Game Thread: Hawks at Lakers -- 1/7

[Jamaaliver]

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[HMFFL]

Big win by the Atlanta Falcons as an underdog.

Our Atlanta Hawks are a 2.5 point underdog.

[Spud2nique]

Lavar wants Walton out? Boy I didn't see this coming...

Having said that folks, the situation is getting intense here. The Lakers have lost 9/10 and are haven't won a home game since they beat the Bulls on Nov. 21. Worse than that, the Lakers stand to get the 2nd pick in this draft and will be handing it to the Celts..(2-5).

Usually these tank games count for double against your rival tank opponents. However this might count for triple due to the Celtics draft possibility.

We really need to lose this one. Having said that, the Lakers look horrible and we don't look that bad. Lakers are favored by 3 but I don't see how.

Hawks 104
Lakers 99

GO HAWKS...(although a loss would really help us and hurt Boston here...and give the Lakers some confidence to keep hurting the Shmelts..)

[graymule]

I've said it before. It's harder to be really, really bad when we are as good as we are than to try to be great.
Apparently, our opponent is terrible. Hawks are not. Hawks aren't great but they are pretty good.

LA has 11 wins. Hawks have 10 wins. Can we keep our tank running and stay on the bottom, all alone? Or,
with LA running their own tank, will they overcome? Is it true, that the next year's draft pick of LA belongs
to another team? If so, GO LA! Who wants that very high draft pick going to where it's scheduled to go.

I don't know what LA got for this draft pick. Right now, the way they are playing, it wasn't really enough.

[Spud2nique]

:x

I've said it before. It's harder to be really, really bad when we are as good as we are than to try to be great.
Apparently, our opponent is terrible. Hawks are not. Hawks aren't great but they are pretty good.

LA has 11 wins. Hawks have 10 wins. Can we keep our tank running and stay on the bottom, all alone? Or,
with LA running their own tank, will they overcome? Is it true, that the next year's draft pick of LA belongs
to another team? If so, GO LA! Who wants that very high draft pick going to where it's scheduled to go.

I don't know what LA got for this draft pick. Right now, the way they are playing, it wasn't really enough.

Indeed Gramps...even worse the pick goes to the Celtics!

[ducler]

[macd-gm]

Were the Lakers really trying to win this year? I don't think so. They should stick with Walton. I think he'll be a good coach eventually. they just need more roster building.

[DirtybirdGA]

Another team on Atlanta's heels, gotta drop this one.

[D21]

Big win by the Atlanta Falcons as an underdog.

Our Atlanta Hawks are a 2.5 point underdog.

Right, but the Falcons were not really the underdog... They had a 9-3 record in the CONF (7-5 for L.A.) and are in the toughest division with 3 teams making the playoffs... so their level is a bit higher than what the season record shows, especially against teams of other divisions

[ATL Boy]

Well, we don't have to worry about accidentally winning this one. LA outpaced and outclassed us in the first half, going 28-0 on fastbreak points (seriously, how is this even possible?). LA up 18 as we speak, with Dennis having a great game. I endorse this loss but do wish we don't get completely blown out.

[Jamaaliver]

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[MaceCase]

Were the Lakers really trying to win this year? I don't think so. They should stick with Walton. I think he'll be a good coach eventually. they just need more roster building.

Not owning your own pick, banishing talented prospects for cap space, and barely skirting the lines of tampering by mentioning signing top 2018 free agents such as LeBron and George I would hope their intention wasn’t to lose.

Being a dumpster fire hurts them doubly unless Magic has so much hubris that he believes all he needs is to walk into a free agent meeting with nothing but his smile yelling “back to back! Yeah!”

Then I’m not too sure about Walton when he’s got a more vocal NBA family than the Horfords calling him a titmouse. That LaVar, he apparently believes he could have been the first person to coach Chino Hills, UCLA, and the Lakers simultaneously while running a billion dollar apparel empire. Hubris all around, I tell ya!

[atlantabbq99]

Were the Lakers really trying to win this year? I don't think so. They should stick with Walton. I think he'll be a good coach eventually. they just need more roster building.

Lakers don't own their pick this year. Very very sad state of affairs for the Lakers. They have a tank record, but are really really working hard not to tank.

[Spud2nique]

Wow...that might have been our worst game of the year overall. Kuzma really impressed. He might be one of them lifelong Lakers. Anyways more balls for us.

[Jamaaliver]

On this night, speed killed the Hawks

So maybe speed does kill, but does it have to happen over and over?

The Lakers ran and ran, and kept at it until they had run the Hawks right out of Staples Center, handing them their worst defeat of the season, 132-113.

“They did a great job getting the rebound and playing with pace,” Hawks guard Dennis Schroder said. “We didn’t play transition defense at all. In the second quarter the game went out of hand.”

The Lakers took over the game to start the second quarter, opening with a 21-3 run that buried the Hawks. By halftime, the Lakers had outscored the Hawks on fastbreak points, 28-0.

Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer had warned his team for two days the Lakers would attempt to run at every opportunity.

myAJC

[graymule]

Played like our Hawks in the 1st quarter. Score was close. Climbed into our tank (sleepwalk mode) and went
down by 20 in the second. Kept that 20 point spread, more or less, for the remainder of the game.

Who says we don't know how to drive our tank? This should prove them wrong. LA broke a 9 game losing
streak and looked like a great team while doing this. Personally, I hope they go on a great run and mess
up the Celtics now expected great draft pick!

Aah, we're safe for now. We have 10 wins and LA now has 12.. Is that Dallas sneaking down toward us?

Championship game tonight and we know, regardless of which team wins, SEC comes out with #1 & #2....

[Jamaaliver]

Lavar wants Walton out? Boy I didn't see this coming...

Code: Select all

Predictably, the NBA coaching fraternity rushed to Walton’s defense. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle blasted ESPN’s decision to publish Ball’s comments, calling Walton “a terrific young coach.” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told Yahoo Sports he was “totally impressed” by Walton and called LaVar’s criticism “unfortunate in a lot of different ways.” Walton said he heard from several coaches today, all offering support.

Yahoo Sports


^Mike B wading into the mess that is the Ball family drama.

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle chastised ESPN for running the piece in the first place.

“As president of the coaches association, I view the ESPN article as a disgrace, quite honestly,” Carlisle told reporters. “[ESPN] should back up the coaches. Printing an article where the father of an NBA player has an opinion that is printed as anything like legitimate erodes trust that we’ve built with ESPN and our coaches are upset.”

Yahoo Sports


Coach Walton taking it all in stride:

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[macd-gm]

Good for Luke. I'm not a fan of Bill Walton. I think he's a blow hard, but I can guarantee that Lavar doesn't intimidate Luke at all. You grow up with an ego maniac as a father you know how to deal with these dudes.

[graymule]

Holding on to last place, but only by just a little:

12-28 Orlando
12-27 Memphis
12-27 Lakers
10-29 Atlanta

Dang: This driving a tank is hard on the nerves. And, we gotta play again tonight. All I can say is,
"This draft pick had better be worth his weight in gold!"