Official Game Thread: Hawks at Cavaliers

[lethalweapon3]

“Say, JC, I’m stuck around here trying to stop kids like Ja Morant at the rim. You got any more of that stuff?”

 

((checking this baby in early since I hit the road in the morning. Safe travels, everybody! ~lw3))

 

“Welcome Back” my foot! I hope you enjoyed your little extended training camp, John Martin Collins the Third. I sure hope you had yourself a ball!

I am certain that Atlanta Hawks players and staff, to a woman and to a man, have been nothing if not fully embracing and encouraging of John The Pharmacist, as all await his re-activation following the NBA’s mandated 25-game suspension. It doesn’t mean that I, Joe Sixpack of White Claw, nor any Hawks fan should feel obligated to do the same. Not yet.

My arms are still folded tight. Which is good, because in that position, my armpit-clenched hands cannot wring any fool’s neck.

In my book, this man granted himself 53 extra days of closely monitored conditioning and workouts, to do for his body what he thought some “contaminated” over-somebody’s-counter dietary supplement would do for him. Fifty-three extra days of game tape to understand what he needs to do, and especially the stuff he’s not supposed to do, once he gets back onto an official NBA floor.

The “Before HGH” JC was already doing fine. More than fine, honestly, the Rising Star having added some nice jumpshot mechanics, and more recently a dash of rim protection, to his efficient borderline 20-and-10 game. From the jump of today’s matchup in Cleveland against the Cavaliers (7 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Fox Sports Ohio), going forward through at least the season finale between these two teams, we’d better witness one heck of an “After”.

Trae Young is the 5-pound bag of sugar that sweetens the Torch Red Kool-Aid. But John Collins is the straw that stirs Atlanta’s whole drink. Without him, Hawks fans have been left to ingest a lot of sour-tasting play. And, at the end of gamedays, there’s a lingering toothache.

All-Star balloting commences in a couple days, and you can be sure the de-Trae-ctors are already out here digging at the Hawks’ bottom-dwelling record (6-some multiple of 6) to justify his snub. Also… what’s this? In the year 2020, Anno Dominique, you suddenly must show some defensive wherewithal in order to play in… an NBA All-Star Game? Cool story, critics. Tell me more!

Entering the season, I suspected that standing out among Kyrie/Kemba/Ben/Lowry/whoever’s feeding Giannis to become a starter at guard, or even a reserve, was going to take quite a bit of legwork. But accomplishing such a feat would require some wins in the lead-up to the final voter tallies. Also, along the way, a metric ton of lobs and paint-point passes headed in the surefire direction of somebody more capable than Alex Len and Damian Jones.

In the Eastern Conference, the way for a Hawk to get into 2020’s midseason classic would be as an emerging frontcourt star. LeBron’s gone, Kawhi’s gone, KD’s not back until next year, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin are becoming faded memories. Collins needed only to join a crowded pool of neophytes, like Pascal Siakam, Domantas Sabonis and 2017 draft-mates Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo, swimming upstream.

Yet John not only GHRP-derp’d away any chance of that happening, his absence submarined any chance for supporters of Young (#2, behind Giannis, among active East players for PPG; #1 for APG) to point to a halfway decent record in the NBA East, with Trae lugging an assortment of fellow age-20-ish kids and washed vets, as rationale for his worthy All-Star selection.

This holiday season, here’s what I want to see under the figurative tree. John Collins, the All-NBA Third Team performer who understandably settles for Honorable Mention votes in 2020 because he got himself suspended. John Collins, the career 1.6 APG man that starts applying his high-post and top-of-key positioning to devastating effect as a spark for Atlanta’s starving, static offense. John Collins, the player who draws double-teams in the paint, whose gravity finally allows dullshooter Kevin Huerter time to work through his injuries-aided sophomore slump.

John Collins, the player whose .162 Defensive Win Share (would-be Top-10 in NBA, if we also include the recently returning DeAndre Ayton, too) and 34.5 defended-opponent FG% through the season’s first five games were no mere mirage. John Collins, the player who allows Jabari Parker to revert to a sturdy sixth-man role while excelling at Jabari Parker things. John Collins, the player who dominates his position so thoroughly that Vince Carter and DeAndre’ Hunter at the 4-spot are exhibits one is as likely to find at the Fernbank Museum.

Is that too much to ask? I don’t know, maybe. Also, ask me if I care.

John Collins, the frontcourt star whose singular re-introduction transforms the Hawks from languishing leaguewide laughingstock into potent playoff pushers, compelling PBO/GM Travis Schlenk to seek out worthy talents that can hold down the center spot for a postseason series, or two. People like… sorry, Mr. Love (36.7 D-Reb%, 2^nd in NBA), your multi-year contract ($91.5 mil thru next 3 seasons) is a tad too rich for my blood. But hey there, Tristan Thompson, what you doing?

If I’m a GM working out of the Buckeye State, and I’m ordered to offer an open NBA head coaching spot to a Big Ten coach from That State Up North, Jim Beilein would not have been my first choice. Yet thanks to the committed efforts of the no-longer-Karkrashian-Kursed Thompson (team-high 31.2 minutes/game, 15 double-doubles in 28 games) and Love, in helping their first-year pro coach nurture a cast of inexperienced teammates, Cavs fans are no longer making an early bee line toward the Quicken Loans Arena exits.

Cleveland (8-21) has enjoyed two days off after outlasting Charlotte and Memphis at home, kicking back to watch Atlanta brick away the game against Brooklyn on Saturday night. Hey, NBA schedule makers, can our poor Hawks get a rest advantage against somebody, soon?

Holdovers from “Remember that time LeBron came home and we did something nice?”, Thompson, Cedi Osman and Love are sopping up lots of productive floor time so prospects Kevin Porter and Ante Zizic won’t get overwhelmed. But they will soon tire of being pylon practice as guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland (-12.8 per 100 possessions as a two-man tandem) send opposing drivers soaring down the runway. And that’s when the time comes for Koby Altman to roll up his GM sleeves.

Altman remains wedded to the gamble of pairing the sophomore Sexton with the rookie Garland (team-high 3.1 APG), in hopes of a Lillard-McCollum-style payoff, as he is with the seasoned new coach. So, something else must be shaken up within Dan Gilbert’s franchise, with an eye toward its near-term future.

If Larry Nance, Jr. was a surefire cog, he’d probably be a regular starter by now. But with his annual salary dropping faster than his ceiling, he ought to be a keeper. Matthew Dellavedova (28.6 FG%) is always likely to sweep people off their feet, but his contract ($9.6 million expiring) probably won’t. John Henson? Hard pass. Brandon Knight? Harder pass. Jordan Clarkson? May never pass. That leaves Tristan as a most likely pre-Deadline candidate, and Altman may be looking for 2020 Draft help in return. Why?

Remember that Cavspick we held for a while in exchange for the Kyle Korver rental? It’s no longer in our control, thanks to our 2019 Draft pick swap for De’Andre Hunter. But the pick is Top-10 protected for Cleveland (just 3.0 games behind Lottery spot #11), becoming latter-year second-rounders for the Pelicans if it fails to convey in 2020.

Now, I’m not suggesting the Hawks ought to Competitank this particular game away. But there are three future meetings between the Hawks and Cavs. Let’s suppose, Collins proves not to be our power forward panacea by the time they see each other again, right before the All-Star Break. Wouldn’t it be a pity if, say, Cleveland wound up at #11 by season’s end, their Lottery pick likely diverting to New Orleans, a Western Conference team? A crying shame, it would be. You’d hate to see it.

Atlanta’s minus-7.0 Net Rating, this month, should not a 2-8 record make. This month’s worst team efficiency-wise, the Cavs check in at minus-12.8. But for December so far, they’ve gone 3-7, and as a club they’re pragmatic and upbeat. That’s because their best ability has been availability. For Beilein, having the Top 9 players in his rotation individually available, including Love, for all but 4 of 29 games can go a long way. Must be nice.

Collins returns in time to help a Hawks team with the worst defensive rebounding percentage in the league face the team with the December’s highest offensive rebounding percentage (32.7 O-Reb%, just ahead of the Hawks’ last opponent, Brooklyn’s 31.7%). As far as I’m concerned, you spring the leak, you plug the dam.

We’re at the point where, no matter where the Hawks finish this season in the win-loss column, Collins will absorb the blame for the right-side figure being upwards of ten more (16 ATL losses by margins 15 points or fewer, 13 since he last played on Halloween) than it should’ve been. Break even to finish with 32 wins? Imagine where Atlanta would be in the East with 42 wins instead.

Maybe Atlanta was destined to be an awful team this year after all, what with all the defensive and strategic coaching and ballhandling and wayward shooting and depth flaws that have been laid bare. But John should at least have been right there in the mix, on the floor, shouldering the load, shouldering some blame, over the past two months as all of this has unfolded. With 52 games left to go, ten’s the minimum number of game-winning plays I’ll need from John to impress upon me that he cares, that he understands the gravity of his misdeed weighing Trae and their team’s spirits down.

That’s enough Airing of Grievances for now. Tonight, we ought to see the second-best JC worthy of celebration this week. No, he’s nobody’s savior. Collins ain’t fixing this. But he darn well better be out here looking, leading, competing and producing like a man who’s desperate to try fixing this.

 

Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Funny Festivus to you and yours!

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[Spud2nique]

30 minutes ago, lethalweapon3 said:

But John Collins is the straw that stirs Atlanta’s whole drink.

The miana indeed. Nice as usual lw3. We missed Collins. Let’s get it.

Happy Holidays.

Go Hawks!

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/7f49ed67-09f6-4b14-b1bc-c6ac868cb5b5

[NBASupes]

John is back, that means we finally got a decent squad again 

[JayBirdHawk]

Let's hope we don't have to see anymore of this going forward:

Trae - 14/30 for 47 points

Rest of starters - 10/38 for 28 points.

 

[Thomas]

Feel Trae's assists average will be double digits after JC gets acclimated back in, say two or three games to adjust maybe. This will certainly help our chances each game. 

[Spud2nique]

7 minutes ago, Thomas said:

Feel Trae's assists average will be double digits after JC gets acclimated back in, say two or three games to adjust maybe. This will certainly help our chances each game. 

I had him at above 12 per I believe in dimes for season predictions. Collins did me in a bit there but hopefully we can make up a bit.

[Thomas]

1 minute ago, Spud2nique said:

I had him at above 12 per I believe in dimes for season predictions. Collins did me in a bit there but hopefully we can make up a bit.

Yeah, think a bunch of us were in the 23 points and 12 assists range. Why would we think otherwise after last season right? Oh yeah, the suspension....

[Gray Mule]

Collins is back!  Does this mean that we have a close, exciting game VS Cleveland?  Or, will we face another Knickerbocker blow out loss?  Will the Hawks keep their young starting five intact?  If Collins gets the start, Atlanta is still young, as he is only a three year player.

Are we expecting too much from the return of Collins?  Our opponent knows what we are facing tonight and they will be prepared.  Can our core of veteran players contribute?  Len was the only vet who played well in our latest loss.  We need the others to step up.

So many hopes.  So many questions that only get answered when the Hawks play tonight.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!  Collins' return gives us fans hope for things to turn and go right...

[NBASupes]

Interesting to see the starting lineup with John back

[turnermx]

17 hours ago, Thomas said:

Yeah, think a bunch of us were in the 23 points and 12 assists range. Why would we think otherwise after last season right? Oh yeah, the suspension....

I think we would have been spot on without the suspension. but such is life.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

17 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Let's hope we don't have to see anymore of this going forward:

Trae - 14/30 for 47 points

Rest of starters - 10/38 for 28 points.

 

And people wonder why Trae goes into "hero" mode?  You can't have your teammates shooting 26% FG, and expect for him to keep passing the ball to them.

[turnermx]

23 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

And people wonder why Trae goes into "hero" mode?  You can't have your teammates shooting 26% FG, and expect for him to keep passing the ball to them.

Indeed and about half of those missed shots were wide open. What is the guy supposed to do?

[Spud2nique]

Just now, turnermx said:

Indeed and about half of those missed shots were wide open. What is the guy supposed to do?

Still people on social media outlet are just simply not watching the games and think Trae is out here dribbling and chucking. Crazy! Watch the games people nobody has helped Trae. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

17 hours ago, Thomas said:

Feel Trae's assists average will be double digits after JC gets acclimated back in, say two or three games to adjust maybe. This will certainly help our chances each game. 

I don't think his assists will go up, until guys start making outside shots.  Trae's assists to the centers ( Len and Jones ) have been there all year.  It's the shooters that bring his assist totals down.

Here are who Trae averages the most assist to per game. 

• Anything 50% FG and above and 40% 3FG and above will be in Bold Green
• Anything between 40% - 50% FG . . and 30% - 40% 3FG will be in Bold
• Anything below 40% FG and 30% 3FG will be in Bold Red

 

Parker - 1.7 - ( 45% FG overall ) . . ( 17% 3FG ) . . . He doesn't have a lot of 3 point attempts, but still pitiful.

Hunter - 1.3 - ( 40% FG ) . . ( 39% 3FG ) . . . Solid outside shooting, Need to be better on the inside.

Jones - 1.3 - ( 65% FG ) . . He can catch the lob. No doubt about that.

Len - 1.1 - ( 50% FG ) . . ( 14% 3FG ) . . . And that 3 point % had to be in the single digits until recently.

 

That's 5.4 assists to those guys alone.   Here's the rest of the team.

 

Reddish - 0.6 - ( 32% FG ) . . ( 29% 3FG ) . . . and to think, this was WORSE until about 3 weeks ago.

Huerter - 0.5 - ( 51% FG ) . . ( 42% 3FG ) . . . Good all the way around.

Bembry - 0.4 - ( 42% FG ) . . ( 9% 3FG ) . . . yes, 9%, that's not a typo.  It's probably like 1 - 11 from 3, but still.

Carter - 0.4 - ( 33% FG ) . . ( 23% 3FG ) . . . This is a killer. No way around it. Vince is more effective in ISO offense, like Parker

Fernando - 0.4 - ( 41% FG ) . . that's because he doesn't go straight up and ends up shooting a contested shot

Collins - 0.3 - ( 43% FG ) . . ( 60% 3FG ) . . . it was only 5 games, but that 43% overall number isn't encouraging. The 60% 3FG is.

Crabbe - 0.2 - ( 32% FG ) . . ( 25% 3FG ) . . . and he's supposed to be the high percentage shooter on the team.

 

So once again, the big men he runs pick and roll with are fine, with Fernando needing improvement on catching that ball and going straight up with it.  The shooters outside of Huerter and Hunter are the killer. Let' see if Collins can keep making over 40% of his 3s when Trae passes it to him out there.

 

[Spud2nique]

Ya I agree if our tram hit just a few more outside shots Trae’s dimes would be off the charts for as much as he spoon feeds people. Good point North.

[Thomas]

51 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

So once again, the big men he runs pick and roll with are fine, with Fernando needing improvement on catching that ball and going straight up with it.  The shooters outside of Huerter and Hunter are the killer. Let' see if Collins can keep making over 40% of his 3s when Trae passes it to him out there.

I do see what your saying with those stats but feel as the game goes on a larger volume of pick n rolls will go to JC than we have seen to the others so far this year because of his efficiency and the lack of efficiency from just about everyone from the perimeter. Trae and JC were an incredibly high percentage play inside last year especially late. Still understand the big problem from outside though.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

Welcome back JohnC!

 

[REHawksFan]

26 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

Welcome back JohnC!

 

Welcome back Bonehead!  Excited to see the entire team compete together for the first time since that fateful date in Miami. 

Go Hawks!!!

[Dnice]

Haha, I thought I was going to borrow a big John head from  the 6th man and use it as a dart board!

[hawkzlova123]

Trae

Huert 

Hunter

John

Len

 

Not excessively terrible.