Game Thread: Thunder at Hawks, 01/15/18

These are ill! I wanted to get those black and volt jerseys but can’t find them anywhere this year but these come in 2nd for me. Mad smooth jerseys! I need a Collins one! Or Trae or Huerter. I dunno thought these blue ones call for JC to me for some reason. Lol.

Post #9 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:00 pm

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Post #10 » by **dms269** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:38 pm

High 5 wrote:
HMFFL wrote:Does DS receive cheers or boo's?

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No reason to boo the guy.

Disagree. Sucking on the court last season and helping beat up a man outside of a club is reason enough for me.

Post #11 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 2:17 pm

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High 5 · Post #12 » by **High 5** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 4:34 pm

dms269 wrote:
High 5 wrote:
HMFFL wrote:Does DS receive cheers or boo's?

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No reason to boo the guy.

Disagree. Sucking on the court last season and helping beat up a man outside of a club is reason enough for me.

Well he beat up that guy in 2017 so if you've been booing him the whole time then feel free to continue. But starting now because he's wearing a different jersey would be silly.

lethalweapon3 · Post #13 » by **lethalweapon3** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:17 pm

“All the way from Atlanta to Germany,” effused Dennis Schroder on Twitter back in May 2017. Another Atlanta Hawks postseason had just come to an unfortunate close, yet their newest full-time starting point guard couldn’t contain his excitement over the man who had followed him across the Atlantic. “Coach Bud visited me yesterday in Hamburg!! Had great dinner and talked about a lot of things.”

Just over 13 months later, whatever those things were no longer mattered, at last nothing pertinent to their futures with the Hawks. Reunion Week continues at State Farm Arena, tonight, with Dennis being a menace in relief of Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Fox Sports Oklahoma).

Neither the departed coach nor the traded point guard hold any qualms over their current lots in life. One gets a chance to guide a team to The Finals with a superstar in tow, while the other has a shot at taking a ride there with two.

Vigor has rarely been a problem for Schroder in his career, now in his sixth NBA season. Unfortunately, there have been few signs he has succeeded at translating a renewed sense of dynamism into improved performance (.059 WS/48, -0.7 Box Plus/Minus, 0.7 VORP and 51.5 TS% w/ ATL in 2017-18, as per bball-reference) under coach Billy Donovan in OKC (.051 WS/48, -3.0 BPM, -0.3 VORP and 49.2 TS% w/ OKC).

Still, Dennis isn’t relied upon to become some Big Three third-wheel when he enters games to help Thunder cats Russell Westbrook and Paul George. So long as Westbrook remains healthy and pulling off triple-double averages (21.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG, NBA-high 10.6 APG) while fixing his admittedly wayward jumpshot (23.3 3FG%; an MVP-candidate-crippling 29.9 jumper FG%, 28.4 FG% beyond the rim), Schroder’s duties are to drive to the hoop and create buckets, for himself and his teammates, while occasionally creating enough stops that opponents cannot offset the OKC stars’ brilliance.

Such was the case against the visiting Spurs on Saturday. Dennis picked off San Antonio on a season-high four occasions, complementing an 8-for-16 2FG shooting display as the Thunder won 122-112. The last three steals, all in the second half, helped OKC (26-16, 3rd in NBA West) turn the tables on a Spurs team that led by as many as 13 points in the opening half.

After sinking a floater to give OKC a 76-75 third-quarter lead, he picked off Patty Mills and dished a successful three-point pass to Abdel Nader, all in the space of 18 seconds. Just over a minute later, he intercepted a pass by Bryn Forbes and took it to the house. Following a fourth-quarter strip of Derrick White, he found Westbrook cherry-picking for the assist (one of four in the final frame from Dennis) that put the game out of the Spurs’ reach.

Coach Bud’s stern demands for Dennis (now up to 1.0 SPG) to put in some defensive effort may not have borne much fruit in Atlanta, his Defensive RPM last season (-2.63, as per espn.com stats) the worst among players getting 30+ minutes per contest. But perhaps the leadership demonstrated on the floor alongside George (100.4 D-Rating, 2nd among players w/ 20+ MPG, as per nba.com stats) and, in fourth quarters, Westbrook (NBA-high and career-best 2.5 SPG) may help spur a renaissance of sorts for Schroder (-1.11 DRPM).

Dennis is sure to be dismayed to catch wind of Atlanta PA announcer Ryan Cameron’s signature “GOT HEEM!”, applied now to scores down the lane by his effective replacement, Trae Young. You can expect Schroder and his teammates to pull out all the “stops” to thwart the Hawks’ floor leader this evening.

Young committed just two turnovers in his return to the Sooner State, a 124-109 loss to the Thunder on November 30. But without Jeremy Lin, and coach Lloyd Pierce resorting to Point Bazemore off the bench, Young found himself overwhelmed. Westbrook and sixth-man Schroder each shot 8-for-15 from the field, combining for 18 assists despite ten turnovers.

A team-worst minus-17 on that day, ahead of Baze’s minus-15, Trae (4-for-12 2FGs, 0-for-3 3FGs @ OKC) has since improved with his shot selection (35.3 3FG% since December 1) while making marginal improvements on the defensive end.

Young’s season-tying 13 attempts on the free throw line (most since October 24) during Sunday’s matinee loss to Milwaukee offered a hint that he is growing more proficient at drawing referee whistles before losing control of the ball, a factor that could serve as an equalizer if it continues tonight and gets key players like Steven Adams in foul trouble. Donovan may be dependent on the Big Kiwi longer than usual if Nerlens Noel (concussion) remains unavailable.

Taurean Prince returned to action in limited reserve minutes on Sunday for the Hawks. But may be shelved again as he is recovering from flu-like symptoms, while Lin (doubtful) has the same diagnosis. Looking like Z-Bo without the red-eye gravy, John Collins (probable) is working through a left ankle sprain like his usual starting partner Dewayne Dedmon (DNP vs. MIL, doubtful vs. OKC). Bazemore and backup big Miles Plumlee continue to compare notes while working through left knee pains.

To help combat the continuing depth issues, Atlanta (13-30) could use productive bench minutes out of a well-rested and versatile Justin Anderson. Coincidentally, Simba’s sole postseason start (3 steals, 2-for-5 3FGs) came against the Thunder during Dallas’ 2016 finale (Thunder third-stringer Raymond Felton started at point for the Mavs). Similar to Anderson, former Thunder two-way contractee Daniel Hamilton will need to be useful in short stints.

Alex Len and Omari Spellman provide enough beef to help wrangle with the interior scourge that is Adams (career-high 70.2 restricted-area 2FG%), who thankfully hasn’t pressed to expand his range beyond the paint. Defensive rebounding will be essential for Atlanta when Oklahoma City (NBA-low 32.9 team 3FG%; 70.8 team FT%, 27th in NBA) goes through their predictable rough patches on offense.

Atlanta can attack OKC in transition when the bigs wrest the defensive boards from a cherry-picking Adams, especially if Noel isn’t available to trail (another defensive savant for OKC, Andre Roberson, remains out for the foreseeable future after suffering a setback with his knee rehab). But the Hawks must be mindful of the cleverly roving George and Westbrook when charging upcourt, if they hope to suppress their NBA-worst turnover count.

The urge to win-now, omnipresent throughout most of their respective careers, and not participate in Travis Schlenk’s slow-cooking scheme, are reasons why Bud and Dennis are with different NBA clubs today. Whether their reluctance to stick around here will pay off in either case remains to be seen, especially in Dennis’ case, as the Warriors soon begin firming up their championship squad out West.

But Westbrook’s furious finish to last year’s postseason, 91 high-usage points on 94 shots over two games, only served to avert a gentleman’s sweep at the hands of the lower-seeded Jazz, their second-straight first-round exit under Donovan. Having Schroder as a clear upgrade to Felton at playoff time, playing behind Russ and alongside him in the clutch, ought to at least bring OKC closer to the pin than they’ve been since 2012, back before GM Sam Presti unwisely broke up their original Big Three.

Let’s Go Hawks!
~lw3

lethalweapon3 · Post #14 » by **lethalweapon3** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:28 pm

With the attention on his alleged hookah-bar left-hooks, I'll note that the "DS #17" sign which is still up on Peachtree Road outside Dennis' shuttered Buckhead nightlife spot may be finally coming down soon. The Buckheadinistas finally found somebody to lease the spot (next door to Imperial Fez). Last I checked over the weekend, construction was ongoing to renovate the space, presumably into a kindler-gentler restaurant for the bumpin-beat-averse residents that lived above it.

As best as I can tell, his and his accomplices' charges from the incident outside the DeKalb bar are still pending in State Court. I don't believe they've been dropped yet. So very thankful that TMZ cares not enough about the Hawks to have unearthed any tapes in the interim.

~lw3

Post #15 » by **Jamaaliver** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 8:44 pm

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ducler · Post #16 » by **ducler** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:21 pm

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Post #17 » by **HMFFL** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:04 pm

The Hawks are a 9.5 point underdog.

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bws94 · Post #18 » by **bws94** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:33 pm

Even if undermanned, assuming Lin and Dedmon don't play, I hope the Hawks compete and win or at the very least, give OKC a scare.

Spud2nique · Post #19 » by **Spud2nique** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:03 pm

Nice game thread as usual lw3! It’s hard to believe that Dennis and coach Bud has the German meeting only 13 months back. I don’t know if it’s been a tough year for me personally but it feels like 13 years ago. Lol.

I thought I was dreaming that Ryan Cameron puller the Goooooootttt Heeeeeemmmmmm for Trae vs the Bucks but it should be interesting to see Dennis’s reaction to his counterpart getting the call instead of him. Look for some physicality tonight whether it’s the bigs inside mixing it up with Adams or our current and former point guard going at it. Should be fun.

Good point about the adv over the bigs with Adams. There’s also Omari’s three point take or fake that can shift the defense and have them scrambling, exhibited by Omari’s ability to do so against the Bucks. He hit a few and that one fake n feed to a Collins flush was pretty.

As mentioned by a mod, 9.5 is the spread. I hate to say it but I actually love our chances despite their firepower tonight. I will however agree with your take that OKC will POSSIBLY go further than anytime since 2012 this year. I keep thinking one of these years...this might be the year.

Hawks 116
Thunder 111

GO HAWKS!!!!!

ps It’s awesome to watch Huerter grow. This kid learns super fast. He’s taking initiative yet making the right basketball play. Excellent.

King Ken · Post #20 » by **King Ken** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:03 pm

I heard Dennis getting a tribute