Official Game Thread: Cavaliers at Hawks

[lethalweapon3]

CAPTION: Hawks fan reacts to Dewayne Dedmon news.

 

LeBron James brings his resurgent Cleveland Cavaliers into town to take on your Atlanta Hawks (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Fox Sports Ohio in CLE), and The King wants answers, y’all.

“I need some answers,” James tweeted three days ago. “Feels like my man was a fall guy.” LeBron’s “man” was former Hawks and heat assistant and recently-deposed Memphis head coach David Fizdale. The Grizzlies used an eight-game slide and a rift with the hometown-raised NBA star to give Coach Fiz the heave-ho, just 107 games after prying him from the coastal comforts of South Beach. I can only hope LeBron has insurance coverage for the Irony Hammer that fell upon him.

There was once another head coach, some dude named… David… that not only won 143 NBA games, but also notched a pair of NBA Finals wins during his maiden NBA season. All of that, before “David” was handed his walking papers and shipped back overseas, in large part for the unforgivable, abominable crime of getting blown out at home to the reigning NBA champs in January. Whose mans with that, LeBron? You can find the answers you seek in that mirror over there.

What’s the commonality? In the NBA, the Goliaths fell the Davids. The Association is not some “prison” a few NFL owners are deluded into thinking they run. It’s as open a society as one will find in professional sports. Yet, it’s also the place where players bickering with staff can abruptly lead to J.B. Bickerstaff. Players run this modern NBA, and star players, the big money-earning, bigger money-making ones, wield unprecedented influence over the rank-and-file, in some cases, all the way along the bench.

Play a scenario forward, where the Hawks of Summer 2017 re-sign their aging free agent vets, and elect to simply ride out their long-term plans to refashion Dwight Howard into a team-first player. Go ahead and double their current win total (4-16), but assume a handful of those losses are of the 112-78 variety, like the one recently suffered to the Raptors (just like last season’s 128-84 drubbing). Assume Dwight, Atlanta’s homegrown star, begins moping publicly about playing time, touches (much like last season), and personal development.

Here’s the question. Is Mike Budenholzer still here? Maybe, maybe not. But the reality that there’d be a good chance he’s no longer around reflects the NBA climate in the LeBronze Age. One where, if you have not won your franchise Larry O’Brien trophies within your first couple years on the job, even the mildest player-coach dissension can keep your seat Carolina Reaper-hot.

Our youthful Hawks are looking for more legitimate answers, now that it appears they’ll probably have to lug through their December schedule without their starting center. The absence of Dewayne Dedmon (tibia stress reaction) for 3-to-6 weeks, plus the continued shelving of Mike Muscala (sprained hoof), will lead to some considerable scrambling along the Atlanta front line.

John Collins will get to start at center in place of Dedmon, and as usual, restraining himself from unnecessary whistles will be key to getting a full game out of him. He’ll be paired with Luke Babbitt, who returns after missing several games with a lower back injury. Tyler Cavanaugh is likely get an uptick in play, but might Coach Bud pull out a Plum instead? Miles Plumlee (quad) insists he’s as ready to contribute as ever before, although this might not be the ideal contest for him to make his season debut.

The Hawks will get some reprieve as Cleveland is doing without Tristan Thompson, thanks to a calf strain that’s had him sidelined for most of this month. But the Cavs (14-7) are riding a nine-game winning streak (longest since some coach named "David" was there, in 2014-15) and are 10-1 since the Hawks pulled off the November Surprise, a 117-115 nailbiting win at the Q on the 5^th of this month. Measurably better all-around play out of Kevin Love (1-for-6 FGs, 4 rebounds in 18 minutes vs. ATL) appears to be a big part of the turnaround.

Being Cleveland’s only real starting option at center, Love’s 38-point effort during Tuesday’s home win over Miami reflected an acknowledgement that his team needs “Minnesota Kevin” in the offense, compensating for the departure of Kyrie Irving and the continued unavailability of Isaiah Thomas. Love is shooting career-highs of 52.7 2FG% inside the 3-point arc and 89.3% at the free throw line.

During their nine-game win streak, Cleveland is committing fouls more selectively and strategically (opponent 69.6 FT%, to the Cavs’ 80.7 FT%). In the November 5 win the Hawks were granted 34 free throws, a tally surpassed only by Houston (36 FTAs) in the Cavs’ last defeat back on November 9.

Dennis Schröder (28 points @ CLE, 8-for-8 FTs), Collins (7 O-Rebs @ CLE, 6-for-8 FTs), and Kent Bazemore (9 rebounds @ CLE, 4-for-8 FTs) will need to continue creating havoc for their opponents, punishing the defensively deficient members of the Cavs’ rotation and drawing contact in the paint. The Hawks should get some more backcourt support as Isaiah Taylor (14 points in bench-high 26 minutes @ CLE) returns to the lineup from an eye injury.

As was not the case in last weekend’s blowout loss to the Raps (6-for-27 3FGs), Atlanta shot the ball well (11-for-25 team 3FGs) from the perimeter in their November 5 upset victory over the Cavs, just well enough to make Kyle Korver’s heroics (5-for-11 3FGs) too-little-too-late. Schröder, Babbitt and Taurean Prince combined to hit nine of their 17 attempts, and they could use some more reinforcement off the bench from Marco Belinelli (3^rd among NBA never-starters with 12.1 PPG) and Cavanaugh to stay with or ahead of the Cavs for significant stretches.

The Cavaliers do have their confidence back, but this recent winning run has been fairly weak in terms of strength-of-schedule, and it won’t take much, like a second loss to the Hawks, to send the Cavs back into what would be, for them, a tailspin. No matter what ups or downs this season brings, the Cavs’ Tyronn Lue knows better than to rub his team’s real PF/PG/HC/GM/PBO the wrong way. Otherwise, he won’t be LeBron’s “man” much longer.

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

 

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[Thomas]

Thank you so much for being a Squawker lw3. At this point in our Hawksquawk venture you are consistently our "Book of Eli". Trying times right now and probably more than a few days of that ahead but you never disappoint us in our quest. Many thanks for that. Just aching for a few more moves to get us on the map again with more to follow. Feel that it may not take more than two or three of those to earn the ticket back to the ECF fight. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Red unis looking good tonight at home.  Need more of that.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

22 minutes ago, Thomas said:

Thank you so much for being a Squawker lw3. At this point in our Hawksquawk venture you are consistently our "Book of Eli". Trying times right now and probably more than a few days of that ahead but you never disappoint us in our quest. Many thanks for that. Just aching for a few more moves to get us on the map again with more to follow. Feel that it may not take more than two or three of those to earn the ticket back to the ECF fight. 

He's the greatest, most consistent thing on this site.  Take down that Widespread Panic banner from Philips, and put a banner of Lethal up.

Until that glorious day comes, we get to watch John Collins . . who is feasting out there already.  9 pts - 4 rebs already in 8 minutes.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I was just about to clown Bembry for shooting 29%.  Then he pulls off that strong move to the hole.  He needs to get in the groove though, and live up to his "summer league" hype.

[DBac]

Please FSSE... There is nothing to be gained from watching Grant Hill give an interview in the middle of a basketball game. Audio only is just fine

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Baze is that dude at the park that you HATE to see, with the ball in his hands.   Double dribble?  Really?

[DBac]

Lebron has no right to be able to hang with Dennis' speed at age 32. Incredible.

[Thomas]

Rule of thumb, don't foul Marco when he is shooting threes. Silly rabbit.

[nathan2331]

Lebron has no right to be able to hang with Dennis' speed at age 32. Incredible.

He's just on another level. Every year I say this is the year he loses a step, every year he makes me look like a fool.

 

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[DBac]

Isaiah Taylor really dropped off. Benefit of the doubt because he's coming off an injury though.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Great steal and hoop by Bembry.  Hawks hanging around, despite Cleveland making all of these 3s.

[nathan2331]

Great steal and hoop by Bembry.  Hawks hanging around, despite Cleveland making all of these 3s.

Bembry can become a really good player, but he really needs to work on his jump shot and finishing around the rim. He puzzles me, its like he excels at the harder basketball skills but is below average on simpler ones.

 

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[Thomas]

A Keystone Kops episode for both teams in this fourth quarter.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

LOL .. now Collins is hurt.  Wow.  Bud gonna call up Pero.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Good call by the refs on that Wade screen.  Dude moving more than an offensive lineman.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

LOL . . f***ing Lebron with the deep 3.   Wish Dennis could get that shot back right before the 3.

Collins with a possible dislocated shoulder.

And Wade may have just put in the dagger.

Game over.

[hazer]

48 minutes ago, DBac said:

Lebron has no right to be able to hang with Dennis' speed at age 32. Incredible.

Menace just blew by LaBrawna 

[hazer]

1 minute ago, hazer said:

Menace just blew by LaBrawna 

Nirvanna nvm

[TheNorthCydeRises]

1 minute ago, hazer said:

Menace just blew by LaBrawna 

And then Lebron got the block that will be shown all night on the highlights.  Either way, I love the way Dennis competed.  Like someone said in another thread, we BEGGED Jeff Teague to do this.  Dennis has fully embraced his role as the leader and the go-to scorer.