Official Game Thread: Hawks at Rockets -- The Regular Season Finale!

[lethalweapon3]

“Y’all don’t talk about me? No? No? No? No???”

 

Please join me as we happily close the books on what has been a miserable, rotten, no-good regular season.

I’m not even talking myopically about our Hawks, as if you’ve been around this sports town long enough, you already know nothing gold can stay. (btw, get well soon, Josef!)

No, I join The Commissioner as he looks forlornly upon what has happened to The Association. He gets paid the big bucks to put on a good face, but Adam Silver wishes he could tear his hair out over all the bigger bucks the teams and players are collectively burning.

You get used to hearing the phrase, “Billable hours! Billable hours!” in my line of work. NBA players don’t get paid hourly wages, thankfully, but let’s call their production time, “baller minutes lost.” Just go across the league to see how much more talent and competitive play the NBA fans have had to do without. It’s easier to go in order of salaries from top to bottom to assess the scale of “BML.”

Yes, there are legitimate injuries, although teams have been allowed to be less than forthcoming about the arcs of recovery for their marquee players, from Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal to Jamal Murray. Still, could the Hawks have spooked Ben Simmons that badly? Kawhat? Kawho? Anthony Day-to-Davis? Can Jonathan Isaac simply go on to get his new bag and get it over with? And what is the deal with Zatarain’s Williamson?

Oh, yeah, one more. When was the last time anyone saw the shadow of John Wall? If we get stuck with a few more weeks of wintry weather, we’ll know he’s finally seen it.

Wall got $44 million to get ghost this season, and he’ll get paid $47 million, either lump-sum or spread out, when he opts in for GM Rafael Stone’s Rockets next season. That’s not bad for the former Best Point Guard in the East. It is bad, though, for fans who deserve to watch him play, somewhere, and not just burning holes through their favorite team’s cap sheet.

The quest for Stone to keep this team young and gunning, but clueless enough under coach Stephen Silas’ watch to imperil lottery odds, affects not just veterans like Wall. The second and third highest-paid Rockets, Eric Gordon and Christian Wood, have been conveniently shut down.

Daniel Theis was air-mailed back to Boston at the Trade Deadline, and of the three players brought back, Enes was granted his Freedom, while our old friend Dennis Schröder is left to wonder how things might have gone had he not bet on himself to leave the Lakers (all things considered, maybe it was for the best).

The sole member of that trade trio who is likely to grace the floor for Silas today (3:30 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, AT&T SportsNet in HTX) is another chum, one not-so-old. Bruno Fernando hasn’t appeared on-court in over a week, but Silas did feature him in a pair of must-lose home games versus the Kangz, where he compiled 40 points, four blocks and 17 rebounds.

Bruno won’t need to do much today for Houston (20-61), but his incremental contributions, should the Hawks (42-39) half-tailfeather their way through today’s proceedings, might become the reason why they’ll have to play an elimination game in a town that begins with the letter C.

Today’s season-ending game from H-Town's side of the equation is simple. Kevin Porter, Jr. is going to get his, in the form of 30 points, whether it takes 30-plus combined shots or not to get there (last 6 games: 29.2 PPG and 7.7 APG, 49.2/38.5/86.7 shooting splits). Same get-mine deal, if he can go, for rookie Jalen Green (questionable, non-You Know What illness).

The Rockets made the VanVleet-less Raptors fight to the bitter end in Toronto on Friday, falling by just a 117-115 score, and while Green was laboring in that contest, he has been dueling with KPJ for the scoring lead in the prior seven contests (29.1 PPG, 49.0/45.0/79.3 splits). For Atlanta, it’s a matter of who, be it Alpo Sengun, Bruno, Jae’Sean Tate, Garrison Mathews and the like, do they allow to go off and surge the high-tempo Rockets (101.2 Pace, 2^nd in NBA) into the 120-point stratosphere.

A more focused all-around effort than exhibited at the close of Friday’s loss in Miami, from De’Andre “Car 54” Hunter and the Hawks, would be enough to keep the Rockets’ offense reasonably grounded. I’d get into the particulars, but I’m already in Play-In mode. I am more interested in just balling up this regular season and putting it in the rubbish.

Mr. Janitor, sir, would you mind tossing this here seas– oh, please forgive me, Mr. Wall, I didn’t recognize you!

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Y'all see what I'm talking about? It's been that kind of a season. Throw the whole thing away.

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

"Uh-oh, Scenarios!"

 

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

"Uh-oh, Scenarios!"

 

~lw3

 

(not sexually) 

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Mr. Janitor, sir, would you mind tossing this here seas– oh, please forgive me, Mr. Wall, I didn’t recognize you!

 Thank you @lethalweapon3 for 82 wonderful threads to get us going all year.

Looking forward to the play in threads! 
 

Go Hawks!!!

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Kawhat?

 

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Kawho?

 

1 hour ago, lethalweapon3 said:

Alpo Sengun,

Footwork like a poor man’s kg, not our kg.

LETS GO HAWKS!!! FINISH STRONG  
 

SHOW ME YOUR MEAN FACE @lethalweapon3, SHOW ME A MEAN FACE!

[Dnice]

I hope they don't get burned like the game at Atlanta.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

 

[terrell]

Bucks are resting everyone vs Cleveland...... 9th or 10th seed here we come.. Thanks Bud..

[benhillboy]

I never get to see Wood, intrigued to see how his game is currently.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, benhillboy said:

I never get to see Wood, intrigued to see how his game is currently.

I'm not touching that sentence ...

[benhillboy]

8 minutes ago, LongTimeFan said:

I'm not touching that sentence ...

I figured @Spud2nique would be the one lol.

But yeah CHRISTIAN MARQUIS Wood is out with a hamstring anyway.  I don’t know who any of these Rockets dudes are.  I just know a few of em can jump and got NBA pops’.

[Guest]

Cleveland is already roasting a "G League" Bucks team.  Looks like we're in 9th or 10th.

[benhillboy]

The Rockets are horrible.  The only time we’ll see Clint score on a baseline cut is maybe the remainder of this game.

Them some dedicated fans out there boy. 

Edited April 10, 2022 by benhillboy

[NBASupes]

I am glad I didn't buy tickets for this game. This looks awful

[NBASupes]

4 minutes ago, LongTimeFan said:

Cleveland is already roasting a "G League" Bucks team.  Looks like we're in 9th or 10th.

I never had a doubt we were 9th seed when I saw Bud tanking which is how he f***ed us when NY got the 4th seed but we took care of business 

26 minutes ago, benhillboy said:

I never get to see Wood, intrigued to see how his game is currently.

I watch him often. He adds offensive value but he miss way too many defensive rotations for anyone liking 

[JeffS17]

7 minutes ago, LongTimeFan said:

Cleveland is already roasting a "G League" Bucks team.  Looks like we're in 9th or 10th.

What is the scenario for 9th versus 10th?  If CLT wins we're 10th?

[benhillboy]

Bruh the rockets defense is upsetting me

[Guest]

Just now, JeffS17 said:

What is the scenario for 9th versus 10th?  If CLT wins we're 10th?

CLT is 9th only if we lose today.