Official Game Thread: Who-Dey-Hawks at Trivial-Blazers

[TheNorthCydeRises]

2 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

He said he isn’t a star ️ he’s a superstar.

-

Why don’t you stick your index finger up your..

 

LOL . . Spud hit him with the closed caption text.   That's some next level fact checking right there.

[Diesel]

2 minutes ago, ATLHawks3 said:

I'm really convinced that Delon Wright is miscast a backup point guard, and should instead be a wing. He has no natural point guard feel to his game at all. 

In the summer, I called him a SG and even went so far as to say OG.. but the experts here told me he was a PG.. as if he was born that way.  And yes, you have to be born that way. 

But that's not the question.  The question is can he manage the game?  I think he can.  I wondered why earlier he wasn't getting burn when the games didn't mean as much.   I think he does play perimeter defense and we have to see about his managing ability.  Maybe we play him off the bench in a 2 OG set.   But instead of Lou, put him out there with Skylar until Reef is ready. 

 

Somehow, we must become like GS.  Not in how they play but in how they develop players.   This is their biggest strength.   To see what they did with Poole, Wiggins, and even Russell is a credit to their coaching staff and their players.  Right now, Development seems to be where we are failing the most.   We need some of the GS secret sauce. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

Woke up still angry. We got to get Trae some help. The only player in NBA history to go for 56 and 14 in a game and we still lost. Lou Williams does not need to ever play again. He is beyond done. Gallo at least can score points but he gives you zero defense. Lou can't score OR play defense. You can't have that.

On my way to work listening to NBA radio, they couldn't stop talking about . . . . Ja Morant.

Now granted, he balled out last night.  But Trae's performance was only briefly talked about because he lost, and because he lost to a Portland team without their stars.

What should've been a Trae and the Hawks celebration today, is an afterthought to most in the media who didn't see how great he was last night.   It's a shame.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

16 minutes ago, ATLHawks3 said:

I'm really convinced that Delon Wright is miscast a backup point guard, and should instead be a wing. He has no natural point guard feel to his game at all. 

100% agree..

[kg01]

13 minutes ago, Diesel said:

With 3 starters not playing... I think we did well offensively.. better than well.. damn good. 

Defense.  With 3 starters not playing and several guys out. ...the defense will struggle.   We're trying to make up for lack of personnel by putting bad lineups on the floor because they are regulars.

 

To elaborate on what I was saying, due to the way the game was going, the scoring drought at the beginning of the 4th ultimately is what lost us the game.

Yes, in general, the defense thing is a thing.  But to me, from a coaching standpoint, they gotta be able to diagnose that tryna chase stops with weird defensive lineups wasn't the way to go.  Based on how the game was going, Trae needed to play as close to 48 as humanly possible.

No, that's not ideal. But, yes, that was ideal for last night. Because they decided to be robots, they lost us the game.

Are there overriding issues, in general, that need to be addressed?  Obviously, yes.  But it wasn't gonna get fixed last night.  So they needed to do what needed to be done to get outta there with a w.  They didn't.

[Diesel]

5 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

The 10 dayers get a A- grade from me, for the time they were here.  They played about as well as they could play. It's the main rotation players that are killing us. 

• Gallo going 3 - 14 as the main scoring option on the 2nd unit, cannot happen
• Trae, Cam, and Clint going 3 - 18 in the first half of a game, cannot happen. 
• Delon looking like a deer in headlight every time he needs to be decisive in his decision making, cannot happen.
• Our wings not being able to rebound or get any steals, cannot happen. 
• The wide open looks given up by some of our main players, cannot happen

And then the coaches have to prove that they can make the right decisions with the lineups, even if it means extending the minutes of players ( whether they be starters or bench guys ), who are making winning type plays.  The set rotations MUST STOP.   These guys need to coach by the feel of the game, and not by making sure a particular guy gets his minutes.

You mean like dudes who couldn't hit free throws?  Guys who missed bunnies?  I need to stop your agenda for a second.  Some of the 10 dayers played well.   Lance and Chandee to be exact.   Lluwanda too.  But others sucked. 

About our main guys... it's a chain reaction.   you did notice that we had to rely on zone defense with the 10 dayers.   Zone defense to a NBA team is like Daying playing against his 10 year old.   Offensive agendas against us are this:

1.  Crowd and overpower the Center. 

2.  Get Clint to move out of position. 

3.  Get Trae on a mismatch. 

All of our defensive plans revolves around preventing #3.   Watch Tre on defense.  When he comes down, he darts to the worst offensive player.   That works well in a halfcourt set.. but there are some teams that move without the ball, that plays uptempo... and those teams give our defense trouble. 

Then there are some lineups that we should never play also.   Prunty put Gallo, Trae, and Kev on the floor together.  Don't do that.  Kev has a type of Baze fake defense.  He will get beat.  He will miss an assignment.   Sometimes he will look good because he's overplaying his man.. but on a clear out he will get beat.  When his man is the screener, sometimes he doesn't know where to go.   Gallo on the other hand, may know exactly what to do.. but the effort is not there.  Inside he plays with his hands and less with his body.  You can't put those two on the floor with Trae. One is fine but both?  For all the crap that Clint gets on this board many of you don't see Clint covering a multitude of sins.   For all the crap that solo would get playing... people never saw him on defense (obviously).   He was not a flashy defender, but he knew where to be and how to cover for others. 

OO may be on restriction.   OO is a great relief for Clint.   JC for as much crap as he gets and as much bad press he got coming into the league shows you what effort on defense can do. 

Don't blame the starters when we have a bunch of new faces out there. Just be patient.

 

 

 

[Diesel]

12 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

On my way to work listening to NBA radio, they couldn't stop talking about . . . . Ja Morant.

Now granted, he balled out last night.  But Trae's performance was only briefly talked about because he lost, and because he lost to a Portland team without their stars.

What should've been a Trae and the Hawks celebration today, is an afterthought to most in the media who didn't see how great he was last night.   It's a shame.

Well, the other thing is that the media hates Trae. 

Listen to them talk about Trae... there's a lot of "he's alright" in their voice.   They rarely recognize his greatness...  I mean honestly, when there's no undeniable proof like us putting NY and Philly out of the playoffs... what good things are the media saying about Trae.   Do they put him on a League MVP level in conversation?

I've heard Steph called Early season MVP.
I've heard Lebron called Early Season MVP.

I've heard Durant called Early season MVP. 

But for as banged up as we have been... Statwise Trae has a foot in the door.  Yet nobody will say a word about Trae.  Jalen Brown gets more converage.  Jason Tatum gets more Tawk.

 

 

[terrell]

First job of Landry Fields is to find a backup PG.. Schlenk cant obviously....

[terrell]

8 hours ago, NBASupes said:

TLC sucks. He occasionally can shoot threes but his defense is mid af. Iwundu proved to be better in his short time here just with his defense alone which is very good for a wing.

How can we see it, but they cant? Our front office is wetting the bed constantly...

[macdaddy]

1 minute ago, Diesel said:

Well, the other thing is that the media hates Trae. 

Listen to them talk about Trae... there's a lot of "he's alright" in their voice.   They rarely recognize his greatness...  I mean honestly, when there's no undeniable proof like us putting NY and Philly out of the playoffs... what good things are the media saying about Trae.   Do they put him on a League MVP level in conversation?

I've heard Steph called Early season MVP.
I've heard Lebron called Early Season MVP.

I've heard Durant called Early season MVP. 

But for as banged up as we have been... Statwise Trae has a foot in the door.  Yet nobody will say a word about Trae.  Jalen Brown gets more converage.  Jason Tatum gets more Tawk.

 

 

I don't really like the constant Luka/Trae talk but let's call it what it is.   If Luka had Trae's numbers this year then he'd be the front runner

[Diesel]

9 minutes ago, kg01 said:

To elaborate on what I was saying, due to the way the game was going, the scoring drought at the beginning of the 4th ultimately is what lost us the game.

Yes, in general, the defense thing is a thing.  But to me, from a coaching standpoint, they gotta be able to diagnose that tryna chase stops with weird defensive lineups wasn't the way to go.  Based on how the game was going, Trae needed to play as close to 48 as humanly possible.

No, that's not ideal. But, yes, that was ideal for last night. Because they decided to be robots, they lost us the game.

Are there overriding issues, in general, that need to be addressed?  Obviously, yes.  But it wasn't gonna get fixed last night.  So they needed to do what needed to be done to get outta there with a w.  They didn't.

Imma disagree here. 

Both in the Cleveland game and  last night's game.. Trae was gassed.  I mean he was tired... and I don't blame him.  He's carrying quite the load.  Nobody ever realizes how hard it is for a team to come back from a deficit.   We spent the whole 2nd and 3rd quarter trying to come back from a deficit that we fell into because Portland hit 50% from three in the first quarter.  That takes a lot out of a team.  We had the will to win but we didn't have the pieces.   Obviously, our lineups sucked but you got to give Trae rest so that you can get that push at the end.

The thing is... Yall thought I was joking talking about Simons and playing for his grandfather.   I was not.  I have seen guys play better in grief.   Hell, Buster Douglass knocked out Mike Tyson... in grief.  CP3 put up 63 points in memory of his grandfather in grief.   And last night Simons hit 9 3 pters in grief.   Our defense was a little porous but what the game.. some of those shots was with a hand in his face. 

[Diesel]

5 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

I don't really like the constant Luka/Trae talk but let's call it what it is.   If Luka had Trae's numbers this year then he'd be the front runner

Luka has good numbers.  I don't know them by hard but they aren't bad for as out of shape as he is... but yeah... the media love Luka. 

 

[terrell]

5 hours ago, Peoriabird said:

Who is blaming Trae? I'm blaming the approach that you support which is go all offense and no defense. These fing small line ups are just plain stupid.

Funny you always talk defense when John Collins, who gets blown by constantly on the perimeter and bullied down low, is your favorite player... But whatever..

Edited January 4, 2022 by terrell

[JayBirdHawk]

The inability to adjust to game circumstances is mind numbingly BAD!

Prunty’s decision to leave Gallinari in with under a minute to go and the Hawks having already made a defensive substitution to get Young off the floor was puzzling and a moment that essentially iced the game for the Blazers. The Hawks were down two when Nurkic blew by Gallinari for an easy layup and a foul. Atlanta never had an opportunity to tie or take the lead with one possession after that.

The Hawks could have put Onyeka Okongwu, a much better defender, into the game instead of Gallinari but it wasn’t a consideration, according to Prunty. (WHY THE HELL NOT!) #That'sTheRotation - SMDH

“We had our coverage on how we wanted to play it,” Prunty said. “Assignment-wise, we probably weren’t where we needed to be. We could’ve done a better job on that specific possession. The assignment whether it was a pick-and-roll or post-up wasn’t going to change, and we were late. We were late in a lot of situations, and that’s why they ended up with 136. That was a big play. We didn’t get the stop, (Nurkic) got out of it, they made the pass, he got from above the 3-point line to above the rim. That’s not acceptable.”

Another recurring theme all season happened to start the fourth quarter. The Hawks went from leading 105-100 to start the fourth to being down 112-107 before Young was reinserted into the game with 7:40 left. The Hawks have an offensive rating of 117.1 with Young on the floor this season (which would be the best offense in the NBA) and a 100.2 offensive rating when Young sits. The on-off splits in Young’s career when he’s on the bench are startling. It was supposed to be fixed this season with Delon Wright, but he’s not a scorer or facilitator; he’s better suited in an off-ball role. Williams is not a traditional point guard either, and he’s mostly been a liability on both ends - he's cooked ( I added this)

[terrell]

3 hours ago, mrhonline said:

He's frustrated with the defensive effort and implies he's overrated some of the players on the team. 

I said a lot of our players(and some of the core) were overrated a while ago... Hell, Travis is overrated too..... Glad he's finally noticing though..

Edited January 4, 2022 by terrell

[Atlantaholic]

36 minutes ago, ATLHawks3 said:

I'm really convinced that Delon Wright is miscast a backup point guard, and should instead be a wing. He has no natural point guard feel to his game at all. 

I always felt Wright's best minutes would be filling in on the wing if(when) we had some injuries. I know everyone is clamoring for a backup PG, but that isn't a huge need with Trae playing 35 mins a game. Wright is capapble of filling those 10-15 mins, even if he isn't very good offensively at that position, and it's not a big problem.

As far as alternatives, not sure what is out there for the getting. Campazzo, or Mcconnel maybe? Both of those will have some of the same issues Wright is having at PG in our offense though, in that neither is a good spot up shooter. Defensively not sure they are upgrades, and on top of that neither is capable of giving us a single minute on the wing so we would be making a move for a player that will play 13 mins a game at most. Pat Bev, Caruso and the elite defensive PGs are not going to be available unless we obscenely overpay. 

[terrell]

2 hours ago, bleachkit said:

One team that's really playing well, the Grizzlies. Even when Ja was out they were winning. 

I had Maxey(my guy) or Cole Anthony(Supes guy) and Desmond Bane in my mock had we traded down with Boston instead of picking at #6..... He'd be a great fit with Trae.. (And Cole/Maxey would be a fire backup for us).....So would Dillon Brooks..who Travis passed on for his teammate Tyler Dorsey.. smdh

Edited January 4, 2022 by terrell

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

LOL . . Spud hit him with the closed caption text.   That's some next level fact checking right there.

[Spud2nique]

I read all the above and all your comments people, you are as confused as my color matching shoes and socks  

Go Hawks! #whennewschoolmeetsOG

ps Runnin through these hoes like Brandon Jacobs bizzies. Somebody is about to git dey feelins hurt I’m mad  

 

[kg01]

6 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

I read all the above and all your comments people, you are as confused as my color matching shoes and socks  

Go Hawks! #whennewschoolmeetsOG

ps Runnin through these hoes like Brandon Jacobs bizzies. Somebody is about to git dey feelins hurt I’m mad  

 

Get 'em, spud ... oh.  Ohhhhhh ....

... bottoms!