Official Game Thread: Hawks at Nets

[lethalweapon3]

“Tall and tatted, and long and gangly, The Guy With Ipamorelin’s working…”

 

Greetings and salutations, Brother Taurean! I do hope this gamethread finds you well.

You’ve been a model citizen up here in Brooklyn, and you’ve already helped both your new team, the Nets, and your old pals, the Atlanta Hawks, with a fine performance earlier this month (23 points, 5-for-7 3FGs, 4 assists in a 130-118 win). But we’re all going to need you to summon up the energy to pull a Captain and Tennille this evening (6 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, YES Network in Bed-Stuy), and do that to us one more time.

It’s been a rough go for our dear friend, Hawks fans, pretty much since that December 4 outing. Scoring inside has been a tall order almost all season long (career-low 39.6 2FG%, down from 49.8% last season w/ ATL) for Brother T, despite playing a lion’s share of minutes at power forward (several Hawks can sympathize with that). His passing (2.2 APG, 2.1 TOs/game) and ability to get to the free throw line (1.0 FTs/game, 75.0 FT%) leave much to be desired.

But Prince at least had a nice shooting stroke going behind the 3-point arc this season (40.5 3FG% through that last game @ ATL). Even that seems to be failing him (last 6 games: 26.1 FG%, 21.9 3FG%, 8.2 PPG) on a Nets squad that wants to reach the playoffs, but whose flip-a-coin 50.2 team eFG% makes our Hawks’ 51.8 look like we’ve got Giannis on the team.

Spencer Dinwiddie (22.1 PPG, 6.2 APG; 41 points @ SAS on Thursday) has been a godsend for Nets coach Kenny Atkinson’s offense, especially given the ongoing mystery absence of Kyrie Irving (shoulder, not yet cleared for contact). Yet if Taurean and Joe Harris (combined 40.5 3FG% on the season, rest of BKN 30.0%, incl. Dinwiddie’s 30.7%) aren’t sinking shots, and if Jarrett Allen (19-and-13 plus team-high 6 assists @ SAS; 3^rd in NBA for O-Reb%) and DeAndre Jordan aren’t creating second- and third-chances during possessions, scoring for Brooklyn can be an uphill climb.

Coach Kenny would love to give his former Hawks player less time on the frontline, and longer spells in general. But as things stand, he doesn’t have much choice.

The would-be minutes leader after Kyrie, Caris LeVert has been out for a month recovering from thumb surgery. Having sat out the first 25 games of the season after getting popped for an HGH violation, Brooklyn’s would-be starter at forward in place of Kevin Durant this year, Wilson Chandler is only this week getting back into the thick of things.

Dzanan Musa, rookie Nic Claxton, Rodi Kurucs, and two-way player Henry Ellenson are still unworthy, in Atkinson’s eyes, of more than spot minutes. The one guy whose production has ramped up lately, swingman David Nwaba now takes an off-ramp after a season-ending Achilles tear during Thursday’s 118-103 loss in San Antonio (no wins for the Nets in that town since 2003, poor guys). Nwaba’s painful fourth-quarter exit took out whatever steam the Nets (15-13), who were up by as many as 12 points late in the third quarter, had left against the Spurs.

With so many out-of-action and limited-action players out of Coach Kenny’s rotation, it’s all hands on deck for the rest of the Nets. For better or worse, Brother Taurean’s are among the best hands Brooklyn can throw out onto the herringbone floor.

There are no hard-chargers in the Eastern Conference currently threatening Brooklyn’s status as a playoff team (Orlando’s 12-17 mark is good enough to be an 8-seed). But the Nets have dropped three of their past five, the last two wins featuring a home blowout over the Embiid-less 76ers, and a victory over the Zion-less Pelicans that required fourth-quarter and overtime drama.

With a hungry Knicks team and another West Coast swing on the horizon after Xmas Day, Nets players know they don’t need some sudden skid, before the Trade Deadline, to have 2020 Draft Lottery implications start seeping into GM Sean Marks’ head (although Brooklyn does get Philly’s mid-to-late 1^st rounder, courtesy of a 2019 Draft night trade, as consolation). Here in Atlanta, we wholeheartedly concur.

Maybe it’s too early to celebrate Competitanking, but how about some Competitinkering instead? Our nucleus of newbies in coach Lloyd Pierce’s reformulated starting lineup (4^th-youngest in NBA since at least 1970-71) drew a lot of attention on Thursday. Perhaps the best part was, with Jabari Parker back in a reserve role, the Hawks’ overall bench play was Not A Disaster. Better motion and less flat-out goofiness on both ends of the floor during game flow made the 111-106 outcome, while still a loss, much more palatable than Atlanta’s previous bite at the Big Apple.

The body blows of excessive fouls, especially afflicting De’Andre Hunter (stuck at PF for one more start, knock on wood) early on, had their effects in the second half of the Jazz game as worn-down Hawks defenders struggled to keep Rudy Gobert, then Donovan Mitchell, in check.  An even more competitive outcome for Atlanta tonight will involve avoiding non-essential foul draws while ensuring top-scorer Dinwiddie (team-high 3.3 personals/game) gives up more free throw opportunities than he gets (team-high 6.5 FTAs/game, 83.1 FT%).

While the Nets’ Allen and Jordan tend to leave plenty of free throw points on the table, new Hawks starter Bruno Fernando (4 fouls in 17 minutes vs. UTA) and Alex Len (fouled out in under 17 minutes) must avoid foul trouble, while showing on pick-and-rolls and boxing out, for Atlanta (6-something-or-other) to fortify the interior defense. With a stronger rebounding presence in the middle, Atlanta’s wing defenders can focus on limiting Dinwiddie’s scoring angles on drives while keeping Harris and Prince (41.4 corner 3FG%) cool from the perimeter.

Our dear struggling Brother Taurean, allow us to us help you, to help us. With some fans’ eyes on the #netspick prize, the Hawks can afford to help Prince look like King of New York for a day. But Atlanta should be able to help Brother T shake free of his funk without, unlike the Knicks game, having fans screaming, “Oh, Brother!” at TV screens before halftime.

 

Happy Hanukkah! Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[Thomas]

5 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Spencer Dinwiddie (22.1 PPG, 6.2 APG; 41 points @ SAS on Thursday) has been a godsend for Nets coach Kenny Atkinson’s offense, especially given the ongoing mystery absence of Kyrie Irving (shoulder, not yet cleared for contact). Yet if Taurean and Joe Harris (combined 40.5 3FG% on the season, rest of BKN 30.0%, incl. Dinwiddie’s 30.7%) aren’t sinking shots, and if Jarrett Allen (19-and-13 plus team-high 6 assists @ SAS; 3^rd in NBA for O-Reb%) and DeAndre Jordan aren’t creating second- and third-chances during possessions, scoring for Brooklyn can be an uphill climb.

Yeah, seems like every time I have seen Dinwiddie play the last two years he absolutely balls out. A seriously good mover. What a one two punch he would help create for us at the point in cahoots with the Trae show. 

[lethalweapon3]

Somebody get that man some chicken soup from 2nd Avenue Deli.

~lw3

[Gray Mule]

Perhaps, after tonight's game, it will change.  The 4th quarter blues.  Hawks have a fatal case.  They are tense - tense - tense and it shows.  The closer to the end of the game, the worse it gets.  Shots that would be nothing but net earlier in the game now roll around and jump out.  It's not just one player.  It's every Hawk on the floor.  Here we go again and it's another miss.

Check it out.  I'll guess that our 4th quarter shooting % is much worse than the 1st three quarters.  And, the players want to play "hot potato" with the ball.  "Don't make me shoot it!"  

Love our young starting five!  Hope we're so far ahead in the last half of the 4th quarter, Hawks can play with the guys on the far end of the bench and still win !!

 

[Spud2nique]

5 hours ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Maybe it’s too early to celebrate Competitanking, but how about some Competitinkering instead?

We are starting to enter that phase sadly. Nice thread as usually lw3. Last one without JC. Let’s get it.
 

What I don’t get is how my nephew thinks it’s a goal for him when the ball ️ is clearly in front of me.. the goalie.. I have high hopes for him to be an NBA referee!  

Happy Holidays everyone.

Go Hawks!!

 

Nets -8  o/u 231.5

 

[Spud2nique]

Our pick (Nets) currently stands at 18.  

[Bonkers]

Look how Bruno raced down the court with Trae

 

I like that

[TheNorthCydeRises]

3 minutes ago, Bonkers said:

Look how Bruno raced down the court with Trae

 

I like that

They need to do better in getting him the ball when he has a smaller man on him.  Not a huge deal right now, but he does have instances in which he beats his man down the floor and has like a 6 - 4 guard around him.

Overall, a very good start defensively for the Hawks, which has led to easier offense.  Bruno has already challenged 3 shots at the rim, committing a foul on one, but also causing 2 missed shots.

[gurpilo]

14-5 Hawks looking good out there

[Bonkers]

Dayum Bruno got his shit pinned something serious lol

[bleachkit]

Just now, Bonkers said:

Dayum Bruno got his shit pinned something serious lol

J. Allen is a beast.

[gurpilo]

Damn good block bu Bruno then he got blocked by Allen, Hunter working well with Taurean

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Now . . . what I want to see from Alex defensively is to 

1) simply put a body on people

2) be in position to challenge shots at the rim, even if you don't block them.

[Bonkers]

Do I have to say it???

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Wow . . . I go to the bathroom with the Hawks up 2 . . and now we're down by 5?

 

[hawkman]

Where's our center??????

[terrell]

Trae shooting poorly once again..Damn

[MaceCase]

Jabari finally had a positive play outside of taking a shot.  Been about 4 SMH worthy moments already in this first... 5.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I just don't understand LPs obsession with small ball lineups.  Especially when you have people just grossly out of their comfort zones on defense.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

2 minutes ago, hawkman said:

Where's our center??????

Centerrrrrrrrrrrr

Center?