rating). Atlanta actually has a worse per-game average (102.6, 2^nd worst in the East) than Milwaukee (102.5), but that’s because the Hawks play at a significantly higher pace than the Bucks (94.3 possessions per 48 minutes, 24^th in NBA).

With the athletes they do have on the roster, it is a wonder that the Bucks show little exuberance (Larry would say, "energy") in securing defensive boards (71.2 defensive rebounding percentage, 29^th in NBA) or going after the ball when it's on the floor (6.9 steals per 100 possessions, 28^th in NBA).

If Bucks assistant Nick Van Exel is doing his job, Knight should have a pretty detailed scouting report on how to play Nick’s former protégé, Jeff Teague. Teague sat out the January 25^th laugher in Milwaukee with an ankle sprain. Knight had 27 points, but was essentially picked apart on defense against Shelvin Mack and the recently-invisible Lou Williams (combined 27 points, 9 assists, 3 TOs).

Despite Danny Ferry's recent comments about the Hawks consequentially playing "too small" in explaining LouWill's benchings lately, he may get back into the mix tonight. (UPDATE: Lou's out tonight, it appears for personal reasons, as per C-Viv). He is hopefully rested enough The Hawks will need another sound performance from Mack to match up against drive-first point guard Ramon Sessions, acquired by the Bucks at the trade deadline along with Jeff Adreian for Neal and Ridnour.

The Hawks will be emboldened to know that the lackadaisical defense by Milwaukee on opposing passers isn’t balanced by pressure on shooters, either. Bucks’ opponents shoot an NBA-high 38.6 percent from three-point range, including 41.9 percent from the corners. Atlanta hit half of their 26 shots on the Bucks on January 25, and made 25 of a whopping 57 three-point shots in their last two games against Utah and the Clippers.

In his grand return, Zaza deserves an honorary double-double by putting back at least ten of his own missed layups, and his matchups with his Euro-replacement Pero Antić should be fun to watch. If Atlanta can keep every Buck besides Zaza from getting rebounds, and keep Zaza from turning into Al Jefferson out there, they’ll be able to keep Milwaukee at arm’s length. The Bucks are 1-30 when they tally 40 or fewer rebounds in a game.

Go Hawks!

~lw3

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[DJlaysitup]

Great stuff as usual lw3.

The return of ZAZA!!

Go Hawks!

[Dnice]

Good call on the Prince cover. "why u wanna treat me so bad"...lol

[benhillboy]

Slow night, huh?Not to call anyone out, but who was that poster hell bent on OJ Mayo? Apparently he's in Drew's doghouse and his PER sits snugly between Cartier Martin and Steven Adams (who's much more valuable). Ouch.I didn't see the game, but listening to the post-game on the radio and Sam praising Elton and Jeff. DeMarre garnering signifigant MIP votes now? He gave all the credit to Kyle for his improved three ball. 1,000 a day in practice at one point he said. I know the tankers don't like this, but "Let's Go."

[DJlaysitup]

As Jeff said in the interview "Tremendous win"...and his "Little guy" Dennis did good too.

Gotta Love this Team !

[Sothron]

Dennis with yet another good game in limited minutes that his detractors on the board act like never happened. 8 points, 5 assists and zero turnovers in only 15 minutes of play.

[capstone21]

Playoffs here we come.......ugh

[Guest]

Slow night, huh?Not to call anyone out, but who was that poster hell bent on OJ Mayo? Apparently he's in Drew's doghouse and his PER sits snugly between Cartier Martin and Steven Adams (who's much more valuable). Ouch.I didn't see the game, but listening to the post-game on the radio and Sam praising Elton and Jeff. DeMarre garnering signifigant MIP votes now? He gave all the credit to Kyle for his improved three ball. 1,000 a day in practice at one point he said. I know the tankers don't like this, but "Let's Go."

@benhillboy That would be NBAsupes (he's never gonna live that one down).

Someone on the in-game chat said OJ Mayo got a DNP-FAT.

[Guest]

I am pleased to see Dennis playing well ESPECIALLY with limiting the turnovers tonight. I think he has had only 1 turnover in his last 5/6 games.

[DJlaysitup]

Playoffs here we come.......ugh

Well we don't have to worry about taking the record for futility in a playoff sweep...we already have that:

2010:

ORL 114 ATL 71

ORL 112 ATL 98

ORL 105 ATL 75

ORL 98 ATL 84

Edited March 14, 2014 by DJlaysitup

[capstone21]

Well we don't have to worry about taking the record for futility in a playoff sweep...we already have that: 2010: ORL 114 ATL 71ORL 112 ATL 98ORL 105 ATL 75ORL 98 ATL 84

it's not just that...we are going to miss out on the potential chance at wiggins, Parker, Embiid, Exum, Smart etc.

[NBASupes]

@benhillboy That would be NBAsupes (he's never gonna live that one down).

Someone on the in-game chat said OJ Mayo got a DNP-FAT.

I wanted him at that time with that personnel grouping and coaching staff. He was a great fit then. I can't change what has happened to him in the future but his future would have been much different in the right location. Once again, I think Atlanta dropped the ball.

Mayo

Joe

Marvin

Smoove

Al

Would have had some great years together. As it stands now, Smoove and Mayo are having horrible seasons, Joe made the All Star team again, Marvin is Marvin, and Al is hurt. Could have worked, sad it never happened. With that said, stop bring up what he is now because he wouldn't have been that with us. His role would have been much different. He wouldn't have been the primary ballhandler but he would have had a high usage. He would have worked well with that personnel and coaching. Things would have been ideal for him. I can't speak for him now but then it was different.

@Dolfan23, I keep getting these google errors on this site that blocks me often.

[IheartVolt]

@Its been doing the same for me the last week or soAnd you crazy as hell on OJ Mayo..........still

[Gray Mule]

Wasn't it great! The past two games we've played against an ex Hawk

and both of the exes, Marvin and Zaza, have had good games in a

losing cause. Always great to see a favorite ex Hawk have that great

game in a loss to us.

Hawks defense and intensity continues to be a sore spot. Hawks had

been on the road so long that apparently this one felt like a road game

to many of the players.

Lots of Hawk players had a very good offensive game against the Milwaukee

lads. That was sorely needed too when we consider how bad our defense

started this game. This problem MUST be fixed if we are to survive.

GO HAWKS!!

[GameTime]

Slow night, huh?Not to call anyone out, but who was that poster hell bent on OJ Mayo? Apparently he's in Drew's doghouse and his PER sits snugly between Cartier Martin and Steven Adams (who's much more valuable). Ouch.I didn't see the game, but listening to the post-game on the radio and Sam praising Elton and Jeff. DeMarre garnering signifigant MIP votes now? He gave all the credit to Kyle for his improved three ball. 1,000 a day in practice at one point he said. I know the tankers don't like this, but "Let's Go."

This game should end any of the tanking hopes we had. Beat the Pacers in the playoffs with your elite coaching Bud!

[Sothron]

I wanted him at that time with that personnel grouping and coaching staff. He was a great fit then. I can't change what has happened to him in the future but his future would have been much different in the right location. Once again, I think Atlanta dropped the ball.

Mayo

Joe

Marvin

Smoove

Al

Would have had some great years together. As it stands now, Smoove and Mayo are having horrible seasons, Joe made the All Star team again, Marvin is Marvin, and Al is hurt. Could have worked, sad it never happened. With that said, stop bring up what he is now because he wouldn't have been that with us. His role would have been much different. He wouldn't have been the primary ballhandler but he would have had a high usage. He would have worked well with that personnel and coaching. Things would have been ideal for him. I can't speak for him now but then it was different.

@Dolfan23, I keep getting these google errors on this site that blocks me often.

i'm getting the same weird ass google accelerator or something like that error and I don't ever use google.

[Guest]

it's not just that...we are going to miss out on the potential chance at wiggins, Parker, Embiid, Exum, Smart etc.

I'm upset about this also. But honestly if we finish 10-14 as far as worst records in the league. We are looking at about a 2% chance of cracking the top 3 picks. The last team I remember to crack a top 3 that far down was prolly the 2008 Bulls. I think they had the 9th worst record and got the first pick and took Rose. But I'm pretty sure that was Stern's magic. Silver's magic in Atlanta might not be as strong. Although Silver and Ferry both have the same bald shaped heads so who knows.

[LamarHampton]

i'm getting the same weird ass google accelerator or something like that error and I don't ever use google.

That is just the NSA tinkering with things. It's how you know they've made a change in the Matrix. (Been happening to me too btw)

[Hawkeyes007]

Went to this game with my son and it was about 60% to 70% empty. Now I know the Bucs are awful, so hardly any fans of the opponent showed, but seeing such an empty stadium after such a long road trip was demoralizing. I started thinking to myself, "How do the player's feel about coming back to an almost empty stadium?" How did Korver feel when the announcer congratulated him on his 3 point streak and you could almost hear the crickets chewing on popcorn in the corner? If I'm a player about to resign, besides the money, why would I want to stay in Atlanta? Certainly not to see empty seats or to tank and lose games. As the game was starting my son was actually worried that the Hawks might leave Atlanta because no one was supporting them. I'm not bashing the pro-tankers as I know most of the tankers have the Hawk's best interest in their heart, but after seeing our current attendance it helped me realize how bad this tanking idea is hurting our fan base right now. Who wants to spend their own time and money to go to a game if they believe the coach and/or players are not giving their all? How many young Atlanta fans are jumping onto the Heat bandwagon to never return while we tank our way to success? I spoke with a Hawk membership representative a couple of weeks and he told me the upcoming Heat game is sold out. I'm willing to bet when I go to this game I'm going to be surrounded by more Heat fans than Hawk's fans at one of our own home games. Earlier this year before our 1 win in 14 games losing streak I kind of fell into the tanking idea, but by the end of it I saw how much damage the idea, whether it was happening or not, was doing to our franchise. Tanking is by no means a guaranteed ticket to success. The Cavaliers have had 5 top five first round picks since LeBron James came into the league and they still aren't any good. Now to put this into perspective the Spurs have not had one top five pick during that same timeframe. I mention this discrepancy simply to say, "Maybe tanking is not the best way to build a franchise." Losing and driving away fans while hoping for a shot at a stud to save the franchise is not as a stable way to grow a franchise as cultivating fans with wins and making good sound trade, draft and signing decisions. Now for the positive part of my Hawks/Bucs game experience. In the fourth quarter when the Hawks starting turning on their offense and defense what little bit of fan base that was there started really getting into the game. I found myself high-fiving fans next to me and when Teague made his dunk near the end, everyone went berserk! My son and I had a blast even though it was against the sad 13 win Bucs, because we won. In short I believe basketball is like everything else in life that doing things the right way is how you come out ahead, not through shortcuts or cheating the system. I hope we win every game this season! Go Hawks!

[ViperXX79]

The attendance was bad way before(for years) the "tank" started. Those 50 win teams weren't exactly drawing good nimbers. Also the Spurs did tank the year Robinson got hurt and drafted arguably the greatest PF that's ever played the game. The "Spurs way" will probably look a lot different when that big cog is no longer playing.