Hawks/Kings

[parson]

Starting this at halftime. Kings were unconscious in the 1st but the same shots looked stupid in the 2nd period. Teague owns the court, which is great to see. Millsap woke up in the 2nd, Cartier Martin is a slashing fool, running the Kings into the ground, and our defense is swarming. Schröder can get to the basket Any.Time.He.Wants. (he's just so-so on finishing once he gets there). Antic has a good looking 3pt shot and flops like Vlade Divac. Horford is solid-but-pedestrian right now; I think Cousins' strength is hurting Horford.

It doesn't hurt that the Kings are insisting on taking dumb shots...

[azuresou1]

We looked a little unenergetic in the first quarter, but that resolved pretty quickly.

Teague is playing great and under control, which makes our entire team much better. I really hope he can sustain this improved production for the year.

Getting to watch Paul Millsap more regularly than I used to is a real treat. He's exceptionally skilled for a 6'9 forward. LOVE having him on this team.

Our perimeter defense looks a little suspect at times.

[azuresou1]

BTW, I didn't think much of Cartier Martin, but he is a REALLY good FA signing. Amazing shooting so far, and surprisingly efficient as a facilitator.

In Ferry I trust.

[parson]

For those not watching, SAC is playing like Jr. High Schoolers after watching an Alan Iverson video. WE ... are playing smart basketball. Yes, it's true: we move intelligently, hustle back on defense, swarm the ball and work the boards.

Tonight's a feather in Budenholzer's cap.

[parson]

SAC is the most undisciplined team I've seen in a long time. Cousins is mad because we're kicking their rears, so he wants out of the game. He just went from only one foul to 5 (and should have had a tech) in the last 3 possessions. He also got blocked twice by Horford in that time.

[azuresou1]

Looks like we might have spoken too soon... REALLY sloppy play in the past few minutes, and now it's a one possession game. Wow.

[parson]

Great 4th qtr by the SAC 2nd unit, especially Isaiah Thomas. He got every call from the refs in the 4th, scored 20** in that period (9 for 9 on FTs) and made Teague and Schröder look silly. They made a huge comeback against our 2nd team, forcing us to come back with our starters. Horford and Millsap carried us at the end.

** Sorry, ESPN says he only scored 18 in the 4th. Coulda sworn...

[MaceCase]

We need to impose a jump pass tax on players. Some coach needs to be tallying how many bad passes are being made by guys leaving their feet and punish it with some exorbitant number of repetitions on a drill or pushups during practice.

Anyone noticing how Sap' has been "Mr. 4th Quarter" over these early stretch of games? Gotta say that I've been really impressed with his scoring repertoire both off the bounce and in the post, he managed to even pump fake a cameraman on the Kings feed.

Cartier Martin.......went from a late camp signing to seeing more minutes than incumbents such as Jenkins to being a part of our crunchtime lineups in the 4th. The American dream?

[ATL Boy]

Game started really late and I fell asleep after a lethargic first quarter. I love the win and from what I hear, Millsap and Martin have been excellent signings, and Schroder has been progressing nicely.

[ATL Boy]

here's a nice stat for today: Al Horford leads the East in rebounding through these first 4 games.

[graymule]

Hawks mostly slept thru the 1st quarter. Then, coming out of the sleepwalk mode, they had a great game in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. Satisfied, they went back to their sleepwalk mode in the 4th and it almost cost them the game.

Our 3 point man extended his streak!

Did any one notice that an ex Hawk went 1-6 from behind the arc? His team lost. Don't you miss him?

The more this Hawk team plays together, the better they will become.