Official Game Thread: Hawks at Lakers

[lethalweapon3]

“Do You Believe That We Can Win That Fight Tomorrow Night?”

 

Can Atlanta make it 3-for-3 for the week in SoCal? The Hawks will aim for the Peach State Trifecta when they kick off their Staples Center sleepover in a tilt with the Los Angeles Lakers (9:30 PM Eastern).

The notion of rebuilding from the ground floor is usually fun, at the outset. As fans, though, you just have to be careful when it comes to understanding what risks you’re signing up for.

Having moved on from Kobemania in the search for the next great Laker Legend, Lakerfans have swayed from Randlemania to D’Angelomania to Ingramania to Lonzomania. Each year, fans have sold on their own self-made hype, that the next lotto pick is The Next Great One, certainly enough to carry their hallowed franchise to playoff glory for the first time since 2013.

But now, the Lakers sit at 11-27, on the verge of losing their tenth in a row and 13^th in 14 games. And if they don’t play their cards right, their next lottery hopeful may be suiting up in Celtics Green instead.

Despite raw shooting skills (35.2 FG%, 30.3 3FG%, 48.0 FT%), Lonzo Ball (6.8 RPG, 7.0 APG, 1.4 SPG) is nowhere near bust material. In fact, the rookie’s rebounding, passing wizardry, and defensive skills from his point guard position are almost ideally what the Lakers need. But when it comes to the long haul of rebuilding teams, and the instability that can transpire from the floor to the front office along the way, draft scouts may now have to weigh the merits of a prospect’s progenitors.

As one might say, you can’t choose your draft pick’s parents. “You can see they’re not playing for Luke [Walton, the Lakers’ head coach] no more,” says proud papa LaVar Ball, chilling at a Lithuanian spa, trying to keep Lonzo’s younger siblings from starting another global incident. LaVar treats the second-year full-time NBA coach the way he treated his kids’ coaches from high school and AAU through UCLA, with disdain.

“Luke doesn’t have control of the team no more. They don’t want to play for him,” LaVar adds, each critique moving Tito Horford further up the ballot for the Pro Baller Discreet Dads’ Hall of Fame. “I can see it. No high-fives when they come out of the game. People don’t know why they’re in the game. He’s too young… He ain’t connecting with them no more. You can look at every player. He’s not connecting with not one player.”

LaVar won’t be happy until he is controlling his kids’ teams, from the sideline, and if they’re still not winning, he won’t be satisfied until he has run his kids’ teammates out of town on a rail, something that may literally happen soon with the younger clan over in Prienai-Birštonas. In cahoots with media that can’t seem to tear the microphones away from him, LaVar’s mouth forces everyone, from Laker management to Lonzo himself, to drop everything and, on a Sunday night between the worst two clubs in the NBA, formally address the dissension that the Big Bawler of the Ball family tries to stir.

If he’s not overly distracted, Lonzo (who, naturally, disagrees with his father regarding Walton) has the tools to make his head-to-head tonight with the Hawks’ Dennis Schröder (last 2 games: 38.7 FG%, 4.5 APG, 4.5 TO/game) an arduous one for the latter, especially if former UGA star Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can switch onto Atlanta's top scorer. For all the Lakers’ offensive faults (NBA-low 32.4 3FG%, 68.9 FT%), thanks largely to Lonzo, they push the pace (NBA-high 103.8 possessions per-48) and they’re the best NBA team aside from Golden State (16.1 per-36) in producing fastbreak points (11.7 per-36).

The Hawks can counter by pounding the only team with interior defense (NBA-high 10.7 opponent second-chance points per 48) as sketchy as their own (10.6 opp. second-chance points per-48). Los Angeles allows a league-high 37.2 paint points per-48, and that was with Andrew Bogut, who was waived this weekend. Brook Lopez, aside from his 1.5 BPG, and super-rookie Kyle Kuzma (team-high 17.2 PPG) provide next-to-no defensive resistance.

If Horford-in-Training rookie John Collins (58.8 2FG%, 9^th in NBA; 15.0 O-Reb%, 4^th in NBA) is unable to drown the Lake Show with a dominant interior offensive performance, might his family harbor grave reservations about the strategic wisdom of Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer? Maybe. Maybe not. But either way, we’ll never know.

Go Dawgs! Rise Up! And Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

 

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[lethalweapon3]

"All The Money In The World..."

~lw3

[High5]

This is a must lose game if I have ever seen one. Which means someone's getting a career high tonight and we're gonna win by 15+. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I know people hate Lavar and his opinions, but he's actually right on the money on this. 

And because he called him out, watch how the Lakers interact with each other tonight, whether they're winning or losing.  Luke may be a little bit too laid back to coach a young team that needs to be poked and prodded to bring out the best in them.  People applaud Bud for being tough with Dennis, but Luke doesn't have that type of clout or pull with his young team. 

Lavar said almost 2 months ago that Luke needs to be tougher on HIS son. 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21507969/lavar-ball-wants-los-angeles-lakers-tougher-lonzo-ball

Luke brushed it off.  Since then, the Lakers have played like utter crap, showing flashes of being good against the elite teams, but laying eggs against the rest.

When they get going, they're a fun team to watch, especially when Lonzo is passing and Kuzma is knocking down 3s.  But they're an ultra soft team.  That's what Lavar is referring to.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Dennis with a quick start.  This is a good sign for the Hawks. Get your 30 points tonight.

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

No Bob and Nique . . . Bud was set off and drew the tech because Dennis actually drew a charge, but it wasn't called.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

And Collins knocks down a corner 3.

And Dennis sets him up for a contested dunk, with Collins going to the FT line.

Play those 2 together more.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Poor Collins just running around with his head cut off.  Can't touch the ball offensively since Dennis went out.  All of these guys tossing up air balls and bricks, and Collins can't get one damn touch in the post.

And now we're down 10.

Nique talking about the Hawks need to slow the ball down.  Well, a way to do that, is to throw the ball into the post.  Let the offense flow through Collins for once, instead of guards who can't shoot.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Bud is pissed, but this is his fault.  All of these jumpers by the guards are leading to mini fast breaks for the opposing team.

Delaney - Taylor - Beli are a combined 2 - 12 FG.

And Collins STILL can't get a touch in the post.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

18 point lead for the Lakers

Dennis +/- is 0 . . . has 16 points.

[lethalweapon3]

Hawks have to climb out of a Fastbreakback Mountain of their own making, down 28-zip on fastbreak points at the half.

~lwIDontKnowHowToQuitYou

[benhillboy]

Damn, 28-0 fast break points in a half has got to be a record.  Got some nitrogen fuel in that tank tonight.  The talent gap between the two teams is tremendous but damn.

As far as that Ball fool, Magic signed up for it.  Just saw Carlisle’s comments and he couldn’t have been any more spot on.  ESPN continues to put a mic in front of and cover the man.  Stupidity sells more than sex nowadays.

[Lurker]

Playing John Collins just 8 minutes is unforgivable.

[nathan2331]

If we can't get a good return for Bazemore, he needs to come off the bench next season. His good days don't offset the bad plays he makes consistently.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

8 minutes ago, nathan2331 said:

If we can't get a good return for Bazemore, he needs to come off the bench next season. His good days don't offset the bad plays he makes consistently.

He must've heard you.

2 triples in a row.

Lead down to 17 now.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Lonzo shooting over 40% from 3 in his last 7 games ( including this game ).  It looks like whatever was wrong with his shot, has been fixed.  Or maybe he's just taking a lot better shots in rhythm.

[nathan2331]

He must've heard you.

2 triples in a row.

Lead down to 17 now.

Maybe I should talk trash about everyone else, it's not too late for us to make the playoffs.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

You see that move Collins just made?

And he can't get the ball in the post?

[nathan2331]

You see that move Collins just made?

And he can't get the ball in the post?

I'm hoping once Dedmon gets healthy, we'll see more from Collins. That's about the last excuse I have for Bud.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I bet Bud is about to pull Collins, like it's his fault.  This dude puts up numbers and don't even have plays called for him.  He has to literally find his own offense, and go to work.