Archives For Atlanta Hawks

Futures of Harris, Tolliver, and Pachulia

Bo Churney —  May 21, 2013 — 1 Comment

The Hawks have a lot of decisions to make this offseason. From choosing a new coach to attempting to lure Chris Paul or Dwight Howard, GM Danny Ferry has a lot of stuff on his desk to tackle.

However, what’s to become of the lesser free agents that are currently still on Atlanta’s roster? While many are focusing on the big names, the Hawks will still need a group of solid bench players to fill out next season’s roster.

So who should they keep?

It’s already well known that the team wants Kyle Korver, so I will skip over him. It’s also likely that the Hawks will let go of DeShawn Stevenson, as he showed severe signs of decline this year and has a non-guaranteed contract. Ivan Johnson can still be tendered with a qualifying offer. Mike Scott and Shelvin Mack will be on Atlanta’s Summer League squad, and figure to be in the mix as cheap sign-ees over the summer.

The players I am most interested in are Devin Harris, Anthony Tolliver, and Zaza Pachulia. Not only are these guys still productive, but they are also likely to attract attention from other teams.

Starting with Harris, I think he’s still got a lot left in him if he can stay relatively healthy. (i.e. 60+ games a season) Despite battling injuries this year, he was still able to put up 10 points and three assists a game on good enough shooting percentages. He’s also a plus-defender and was one of the most important players on the Hawks in terms of on/off efficiency. With this class of free agents and the importance of having a serviceable back up point guard, Devin is likely in the market for a decent chuck of cash, around $5 million per season. Continue Reading…

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HawksHoop Hangout: The Offseason

Bo Churney —  May 19, 2013 — 3 Comments

We will be going live at 1PM to discuss the last series against the Pacers, the current search for a head coach, and of course, free agency!

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Keeping Drew?

Bo Churney —  May 16, 2013 — 4 Comments

It has been almost two weeks since the Hawks’ season ended… and Larry Drew is still under contract. To me, this is a huge surprise.

Now, I think Drew is a good coach, but with his contract coming to an end, I figured the Hawks would have gotten rid of him already. It seemed like GM Danny Ferry would want to hire his own guy and would have sent Drew on his way by now. However, Drew is still under contract, even though the Hawks are looking at other candidates. To be fair, the Hawks have allowed Drew to interview for any job he may want.

I still don’t think Larry will be back in Atlanta next year, but his odds have increased (to me, at least) purely from the fact that he’s still around. And to be honest, if Josh Smith is gone, I think Drew could work for this team. The two clearly can’t seem to agree on shot selection, meaning that they would probably be better off in different cities next season.

The Hawks have talked with Nate McMillan. Two words: bad idea? McMillan has the same M.O. as Mike Woodson: isolation offense and is supposedly a great defensive coach, despite team defensive efficiency not being reflective of that. Now, McMillan may have learned some things since he was fired from the Trail Blazers, but hiring an isolation-heavy playcaller when you don’t have a dominant wing player would leave me scratching my head. I’d rather have Drew, regardless of the Josh Smith situation.

Of course, I still believe Stan Van Gundy is the best option as coach. He’s a proven winner and has a system that is fun to watch. The Hawks should do everything they can to get him or Brian Shaw, who is probably the best assistant coach in the Association right now.

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Kyle Korver’s value to the Hawks

Chris Barnewall —  May 12, 2013 — Leave a comment

Kyle Korver will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and is likely to be a player that many teams are going to go after. His play was invaluable to the Hawks this season thanks to his three-point shooting and his ability to move off the ball. It would be a very bad move by the Hawks to not at least try to bring him back, as shown by Bo Churney’s top ten free agents for the Hawks to pursue.

One of the best statistical indicators of Korver’s ability? He finished fourth in the NBA in true-shooting percentage, only behind Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James.

Korver Shot chart (HotShotCharts)

(Chart used from HotShotCharts.com)

Look at how dominant Korver is from the wings and corners. This season, Korver shot 50% from the left corner, 43% from the left wing, 48% from the right wing, and 45% from the right corner. Continue Reading…

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Hawks want Stan Van Gundy

Chris Barnewall —  May 11, 2013 — 2 Comments

According to a report from Yahoo Sports, the Atlanta Hawks have an interest in former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy replacing Larry Drew as head coach of the Hawks. The report states that Van Gundy is one of the Hawks top targets.

“General manager Danny Ferry has made Van Gundy his top target to replace Larry Drew, sources said. There has been contact between Ferry and Van Gundy, but the two sides have yet to meet in person.”

As many people know, current Lakers center Dwight Howard will be a free agent this offseason and Atlanta is the big man’s hometown. Howard’s coach back when he used to play for Orlando was Van Gundy. It is possible that bringing in SVG could help increase Howard’s interest in returning to play for his hometown. Despite Dwight’s scuffles with Van Gundy last season, sources around Howard say that this season helped Dwight realize the brilliance of the coach he had in Orlando.

I think that Van Gundy is a great option and definitely should be the top target for the Hawks this offseason. When Van Gundy was the coach in Orlando, he was one of the best coaches in the NBA and his time in Miami before that saw him reach the eastern conference finals. Van Gundy has shown he knows how to coach defense, turning the Magic into a top three defensive team in 2009, and an offense with the barrage of three-pointers the Magic would shoot when he was coach.

The great thing about Van Gundy is his great basketball mind. The three-point shooting offense he ran in Orlando was designed around the fact that they had the gigantic Dwight Howard in the middle. He knew that the best thing to surround him with would be a bunch of 3 point shooters so he designed the offense around it. I would love to see Van Gundy work with an offense being ran by the speedy Jeff Teague. Van Gundy has also shown the ability to develop players, turning JJ Redick from purely a three-point shooter into an all-around player.

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GRADES: Hawks 102, Pacers 91

Raj Prashad —  April 29, 2013 — Leave a comment

FINAL
Series tied, 2-2

IND(2-2) 91 – 102 (2-2)ATL

Key Performers:
P. George (IND): 21 pts, 12 reb, 2 ast
J. Smith (ATL): 29 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast
[FULL BOX SCORE]

Indiana came out playing aggressively on both ends of the court to finish a pretty even first quarter. The Hawks took a 17-point lead into the half, only to watch it disappear behind shooting just 15 percent for the third quarter. Behind Josh Smith and Al Horford’s 17-fourth quarter points, Atlanta hung on to tie the series and send it back to Indiana with a chance to go up 3-2 and close out at home.

Reaction Grades: [assessed 0-10]

Al Horford: Horford got in foul trouble early, which seemed to plague him for most of the night. He did, however, get under David West’s skin yet again, holding the forward to 5-of-14 from the field. After sitting out much of the third quarter, Big Al dominated the fourth with 10 points and eight free throw attempts. 7/10

Josh Smith: One of the more emotional night for Smith led to an up-and-down game. In a supremely efficient first half, Smith had 16 points, six rebounds and played stout defense on Paul George, yet again. A dreadful third quarter in which Smith shot 0-for-6 from the field was just a precursor for his fourth-quarter rebirth. Smith took the game over, scoring seven points, dishing three assists and snagged two rebounds. Smoove’s offensive rebound and dish for a Kyle trey with 2:33 left in the contest, sealed the game. 8/10

Jeff Teague: It was a pretty nonchalant game for Teague, who matched opposing guard George Hill almost point-for-point and assist-for-assist. He held onto the ball throughout the night and knocked down 5-of-6 free throws in the fourth to close out the night. 6/10

Devin Harris: Harris had another game that can only be explained in offensive spurts. He hit a buzzer-beating layup to close the half and knocked down a few shots, but wasn’t anything special. Harris’ defensive tenacity was lacking as he almost allowed a Lance Stephenson triple-double. 5/10

Johan Petro: Petro flew back to Atlanta after the birth of his son today and played 22 quality minutes in which he controlled Roy Hibbert for much of the night and he grabbed eight rebounds. 7/10

Continue Reading…

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GRADES: Hawks 90, Pacers 69

Raj Prashad —  April 27, 2013 — Leave a comment

FINAL
Pacers lead series, 2-1

IND(2-1) 69 – 90 (1-2)ATL

Key Performers:
D. West (IND): 18 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast
A. Horford (ATL): 28 pts, 16 reb, 2 blk
[FULL BOX SCORE]

Indiana got out to an 8-1 lead early, but head coach Larry Drew called the first timeout, let the fans back into the game and succeeded in pushing a 42-10 Hawks run to give Atlanta a massive cushion in the second half. The Hawks used transition buckets, physicality in the paint and fantastic perimeter defense on George Hill and Paul George to get back into the series, now trailing just 2-1.

Reaction Grades: [assessed 0-10]

Al Horford: Horford had just six points when David West shoved him to the ground on a fast break, earning a flagrant foul for his trouble. Big Al responded with a massive 26-point, 16-rebound effort as he dominated the paint and led a few transition buckets. Having Horford matched up with West on both ends of floor allowed him the size advantage to work with, leading to a career night. 9.5/10

Josh Smith: It was a heck of an efficient night from Josh on both ends of the court as well. He played excellent defense on George, frustrating the forward whom Atlanta didn’t seem to have an answer for in the first two games of the series. Only three of his 13 attempts came from behind the 3-point arc and he consistently utilized his mismatch in the post over George. 9/10

Jeff Teague: Despite making only 4-of-15 shots, Teague was aggressive from the tip and had spurts of scoring Atlanta needed to push toward the big win. He finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists while turning the ball over only twice. He also played great defense on Hill, cutting off his driving lanes and forcing bad passes. 6/10

Devin Harris: Devin didn’t have a great night for the second consecutive game as he was virtually nonexistent on offense. He played well enough on the other end of the court to where his nonproductive night was matched by Lance Stephenson’s four-point effort. 5/10

Johan Petro: Petro only played 14 minutes, as LD preferred Ivan Johnson over the towering center, but he did have six points and four rebounds in the small chunk of minutes he played. 6/10

He also did this:

Continue Reading…

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RECAP: Hawks 109, Bucks 104

Raj Prashad —  April 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

FINAL

MIL  (37-42) 104 – 109 (44-36) ATL

Key Performers:
J. Smith (ATL): 24 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl
M. Ellis (MIL): 27 pts, 8 reb, 17 ast, 5 stl
[FULL BOX SCORE]

With just over a week before the playoffs, Atlanta showed heart battling back from a 19-point deficit. They played collective, team basketball in the second half after a porous defensive effort over the first two quarters. In the win, Atlanta clinched at least the 6 seed in the playoffs and currently hold the 5 seed over the Chicago Bulls.

Reaction Grades: [assessed 0-10]

Josh Smith: Smith was tuned in offensively, leading the team with 24 points, but it was his first half defense that he really struggled with. Smith couldn’t stick with Ersan Ilyasova on pick-and-pops, giving up a career-high five treys in the first half and 25 points overall. But in the second half, Smith played fantastic on both ends and showed his ability to defend any position. 8/10

Al Horford: Horford nearly had a 20-20 game, scoring 18 points and grabbing 17 boards. It helped not having Larry Sanders in the lineup as Horford really controlled the glass and the paint. 8.5/10

Kyle Korver: He pushed his 3-pointer streak to 72 games, but had a rather disappointing performance on both ends of the court. Korver had eight points and was decent defensively. 5/10

Devin Harris: Following a dreadful 0-for-7 first half performance, Harris came storming out of the half, scoring 19 in the second half and played a decent night defensively. He played off of Ish Smith for much of the night and went under screens, giving him open looks and couldn’t find Monta Ellis in transition. 6/10

Jeff Teague: You’ve gotta take the good with the bad when it comes to aggressive Jeff Teague. While he shot 10-of-15 from the field and scored 24 points, he did have five turnovers, with four of those coming in the first half. Teague did match up well with Ellis and and dominated JJ Redick up and down the court. The point guard really controlled the pace of the second half and attacked at will for the Hawks. 8/10 Continue Reading…

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Zaza Pachulia to have Achilles surgery, out for the season

Raj Prashad —  March 30, 2013 — 1 Comment

The Atlanta Hawks announced Saturday that Zaza Pachulia is out for the season after electing to have surgery on his sore right Achilles.

Pachulia will have surgery Wednesday, April 3rd, in Charlotte at Mercy Hospital, according to a release from the team.

“After thoroughly reviewing the possible options with Zaza, we all felt this was the best decision to insure Zaza’s complete recovery so that he can be at 100 percent going forward. Zaza is a professional with a strong work ethic. The Hawks will continue to be completely supportive as he tackles the return to play process,” said President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Danny Ferry.

In Pachulia’s place, the Hawks have elected to play Johan Petro and Ivan Johnson significant minutes. The fan-favorite has missed the previous 15 consecutive games.

The expected recovery time following surgery is approximately six months. Pachulia is a free agent after this season.

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RECAP: Celtics 118, Hawks 107

Raj Prashad —  March 29, 2013 — 4 Comments

FINAL

BOS(38-34) 118 – 107 (40-33) ATL

Key Performers:

J. Teague (ATL): 17 pts, 2 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl
P. Pierce (BOS): 20 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast
[FULL BOX SCORE]

Just one game after clinching a berth in the playoffs, the Hawks rested Al Horford (stomach virus) and Devin Harris (ankle) in a losing effort to the Boston Celtics. Atlanta traded leads with Boston for much of the first half, eventually allowing the Celtics to build a 10-point lead at the half and hold on for the home win. Boston owns the season series, 3-1, with their only loss coming from a 27-point comeback at Philips Arena in January.

Reaction Grades: [assessed 0-10]

Josh Smith: It was truly a tale of two halves for the free-shooting power forward. Smith connected on 41 percent of his shots in the first half, notching 16 points and four rebounds. In just 12 minutes after halftime, Smith missed all six shots he took and sat for the entirety of the fourth quarter with the rest of the starters.  7/10

Ivan Johnson: Poor Ivan Johnson was on the receiving end of a career game from Celtics’ big man Shavlik Randolph, who had a game-high 13 rebounds. Johnson registered five points and five boards in 21 minutes, so it was a pretty ordinary night for the forward. But his inability to play uptempo and contain Boston’s bigs made him a liability on the floor. 5/10

DeShawn Stevenson: Stevenson finished a team-worst -20 in plus/minus on the court and was ripped apart by Boston’s veteran, Paul Pierce. 4/10

Jeff Teague: Teague continues to surprise when matched up against some of the best defenders in the league. On a night where his teammates failed to show up, Teague took control of the Atlanta offense from the tip. His shot selection was aggressive, he gambled for smart attempts and he gave Avery Bradley fits throughout the evening. 8.5/10

Johan Petro: Not really sure what Larry Drew wants from Petro to get him more minutes. In just 12 minutes (the second fewest on the night), Petro grabbed seven boards and scored four points. 7.5/10

Continue Reading…

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