Cavs @ Hawks: King James Turns 30!!!

[hawkschop1]

Hawks win...UGA wins...good night

^this

[atlantabbq99]

Kevin Love isn't horrible. It just goes to show you can't just shove a guy into a role and expect him to succeed. Kevin Love has never had to be the Third guy on offense ever in his career...you can't just fall into that. It's the same reason some lifelong starters can't play off the bench and lifelong bench guys can't be starters. He is Two months into a new role and he is learning. You can't fake your way to 25+ points and 14+ rebounds in the NBA.

3rd guy???? What the hell are you talking about..... Lebron didn't even play tonight!

[Skyhawk1]

Ugly game, nice win. We desperately need a Speihts, Arthur, Hickson, Landry type of player. Pero is awful. I've never seen a big who's supposed to be a shooter be so bad at it. Good to see Dennis confidence back. I never get tired of watching Korver shoot the basketball, it's just something special. Happy 2015 everyone!

[dms269]

Ugly game, nice win. We desperately need a Speihts, Arthur, Hickson, Landry type of player. Pero is awful. I've never seen a big who's supposed to be a shooter be so bad at it. Good to see Dennis confidence back. I never get tired of watching Korver shoot the basketball, it's just something special. Happy 2015 everyone!

Pero is pretty horrible.

[Hawk Eye]

Game Analysis:

I don't do many of these but I figured this game called for it..

Let me start by saying that it doesn't get any sweeter to the ending of the year then the dawgs winning their bowl game and the Hawks going 14-2 in December! Happy upcoming new year everyone!

Now let's get to the game..

Pero I hate to do it but this analysis is starting off directly with you. I finally realized just how awful Antic is tonight. Maybe it was due to the increased minutes from Horfords absence. Anyways, this guy becomes an absolute "Houdini-like" disappearing act in so many facets of the Hawks offense.

1. He is useless in the paint. Sloppy hands, can't boxout, never in the right position, it all adds up.

2. The Hawks run a play off of Korvers constant running around coming off of screens. As soon as Korver catches the ball coming off the screen(s) Korver will do one of two things. Shoot it or immediately make a quick pass back to the screener which gives him either an open shot or an easy drive to the basket. Time and time again Pero is out of position on these plays and it leads to dumb turnovers. A great example of Pero's low BBIQ.

3. Last but not least, Pero's shot. Antic actually has a great head fake but the problem is that he relies on that more than his own shot. He will try to draw the foul more times then he tries to get off a good shot. Eventually the defender will pick up on it and that leads to yet again..more turnovers.

Sorry for bashing and ranting about Pero Antic but I just had to vent and get it all out. I love him as a person but not as a player. I would much rather see his minutes going to Muscala or Brand.

So back to the game analysis..

Even though this thing got close down the stretch, I never really got scared. As much national media attention as Irving gets, I am SO glad to have Teague over him. Irving plays extremely out of control. He isn't as efficient as Teague is. It took irving 27 shot attempts to reach 35 pts where as it only took Teague 13 shot attempts to reach 23 pts. I will take the more efficient guy 10 times out of 10.

Korver played great. Seemed to be getting his groove back after a bad slump in the Milwaukee showings.

Teague and Millsap put the team on their back down the stretch. Both were extremely clutch and really stepped up. Both are deserving of an all star appearance imo.

Dennis time...

Dennis is just freaking awesome. His mid range jumpers coming off the screen were deadly tonight. This exact shot and his lightning quick drives seem to be his go-to moves. I can't wait to watch this kid grow.

Overall it wasn't pretty, but it was a well deserved W!!!

[atlantabbq99]

Ugly game, nice win. We desperately need a Speihts, Arthur, Hickson, Landry type of player. Pero is awful. I've never seen a big who's supposed to be a shooter be so bad at it. Good to see Dennis confidence back. I never get tired of watching Korver shoot the basketball, it's just something special. Happy 2015 everyone!

ehhhhhh, i'm okay with Pero, because you get what you pay for, and right now, Pero is only getting paid $1 million per year.... so ya

[simon24]

Game Analysis:

I don't do many of these but I figured this game called for it..

Let me start by saying that it doesn't get any sweeter to the ending of the year then the dawgs winning their bowl game and the Hawks going 14-2 in December! Happy upcoming new year everyone!

Now let's get to the game..

Pero I hate to do it but this analysis is starting off directly with you. I finally realized just how awful Antic is tonight. Maybe it was due to the increased minutes from Horfords absence. Anyways, this guy becomes an absolute "Houdini-like" disappearing act in so many facets of the Hawks offense.

1. He is useless in the paint. Sloppy hands, can't boxout, never in the right position, it all adds up.

2. The Hawks run a play off of Korvers constant running around coming off of screens. As soon as Korver catches the ball coming off the screen(s) Korver will do one of two things. Shoot it or immediately make a quick pass back to the screener which gives him either an open shot or an easy drive to the basket. Time and time again Pero is out of position on these plays and it leads to dumb turnovers. A great example of Pero's low BBIQ.

3. Last but not least, Pero's shot. Antic actually has a great head fake but the problem is that he relies on that more than his own shot. He will try to draw the foul more times then he tries to get off a good shot. Eventually the defender will pick up on it and that leads to yet again..more turnovers.

Sorry for bashing and ranting about Pero Antic but I just had to vent and get it all out. I love him as a person but not as a player. I would much rather see his minutes going to Muscala or Brand.

So back to the game analysis..

Even though this thing got close down the stretch, I never really got scared. As much national media attention as Irving gets, I am SO glad to have Teague over him. Irving plays extremely out of control. He isn't as efficient as Teague is. It took irving 27 shot attempts to reach 35 pts where as it only took Teague 13 shot attempts to reach 23 pts. I will take the more efficient guy 10 times out of 10.

Korver played great. Seemed to be getting his groove back after a bad slump in the Milwaukee showings.

Teague and Millsap put the team on their back down the stretch. Both were extremely clutch and really stepped up. Both are deserving of an all star appearance imo.

Dennis time...

Dennis is just freaking awesome. His mid range jumpers coming off the screen were deadly tonight. This exact shot and his lightning quick drives seem to be his go-to moves. I can't wait to watch this kid grow.

Overall it wasn't pretty, but it was a well deserved W!!!

I think his performance last night was due to the increased minutes. It didn't help that Brand got in foul trouble and wasn't playing too well and Bud played Millsap at center instead of Muscula.

Thankfully this is only temporary since Al only has a sickness.

[ATL Boy]

Absolutely perfect night standings wise: Hawks win while the Bulls, Raptors, Cavs, and Wizards all lose. Currently 1/2 game out of first and tied with Toronto in the loss column. 14-2 in December, if coach Bud doesn't get the coach of the month award and isn't the current front runner for coach of the year then the system's flawed.

[theatlfan]

Ugly game, nice win. We desperately need a Speihts, Arthur, Hickson, Landry type of player. Pero is awful. I've never seen a big who's supposed to be a shooter be so bad at it. Good to see Dennis confidence back. I never get tired of watching Korver shoot the basketball, it's just something special. Happy 2015 everyone!

Not trying to imply that Pero is great or anything, but have you seen Bargnani? Andrea is every bit as bad of a shooter (even though he's got a rep as being good) but has the additional add-ons of being a terrible defender, a worse picker due to size, and a contract that pays him 10x what Pero gets... Yet somehow Bargs pulled a 1st+a couple of 2nds in a deal.

[azuresou1]

I don't get the hate for Pero. He's an average backup C who has the ability to space the floor. Yeah he had a bad night, including some puzzling/poor shots, but that's generally what happens when you thrust a backup into a starting role.

Speights is a Top 5 candidate for MIP this year, Darrell Arthur and Carl Landry are 6'9 on a good day, and Hickson plays absolutely no defense. None of them could serve as a stand-in for Horford.

I would, however, like to see Moose get more minutes - not as solid defending the post as Pero, but he's a lot more mobile and waaaaay better offensively.

[theatlfan]

I don't get the hate for Pero. He's an average backup C who has the ability to space the floor. Yeah he had a bad night, including some puzzling/poor shots, but that's generally what happens when you thrust a backup into a starting role.

Speights is a Top 5 candidate for MIP this year, Darrell Arthur and Carl Landry are 6'9 on a good day, and Hickson plays absolutely no defense. None of them could serve as a stand-in for Horford.

I would, however, like to see Moose get more minutes - not as solid defending the post as Pero, but he's a lot more mobile and waaaaay better offensively.

Agree on Pero, he's a backup grade guy. Seems that our fanbase is so hungry for a good C that they will complain that the backups aren't good enough - the same happens to Brand when he gets some minutes.

I'm interested in seeing more of Moose as well. I've been impressed with him in his limited minutes. His D isn't great, but I'd think if we can find minutes for Mike Scott then we can find some for Moose too...

[D21]

I've checked it again, and Antic is still our best player at +/- per 100 poss. and per 36min, higher than Korver.
If he was hurting the team overall performance, he would not be the best +/- of the team, clearly.
He's not the answer against all the teams, but there is not a lot of C backup that can do that, and it's Bud's job to know when Antic or Brand should play.