RECAP: Hawks win! Hawks win!

Bo Churney —  March 11, 2014 — Leave a comment

FINAL

UTA(22-44) 110 – 112 (27-35)ATL

Key Performers:
K. Korver (ATL): 26 pts, 2 reb, 2 stl
T. Burke (UTA): 23 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast
[FULL BOX SCORE]

First half was great. The Hawks led 59-44 at halftime and they were clicking in every aspect of the game. However, the Jazz rallied and scored 36 points in the third quarter to take the lead, exposing what has been the worst defense in the league since the All-Star break. Luckily, the Hawks were able to make a rally of their own behind the efforts of Elton Brand, DeMarre Carroll, and Kyle Korver, who has hit his last seven three-point attempts, including a 30-footer in the third quarter off this game that helped stop some of the bleeding by the team at that time. And yes, the Hawks won! This break their six-game losing streak, though they have still lost 14 of their last 16. That said, it will be good for the team to return home from the roadtrip off of a win.

Reaction Grades: [assessed 0-10]

Paul Millsap: In his first game back in Utah, Millsap played extremely well, putting up 23 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Paul had spent his first seven seasons in Utah, so this was definitely a game that he likely had circled on his calendar from day one. Another thing of note: the Hawks’ defense when Paul Millsap isn’t on the floor… not so great. 8/10

Jeff Teague: Jeff’s stats are a little misleading; yes, he did get to the line nine times, making seven of them, but six of those attempts came in the fourth quarter when Utah was playing the foul game. And for good measure, Jeff even missed two of those six to give Utah a little hope at the end. For the record, Trey Burke made a three as time expired, so the game was really 112-107, but it still shouldn’t have been this close. Jeff needs to be more aggressive on both sides of the floor, as the defensive troubles that have been giving the Hawks fits lately all start with him. 5/10

Pero Antic: Add Derrick Favors to the list of players that Pero has tricked with his pump-fake, as Pero took advantage of Favors at least three or four times. Pero did have 12 points on eight shots, but he was also a bit of a problem on the defensive side of the ball; Pero can play well in one-on-one situations, but he can also get lost a lot when the opposing team has the momentum and is forcing a lot of rotations from the defense. 6.5/10

DeMarre Carroll: Like Paul, this was also DeMarre’s first trip back to his former stomping grounds. He hit three triples for the game, showing off his improved shooting stroke to his old team. DeMarre’s night was pretty much in line with his season averages: 11 points and six boards, but he added four dimes for good measure. 8/10

Kyle Korver: And finally, the last former Jazz player that is now on the Hawks. Korver had a game-high 26 points, with that number coming off of only 12 shot attempts. Simply put, Korver was the team’s offense for the night; whenever the team needed a bucket, Korver went and got it, which is somewhat strange, as Korver isn’t usually the game that actually GOES to get buckets. 9/10 Continue Reading…

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“Wheel” Proposal Would Turn NBA Into English Premiere League

Buddy Grizzard —  March 11, 2014 — 2 Comments

Tanking, and ways to eliminate it, were hot topics at the recent Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at MIT. One proposal, known as the “wheel,” would eliminate the NBA’s draft lottery and replace it with a fixed system to distribute draft position. The proposal would disincentivize tanking, but it might also widen the gap between the haves and have-nots of the NBA.

The wheel proposal was developed by Boston Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren. Over a 30-year period, each NBA team would pick once at each of the 30 1st-round draft positions. The draft order would be staggered so that every team would have a top-6 pick at least once every five years.

Such a system would, over time, award incoming talent to all teams roughly equally. As such, it would remove any incentive to lose. Since draft positions are fixed, teams would no longer be motivated to lose games to try to get higher draft position. Continue Reading…

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RECAP: Clippers 109, Hawks 108

Bo Churney —  March 9, 2014 — Leave a comment

FINAL

LAC(44-20) 109 – 108 (26-35)ATL

Key Performers:
B. Griffin (LAC): 27 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast
K. Korver (ATL): 17 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl
[FULL BOX SCORE]

Another depressing loss for the Hawks, who just can’t seem to catch a lucky break over this stretch of 14 losses in 15 games. The Hawks were doing well in the first half — forcing turnovers and making the extra pass — but definitely left the Clippers open far too often. In the second half, it was more of the Blake Griffin show, as Griffin bullied his way to a game-high 27 points against whoever the Hawks threw at him. The Hawks still had a chance to win or tie late, however, but Jeff Teague missed a free throw with 1.2 seconds left that doomed the Hawks.

Reaction Grades: [assessed 0-10]

Paul Millsap: Once again, Millsap’s defensive presence was welcomed back as he was forcing a lot of turnovers (five steals), but in the man-to-man concept, he could not contain Blake Griffin; Blake is just too big and too athletic for Millsap, who boasts decent size and ability himself. On the other end, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan also did a good job at keeping Millsap away from the rim. 6/10

Jeff Teague: Jeff… Jeffrey… just… how? Jeff had a nice floater to tie the game at 107, but with the chance to tie the game and likely head into overtime, Teague choked on the first free throw by missing, then again on the second by inadvertently making it. (he actually banked it in!) For his entire game, there wasn’t much to be impressed with, as to put it simply, Jeff Teague is not as good as Chris Paul. 4/10

Pero Antic: Pero was re-inserted back into the starting lineup, finally giving the Hawks their regular post-Horford injury lineup for the first time since January. Pero was a key offensive player, as he scored 16 points and made three three-pointers, forcing the Clippers to extend out to the arc to cover him. 7/10

DeMarre Carroll: DeMarre actually did extremely well, scoring 19 points on 14 shots. However, even with that efficient performance, I’m still not sold on DeMarre Carroll being the team’s leading shot taker. Sure, it almost worked here, but the point is that the team shouldn’t be at a point to where it is looking at DeMarre to make things happen off of the dribble. 7/10

Kyle Korver: Believe it or not, the Clippers did a good job and keeping Korver contained for most of the game. Kyle did have 17 points, but he only took seven shots, making six. Some may see this as a failure, but keeping Korver to just seven shots when he’s hitting like that is actually better than you might thing. Kyle was also making a lot of the right passes, coming up with six assists against only two turnovers. 7.5/10 Continue Reading…

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RECAP: Warriors 111, Hawks 97

Chris Barnewall —  March 8, 2014 — Leave a comment

FINAL

GSW(39-24) 111 – 97 (26-34)ATL   

Key Performers:
P. Millsap (ATL): 16 pts, 7 reb
D. Lee (GSW): 18 pts, 6 reb
[FULL BOX SCORE]

Would you believe me if I told you the score is actually closer than the game made it appear? Cause this was a Warriors dominated game and the score doesn’t do justice to how much the Warriors dominated. It started off not too bad for the Hawks. They kept it close and even managed to grab the lead a couple times. They were clearly improved thanks to having Millsap out there. However, at the end of the 2nd quarter the Warriors went on a 15-4 run and never looked back. Their lead only got bigger as the game went on, by the end of the 3rd quarter they led by 20 points. It was clearly over by the start of the 4th, they just had to go through the motions. Rough loss for Millsap’s return but the Hawks at least looked better with him than they did without him.

Reaction Grades: [assessed 0-10]

Paul Millsap: Millsap clearly made the Hawks better. Funny, you add an all star back into the lineup and the team improves a lot, who knew. Even then, Millsap had his struggles. You could see a little bit of rust on him from his 6 turnovers. Millsap struggled on defense being forced to guard David Lee and Andrew Bogut. Lee’s speed and Bogut’s size caused problems for Millsap throughout the night. 6/10

Jeff Teague: Teague struggled all night and I can’t really explain way. He just didn’t play well. The Warriors have a good defense but I was still surprised to see him struggle like this. He couldn’t find his way to the line or make much damage with his jumpshot. Was a complete non factor. 3/10

Pero Antic:Solid game shooting wise from Antic. He went 4-for-8 from the field and scored 10 points. However I gotta dock him for only grabbing 2 rebounds. 5/10

DeMarre Carroll: Carroll went 5-for-7 from the field, didn’t turn the ball over at all, grabbed 5 rebounds, and played strong defense most of the night. Iguodala is a handful and he did what he could on him. 8/10

Kyle Korver: Korver’s rough stretch of games continues. Even with Millsap back to take some of the pressure off Korver, he still couldn’t find very many open shots. Was hounded all night long and looked frustrated. Took him 7 shots to get 7 points, not good. On the plus side, the streak starts again! He’s at 1, only 126 to go. 2/10 Continue Reading…

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Paul Millsap will play against Warriors

Chris Barnewall —  March 7, 2014 — Leave a comment

After what has felt like an eternity, the Hawks appear to finally be returning to health. Hawks forward Paul Millsap will return to action tonight against the Warriors according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Before his injury Millsap was averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds a game with a PER of 19.8. Millsap had a True Shooting percentage of 54% and was a huge part of keeping the Hawks afloat when Horford went down for the season. Millsap stepped into his new role as the #1 scoring option and played at an all star level. This was recognized by coaches earning him a spot in this year’s all star game.

This is fantastic news for a Hawks team that has been suffering with injuries to their front court throughout February. Hawks forward Pero Antic returned to action the other night against the Blazers and now the Hawks, while not at full strength are a little better off than they were previously. While there is sadly no hope of getting centers Al Horford and Gustavo Ayon back, no longer should we have to see Elton Brand playing 40 minute nights. This will also take a little pressure off of 10 day contract signings like Mike Muscala who has been asked to do a lot more than usually expected of a 10 day contract signing due to these injuries

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#KyleStreak’s Final Chapter

Bo Churney —  March 6, 2014 — 3 Comments

without-an-accident2

“That boy is our last hope.” -Obi Wan Kenobi

Two seasons. 127 games. 337 three-point field goals. And thousands and thousands of off-ball screens.

And now the end.

Kyle Korver’s 0-for-5 performance from behind the arc against the Trail Blazers on Wednesday marked the first time he played a game without making a three-pointer since November 2, 2012. That game was against the Houston Rockets, Korver’s first game in a Hawk uniform after being acquired from the Chicago Bulls that summer. Continue Reading…

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RECAP: Blazers 102, Hawks 78

Chris Barnewall —  March 6, 2014 — 1 Comment

FINAL

POR(42-19) 102 – 78 (26-33)ATL   

Key Performers:
N. Batum (POR): 14 pts, 18 reb
C. Martin (ATL): 16 pts, 6 reb, 3 stl
[FULL BOX SCORE]

You know…nobody actually expected the Hawks to win this game. There was a hope that they might be able to pull out an upset thanks to their ball movement and 3 point shooting. The Blazers aren’t exactly a good defensive team, maybe if the ball is moving fast enough and the shots are falling then they have a chance. Of course, it didn’t go that way. I feel this tweet from @fergoe on twitter describes it perfectly.

Of course the Hawks had to lay a giant egg on national TV. It’s the Hawks way. Yes, the Blazers were a better team but when they start off the game missing every single wide open look created, you know they’re about to do something awful.

Reaction grades [assessed 0-10]:

Jeff Teague: Teague really tried to be aggressive tonight. He attacked his defenders, he was trying to move the ball and get the offense going during some of the lowest moments of the game. I’ll give him points for trying but he was largely unsuccessful at it. To top everything off he had a pass that’s up there for one of the worst ones all season. Not a good game by any stretch. 3/10

DeMarre Carroll: Carroll had a horrible game on the offensive side of the ball. Was extremely overmatched by anybody that happened to be guarding him. On defense he struggled keeping up with his matchups off ball. He did his usual things like rebound and set screens but he just didn’t have enough of a positive contribution to justify giving him a good grade. 4/10

Kyle Korver: The streak is over at 127. Korver was swarmed by defenders and couldn’t hit the few open looks he got. That’s it for how his game went. I just want to say how cool it was to see someone on a night to night basis make NBA history. I got to see Korver set the record to triple digits in person when he was in Orlando and it’s a basketball memory I’m going to always remember. I’m honestly bummed his streak had to end, but all streaks have to end eventually. :(/10

Elton Brand:If one good thing came out of tonight, it’s that Elton Brand didn’t have to play another huge minute night. 20 minutes where Brand went 3-for-6 from the field. On defense he was a large part of holding LaMarcus Aldridge to 1-for-13 shooting and deserves tons of credit for that. 7/10

Mike Scott: Scott couldn’t get anything going all night on offense. LaMarcus Aldrige and Robin Lopez shut him down. On the other side of things, Scott worked with Brand to make sure Aldridge didn’t score himself so he gets points for that. 5/10 Continue Reading…

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Hawks Need Some Wins From Road Trip

Chris Barnewall —  March 5, 2014 — Leave a comment

The injured Hawks started their west coast road trip with a loss against the Phoenix Suns. While losing to the Suns is not a bad thing these days, it’s the overall picture that makes it a rough loss. The Hawks have lost 11 of their last 12 largely due to injuries and tired legs. February and March is a rough time for any NBA team. Throw in injuries and you’re gonna have some problems. That’s why this upcoming road trip is so huge for the Hawks. They don’t have to win every single game, but a single win over the next three could go a long way.

It won’t be an easy road with the Hawks playing in Portland tonight to take on the Blazers. While Portland has appeared to have fallen back down to earth a bit, they are still one of the better teams in the NBA using an arsenal of – point shooters. They use LaMarcus Aldridge and his mid-range shooting ability to space the floor for their 3-point shooters. The Blazers problem is their defense is far from good and their bench isn’t that great.

Were the Hawks at full strength I’d say they had a really good chance at winning and possibly even be the favorites. However, no Horford, Millsap likely out, no Antic, and no Ayon, leaves them in a tight spot. They finally have three big men on the roster, but they’ve gone from having two all stars, a serviceable vet in Elton Brand, and a serviceable rookie to playing the vet major minutes while trying to scrape by on big men that were at the end of the bench earlier in the season. That is not an ideal situation for any team. Continue Reading…

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RECAP: Suns 129, Hawks 120

David Vertsberger —  March 3, 2014 — Leave a comment

FINAL

PHX(35-24) 129 – 120 (26-32)ATL

Key Performers:
G. Green (PHX): 33 pts, 3 reb
J. Teague (ATL): 29 pts, 6 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl
[FULL BOX SCORE]

That looked a little too much like a video game. Threes were being jacked up to no end (55 combined), Gerald Green defied every physical law in the book and the final score was reminiscent of an All-Star game. The Hawks were on the wrong end of this barnburner, falling victim to their own poor transition defense and allowing Phoenix to get out to an early first half lead. In the third quarter, the law of averages caught up to the Suns, who finally began missing some wide open looks. Atlanta cut their deficit to just one before subsequently giving up a 7-1 run, eventually keeping out of reach through the fourth quarter. There were some bright spots, however. Mike Muscala made his NBA debut, Jeff Teague had another strong offensive outing and in general the Hawks challenged a Western Conference Playoff team without their two best players, as well as Pero Antic.

Reaction grades [assessed 0-10]:

Jeff Teague: In arguably his best game of the season, Jeff Teague dropped 29 points, had nine assists and collected six boards on 14-21 shooting from the field. What stood out was ultimately what he’s lacked when playing badly: aggressiveness. Teague was pedal to the medal, heading all the way to the basket at every opportunity. A look at the shot chart confirms what my eye test saw, Teague took few jumpers. Four to be exact, with two around the free throw line. Teague also came up with a huge block on Shavlik Randolph in the closing quarter, topping off an inspiring performance by the enthused Teague. 10/10

DeMarre Carroll: Carroll was a bit out of place tonight, with the Suns pace seemingly being too much for him to handle. He wasn’t able to cause as much havoc on the defensive end as he normally does, but the major issue was on the offensive side of the ball. The up-and-down flow of the game had Carroll trying to do things with the basketball he shouldn’t, even though his statistics didn’t prove to be too poor at all: 3-5 shooting, 10 points. This just wasn’t Carroll’s cup of tea. 5/10

Kyle Korver: The streak is off to 126, as Kyle got that problem out of the way rather early. He hit four threes against the Celtics and finished with 17 points overall. He also had a weird, Dream Shake-ish looking up-and-under in the third quarter that I didn’t even know Kyle was capable of doing. 7/10

Elton Brand: Brand’s lack of mobility indirectly lead to the extra help by his teammates leading to the barrage of Phoenix treys, but he didn’t struggle with defending the interior when in the right spot or nailing his short mid-range jumpers. Brand was actually second on the team in +/- with a +2, scoring 13 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. 8/10

Mike Scott: Scott picked up the shooting slack with Millsap out of commission tonight, putting up a wholesome 18 field goal tries – half of which were threes – in a whopping 40 minutes of action. He connected on eight shots to finish with 20 points, a strong outing considering he’s taken this many shots in a game just once before in his entire career. He also contributed with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. 8/10 Continue Reading…

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Hawks Officially Sign Mike Muscala

Buddy Grizzard —  February 27, 2014 — 1 Comment

Hawks GM Danny Ferry has addressed the glaring need in the Hawks’ power rotation with one of the most promising big men in Europe. Former 2nd-round pick Mike Muscala departs the Spanish ACB League, widely considered to be the 2nd-best professional basketball league in the world after the NBA, as its leading rebounder and 7th-ranked scorer.

HawksHoop recently pondered if Ferry’s inactivity indicated that the team had thrown in the towel on this season. The decision to buy out Muscala’s contract with Blusens Monbus Obradoiro and bring him to the Hawks a half-season early answers that question with a resounding no.

Center Dexter Pittman, recently signed on a 10-day contract, was released to open a roster spot for Muscala. With Atlanta’s front line decimated by injuries, Muscala figures to get plenty of playing time on the upcoming Western Conference road swing. We should know shortly if Muscala’s meteoric rise in the ACB league will translate to becoming a rotation NBA player.

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