Game Thread: Hawks at Suns -- 1/2/18

[Spud2nique]

Ilyasova surely has to be playing himself into netting us a first from a desperate contender.


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Lol...We should build around Belinelli...he's the best shooter in the NBA ...ok top 5...that has to net a first.

Ps I don't know how the Suns have as many wins as they do ...they stink.

Not sure what in the heyul yall see in that Criss guy. He plays like he has the bbiq of a gnat.

Hahaha I said the same thing then he comes up with two HUGE defensive plays!!!

Wow!

Great loss for us...just beat the scrubs Cavs and Shmelts.

[TJseven]

3 missed ft down the stretch
2 to
A timeout with 37 seconds and not playing for the 2 for 1 possessions
And a 2 with no time down 3?

What am I missing? How can you be this dumb?

Up 8 with 1:37... did schroeder have the +1.5?

[kg01]

Lol...We should build around Belinelli...he's the best shooter in the NBA ...ok top 5...that has to net a first.

Ps I don't know how the Suns have as many wins as they do ...they stink.

Not sure what in the heyul yall see in that Criss guy. He plays like he has the bbiq of a gnat.

Hahaha I said the same thing then he comes up with two HUGE defensive plays!!!

Wow!

Great loss for us...just beat the scrubs Cavs and Shmelts.

Nah, I ain't gonna be fooled by that. 98% of the game he's asleep then wakes up for 2%, "Gimme a max deal!"

EZPass Lane

Good loss tho, indeed.

[ATL Boy]

Incredible loss for the tank, this is one we might look back on come draft night.

Kent Bazemore continues making plays for the other team down the stretch. Just snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Prove we can beat them, then let them have the win for tanking purposes. Ideal.


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[ATL Boy]

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This is actually really impressive

[atlantabbq99]

This was a much needed lose. Hawks can't afford to go on a winning streak and lose out on the Ayton tank

[Jamaaliver]

Spoken by a Suns fan last night:

Mike Budenholzer could do amazing things with our young talent, definitely my favorite target if he leaves Atlanta.

CMB is gonna have a ton of options next summer. He's largely recognized in league circles as an upper echelon coach. If he doesn't want to go through a long rebuild here, he'll have his choice of open positions.

[graymule]

WOW! What would you give as odds for the Hawks to pull this off when they were up by 12 with only
a short time to go? And, remember, they had to make it look good. But, by dang, they did it!

Plumlee helped the cause when, late in the game, he missed both of his free throws. Had he made these,
Hawks would win by one. He didn't.

Then, with only 6 seconds left, no time outs left, Dennis drove the length of the court. Down by three.
He passed over the arch, drove inside for two and the final 1 point loss. His only hope was that he get
fouled while hitting the shot, get the "and one" call, hit the free throw for the tie. Didn't happen.

I've said, over and over, it sure is hard to be this good and continue to lose. We did it! Can any one imagine
a more exciting game, proving to ourselves how good we really are and still appear to sleepwalk late in the
game to hold on to our spot on the bottom of the NBA?

Give credit to the Suns. They showed how wonderful that they can be in the final minutes. They looked great
as they buried the lowly Atlanta lads. Aah! Our tank appears to be back on track. Had us worried for a moment!

[Jamaaliver]

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[ATL Boy]

Booker will get the headlines (what a players he is btw, a star in the making), but Chriss was indeed the unsung hero of that game. Considering the circumstances, that was one of the 10 best defensive plays of the season. It was very good execution on the parts of Dennis and Taurean coming out of the timeout but you just have to tip your cap to the defender there.

Chriss was also coming off of another big time block of Plumlee a few minutes earlier, which denied a layup.

[LamarHampton]

Hilarious. Down by three with just seconds to go and time running out, and Schro drops in an easy two.

Eh man, the guy is on board with the #EmbraceTheTank movement, I'll give him that. Must have a deal with Schlenkenholzer that if he plays along they won't draft a PG or STTE.

Couldn't stop laughing about that 2-pointer today. Perfect ending. Needed that loss.

[Spud2nique]

Hilarious. Down by three with just seconds to go and time running out, and Schro drops in an easy two.

Eh man, the guy is on board with the #EmbraceTheTank movement, I'll give him that. Must have a deal with Schlenkenholzer that if he plays along they won't draft a PG or STTE.

Couldn't stop laughing about that 2-pointer today. Perfect ending. Needed that loss.

Lol Dennis is intelligent enough to understand the tank...this might have been a mental lapse...

[kg01]

Hilarious. Down by three with just seconds to go and time running out, and Schro drops in an easy two.

Eh man, the guy is on board with the #EmbraceTheTank movement, I'll give him that. Must have a deal with Schlenkenholzer that if he plays along they won't draft a PG or STTE.

Couldn't stop laughing about that 2-pointer today. Perfect ending. Needed that loss.

Lol Dennis is intelligent enough to understand the tank...this might have been a mental lapse...

Seemed like a mental lapse but I disagree with people using that play as a microcosm of what he is as a player. That's unfair IMHO.

[Spud2nique]

Hilarious. Down by three with just seconds to go and time running out, and Schro drops in an easy two.

Eh man, the guy is on board with the #EmbraceTheTank movement, I'll give him that. Must have a deal with Schlenkenholzer that if he plays along they won't draft a PG or STTE.

Couldn't stop laughing about that 2-pointer today. Perfect ending. Needed that loss.

Lol Dennis is intelligent enough to understand the tank...this might have been a mental lapse...

Seemed like a mental lapse but I disagree with people using that play as a microcosm of what he is as a player. That's unfair IMHO.

Lol... to be fair to Dennis he usually isn't a dullard. However, this was a pretty big blunder if we were in any type of playoff race or if this had been a playoff game. He usually seems to be in control of the clock and situation for the most part...just had a mental PFFFFFFTTTTTFFFTYTTTTT....

[jayu70]

Dennis had a Brain Fart - it happens (ask CWebb about calling a timeout he didn't have).

[jayu70]

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Making good decisions with the ball
During the month of November, Schroder averaged 6.6 assists (11th most in NBA) and 3.4 turnovers (9th most in NBA) per game. The result was an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.9, which ranked in the bottom third of NBA starting point guards for the month.
During this stretch, he struggled in the PNR (pick-and-roll) actions when his first option (scoring at the basket) and second option (passing to the screener) were not available. Not all of the blame can be placed on Schroder as he must rely on the players around him to find the open spaces when he breaks down the defense. But Schroder still must take care of the basketball and limit live ball turnovers that result in easy transition scores for the opponent.
In December, Schroder’s game changed as he nearly cut his turnovers is half. Importantly, he didn’t cut his turnovers by playing more passively. His scoring continued to be strong, his assists increased from 6.6 per game to 7.0 per game and he turned the ball over just 1.6 times per game. The result for December, and assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.3, which ranked first among NBA point guards who started more than five games in December. In a less-is-more approach, Dennis is showing more restraint by trusting his teammates on the floor and making the easy pass to the shooters on the floor with him. Sometimes passing up a decent shot for himself, he is finding better opportunities for his teammates.

Improved Play on Defense
This season has been a struggle for the Hawks in general on the defensive end of the floor. Through the end of November, Atlanta ranked 26th in points allowed per game, 29th in points allowed per possession and 27th in defensive rating. During the month of December, the Hawks defense was better: 23rd in points allowed per game, 20th in points allowed per possession and 18th in defensive rating. Again, the defensive improvement was a team effort but improved defensive play by Schroder was an integral part.
Through the end of November, Schroder posted a defensive rating of 114.9, the worst defensive rating among all NBA point guards. In December, his defensive rating improved to 107.2 which ranked him in the middle of the league among NBA starting points guards. While the Schroder’s defense, and the Hawks’ defense in general, still must get better, December was certainly a step in the right direction.

Isn't this what we want to see? IMPROVEMENT and DEVELOPMENT from a young player in his weakest areas as the season progresses.