Game Thread: Heat @ Hawks 12/18

Post #1 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Dec 18, 2017 1:49 pm

Probable Starters:

HEAT: Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters, Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow, Kelly Olynyk

HAWKS: Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince, Ersan Ilyasova, Miles Plumlee

Scouting Report

Atlanta is 2-8, and Miami 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Hawks are 3-10 at home, while the Heat is 9-7 on the road. Miami has won 4 of 6 against their Southeast Divisional rivals, and 9 of 16 games against Eastern Conference teams. Hawks have lost 4 of 5 against Southeast Divisional rivals, and 17 of 21 games against Eastern Conference teams.

Atlanta Hawks have the worst record in the NBA at 6-23. Quite a change from the 2014-15 season when Mike Budenholzer lead the team to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 60-22 record. Hawks are one of the founding members of the NBA from the 1949-50 season, with Red Auerbach as coach that first year.

Dragic leads the Heat in points per game (16.6) and assists (4.4), Richardson in steals (1.2), Whiteside in rebounds (12.7) and blocks (1.6). Schroder leads the Hawks in points per game (19.7) and assists (6.7), Bazemore in steals (1.8), Dedmon in rebounds (7.8), John Collins in blocks (1.0).

Zach Lowe did mention to keep an eye on Prince.

“They're 6-22, and their exciting rookie -- John Collins -- missed two weeks before returning Thursday. But keep an eye on Prince. He's shooting 41 percent from deep, and looking more comfortable attacking off the dribble as a secondary ball handler -- exactly the kind of progress the Hawks wanted in Year 2:”

Hot Hot Hoops

macd-gm · Post #2 » by **macd-gm** » Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:45 pm

Who made the damn schedule this year? Did they deliberately try to schedule a Hawks game opposite every Falcons game that starts at 4 pm or later?

Spud2nique · Post #3 » by **Spud2nique** » Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:01 pm

macd-gm wrote:Who made the damn schedule this year? Did they deliberately try to schedule a Hawks game opposite every Falcons game that starts at 4 pm or later?

Forget the Falcons man...I'm gonna really need you guys to lose 2/3 games and allow the Lions to win out and get in...you don't want it so just stay home with your fancy new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkision...

LIONS!!!!!

GO HAWKS!!!!!!

Spud2nique · Post #4 » by **Spud2nique** » Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:17 pm

107 Heat
101 Hawks

The Heat are coming in a bit hot... 3 wins over the Nets, Grizzlies and Hornets all on the road and 4/5 wins overall.

Things got a lil chippy last time we met these guys as I recall Dragic had a few issues with Prince and asked if Prince thinks he's a real Prince...fun to watch them go at it on a switch or something.

HAWKSSSS!!!

Post #5 » by **Jamaaliver** » Mon Dec 18, 2017 5:33 pm

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Already without starting center Hassan Whiteside and starting power forward James Johnson, the Heat announced Monday morning that starting shooting guard Dion Waiters is dealing with an illness and starting point guard Goran Dragic with an elbow issue, with both listed as questionable.

In addition, forward Justise Winslow, who is traveling with the team after missing the past two games with a strained left knee, is listed as doubtful.

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ducler · Post #6 » by **ducler** » Mon Dec 18, 2017 9:49 pm

Spud2nique · Post #7 » by **Spud2nique** » Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:37 am

Game time!!! LETS GO HAWKS!!!

jayu70 · Post #8 » by **jayu70** » Tue Dec 19, 2017 4:22 am

Wow, Bazeless won us the game - on both defense and offense, lol.

Post #9 » by **ATL Boy** » Tue Dec 19, 2017 5:42 am

Waiters ended up playing. It was a lot more than I thought it would be, given the circumstances (4 game losing streak as the worst team in the NBA on a Monday Night, the same time that the Falcons play).

Lose every game you play on the road if you want to, just give me a win at home every now and then. And tonight they pulled through. Plumlee and Collins had some highlight reel dunks.

Post #10 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Dec 19, 2017 12:17 pm

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graymule · Post #11 » by **graymule** » Tue Dec 19, 2017 1:29 pm

It's OK, Atlanta. In your race for the bottom spot in the NBA, the Bulls, your nearest competitor in the east,
has a 6 game winning streak. Hawks had only won 6 the entire season so it's fine. You still have a 2 1\2 game
lead for the bottom spot.

Just be aware that a team out west, Dallas, is sneaking up on you. You only have a 1\2 game on them. If you
win too many games, they just might grab the bottom!

In our victory #7, we find we are being led to victory by some of the players we expect to still be here after
the trade and draft deadlines have past. Some wag noted that our newest addition, Cavanaugh, was a building
block for the new, championship capable Hawks team. They added that he wasn't even a good substitute.
Guess they know more than the entire Hawk's organization.

As Atlanta slowly builds it's new team, remember this. We desperately need a star player and having two
would be wonderful! Having said this, teams need 12 players active all the time. Those down at the end
of the bench are important too. Both Atlanta bird teams, the Falcons and the Hawks, won last night. They
both faced opponents that had many starters out, due to injuries. Both victories were close. Those bench
players gave a very good accounting for themselves.

Bulls led us to believe that our winning was fine. But, Dallas has to sneak in and mess things up. Dang!

:banghead:

macd-gm · Post #12 » by **macd-gm** » Tue Dec 19, 2017 3:08 pm

I haven't watched the game yet. Anyone up to answer some questions?

- any idea why we're playing Delaney again over Taylor. Was he mostly playing the 2?

- Marco, Babbit, Cavanaugh. Where were they?

- Baze had a good game for real?

- Any interest in Waiters being a Hawk?

Post #13 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Dec 19, 2017 3:20 pm

^Pass on Waiters. He'd have been a solid addition on a veteran squad working to win games. But with no real infrastructure or hIerarchy here...no thanks.

Glad to see he's salvaged his career after the debacles in CLE and OKC, though.

graymule · Post #14 » by **graymule** » Tue Dec 19, 2017 4:44 pm

Macd-gm: I've gotta believe Hawks play some because they wish to showcase them, trade time coming to a
close soon. That's just a guess. No proof.

Hawks had some dunks from their big men. Exciting! Add to that Prince. He scored from all over, especially
from down town. Dennis drove and scored inside, over and over.

With all this going on and the Hawks staying reasonably close, Base, who had been doing well, assists, hitting
shots and making steals, took over the game and - KABOOM! - he couldn't be stopped. Hawks win !!

:nod:

jayu70 · Post #15 » by **jayu70** » Tue Dec 19, 2017 5:32 pm

macd-gm wrote:I haven't watched the game yet. Anyone up to answer some questions?

- any idea why we're playing Delaney again over Taylor. Was he mostly playing the 2?

- Marco, Babbit, Cavanaugh. Where were they?

- Baze had a good game for real?

- Any interest in Waiters being a Hawk?

Delaney was 1st off the bench, i think he played with Dennis some, the Taylor came in. He mostly played at the 2.
Babbit looks injured to me, back.
Marco looked sluggish
Cavanaugh - no idea
Baze had a good 6 minutes of the 4th quarter.

Post #16 » by **Jamaaliver** » Wed Dec 20, 2017 12:14 pm

Exactly how bad was this game to watch?

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