Post#8 » by lethalweapon3 » Fri Feb 22, 2019 6:40 pm
Ahhh… life is so sweet inside The Bubble! No team in The Association has worked harder to build themselves some flexibility than our Atlanta Hawks. In the standings, that is.
Despite stumbling into the All-Star Break, and getting a bit screwjobbed during it, the Hawks can come into the back stretch of this rebuilding season knowing they’ve created some cushy surroundings for themselves.
Eight and one-half games separate the team above Atlanta (19-39) on the right-side-up table, Memphis (3.5 games ahead), from the squad situated beneath them, Chicago (5 games behind). The teams with the next widest gaps in the league? Glad you asked. It’s Chicago (6.5 games, between the Cavs’ 28th and the Hawks’ 26th place), and Memphis (5 games, between Atlanta and the Wizards’ 24th place). The rest of the league has to scratch and claw every night just to stay pretty much where they’re at.
The Grizzlies have committed to putting rookie star Triple-J front-and-center (please proceed, Memphis!), and the Bulls are kicking the tires on Otto Porter in hopes of more cohesive overall play. The teams ahead of Memphis all feature teams claiming playoff hunger and/or coaches clinging to their jobs with all their might. Chances are good the Hawks can continue to pursue productive play with their young core and not worry about relinquishing decent draft-position odds come lottery time.
The amniotic settings allow Coach Lloyd Pierce ample room to nurture his Basketball Club, without enduring the daily whispers and whimpers about the consequences of a winning streak or two. Granted, after the debacle that was last week’s 106-91 loss to the lowly Knicks, the effect of stringing together a few victories at State Farm Arena (longest home winning streak: two games) on lotto odds is likely the least of LL Cool P’s problems.
For him and his staff, the challenge will involve disallowing complacency and self-satisfaction to set in. On game days, individual Hawk players must keep their focus on their opponents, their duties, and the scoreboard, while leaving the Tankathon-watching to the fans.
The sparse surroundings around The Farm in this mid-week matchup ought to be familiar to the Detroit Pistons (7:30 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM in ATL, Fox Sports Detroit), and especially to All-Star Blake Griffin, who has spent much of this season nailing his role as the league’s Maytag Repairman. Still supremely skilled and fending off Father Time (turning age 30 next month), the former #1-overall pick of 2009 comes off as clearly perturbed about feeling exiled and isolated since being traded out of LA just over a year ago, with little recourse but to take frustration out on his nightly foes.
Griffin closed the case for his sixth All-Star nod by pouring in more points this past January (445) than any Piston has scored in a calendar month (Zeke’s 442, way back in March 1983). He’s on pace to be one of just a dozen players in NBA history (assuming Giannis joins him) to finish an NBA season averaging over 26 PPG, 8 RPG, and 5 APG. Yet here he is, a former Rated-R superstar and now The Loneliest Guy in Motown, left to repair what was once, up to a decade ago, a dependable machine.
Blake shouldn’t have to feel so secluded. After all, he’s got the reigning NBA Coach of the Year in his stead in Dwane Casey. He also shares the frontcourt with Andre Drummond, the gargantuan who recently passed Bill Laimbeer for the franchise O-Reb record and is bound to lead the NBA in rebounding (15.3 RPG) for the third time in four seasons. Griffin also has goofball guard Reggie Jackson, who embodies the Be Careful What You Wish For adage after commandeering his way here four years ago, eschewing his sixth-man stint in OKC.
Jackson (41.4 FG% and 4.4 APG, lowest of his Detroit tenure) is starting to come around this month, thus far posting February marks of 19.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, 50.0 FG%, and 55.5 3FG%. Reggie paying better heed to Casey’s play calls and beginning to understand his role within a Griffin-centered offense is translating into better results for his team, who are starting to look like some Not-So-Bad Boys in a good way.
Detroit went into the Break winning five of their past seven games. While that stretch included a two-game sweep of the nyuk-nyuk Knicks, they also pasted the Millsap-less Nuggets by 26 points back home at the Pizza Pizza Palace. Notably, that latter game was part of the farewell tour for forward Stanley Johnson, as the Pistons’ brass tired of waiting to see whether the young fourth-year pro would ever achieve the 40-percent shooting plateau.
Prior to the Trade Deadline, GM Ed Stefanski bid adieu to two of Detroit’s first-round picks from the SVG Era. The Stanimal was boxed up by Stefanski to acquire Milwaukee’s disenchanted forward Thon Maker, while seemingly D.O.A. Henry Ellenson hit the waiver wire. The remnant first-rounders drafted by the Pistons include Drummond and shooting guard Luke Kennard, who appears to have regained his starting gig for the home stretch. The need for defensive acumen at the wing has 2018 second-rounder Bruce Brown starting alongside Kennard.
Ellenson’s departure was hastened by the pickup of Miami’s traded-then-bought-out swingman Wayne Ellington, who hasn’t been bashful (8.5 3FGAs/game, 3-for-17 3FGs in two games) since assuming the floor-stretching role formerly held by Reggie Bullock (swapped to the Lake Show for rookie Svi Mykhailiuk and a future second-rounder).
On a team that has struggled to shoot straight (33.6 team 3FG%, no current rotation players above 37 percent on threes), Casey is relying on Jackson coming around, Ellington getting acclimated, Kennard growing, and Drummond producing copious second-chances, to get Detroit (26-30, 8th in the NBA East by a half-game) to finish above the playoff line for just the second time in the past decade.
It will also help the Pistons’ cause if they bolster their bench production. Getting the 7-foot-1 Maker in heavier rotation ought to relieve Zaza Pachulia (Welcome Home!) from being overused. Svi and Glenn Robinson III offer insurance at the forward spots. Ish Smith has recovered from an adductor tear to complete a fully-healthy roster, similarly negating the need for Casey to rely too much on Jose Calderon.
Whether coincidentally or not, Detroit went 6-18 in the games Smith missed, including a 98-95 home loss on December 23 to a Hawks team that was playing without an ankle-riddled John Collins. In that grindfest, Griffin shot an uncharacteristic 4-for-17 FGs and added five turnovers and two un-clutch free throw tries.
As neither team shot better than 41 percent from the floor, Alex Len led the way with 15 points and 17 boards, helping Atlanta neutralize Drummond and the Pistons’ ability (season-low 5 team O-Rebs) to create second-chance scoring opportunities. The Pistons center had five O-Rebs by his lonesome when they beat the Hawks here by a 124-109 score (40-20 in the opening quarter) back in November, and he is at his best when he’s engaged and active at both ends.
Detroit can’t afford to forget about Dre. The Pistons have gone 1-8 in games where Drummond (9 blocks in the two games so far vs. ATL) fails to swat a shot. As per basketball-reference data, they are 7-0 when his total in-game rebounding proportion exceeds 30 percent. As valuable as Griffin remains, as hot-or-cold the offense gets, when Drummond is dominant, Detroit wins ball games. And tonight’s game is as essential for them to win as any going forward in this playoff push.
It’s not just that Detroit (9-17 in road games) will play four of their next five, and 11 of their final 19 games, away from the Motor City. Their home-game slate has very few gimmes, too. Toronto and Indiana swing through twice, while Portland and fellow playoff-starving clubs like the Lakers, Magic, and T’wolves will pay them a visit.
That means victories versus bottom-tier clubs like the Hawks, no matter the venue, will come at a premium for the Pistons (17-6 versus teams, like themselves, currently below-.500) if they hope to be in the post-LeBronference postseason mix. Personally, I’d hate to see it.
If you’re familiar with my evil machinations, you understand why. I don’t mind at all the prospects of Detroit slipping and Brooklyn sliding (sorry, Kenny). Enough, at least, to open up three playoff slots for Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, and Washington (the latter currently 5.0 games behind the Nets) to scrap over.
I’d love to see Atlanta minimize the uncons-Zion-able scenario where multiple Dirty South Division rivals have a chance, albeit slim, to leapfrog the Hawks in the very merry month of May. But that vision is going to require more robust efforts from this team than they petered out in the contests leading up to the Break.
The Hawks can begin by not allowing games to blow apart from the jump like a Nike PG 2.5, as was the case during the 28-13 opening quarter won by what’s left of the Knicks last Thursday. Atlanta recovered with 38 second-quarter points, but then made New York look like the second coming of the Big Ben Pistons with 40 points in the second half, finishing the abomination with a woeful 36.3 team FG%.
Griffin once ascended above the front end of a Kia to wow All-Star Saturday crowds, and must have thought recently how much simpler it would have been to just successfully clear a prop plane. Collins has to clear thoughts about the Russian dunk contest judges and the stink of the Knicks game (8 points, 1 rebound in 25 minutes) out of his head, and he can start by getting out of the paint and D’ing up Griffin on the catch.
Collins not allowing the play from the Pistons’ offensive catalyst to come to him will render Blake a jump-shooter (35.0 jumpshot FG%, as per bball-ref) instead of a pernicious paint-points threat (53.9 hook-shot FG%, 60.5 lay-up FG%). Getting Griffin (career-high 3.7 TOs/game) to put the ball on the floor away from the basket while denying straight-line drives can be advantageous for Atlanta (18.0 PPG off TOs prior to February, 8th in NBA; 14.9 this month), who desperately needs to get their transition game re-ignited.
Running out on the Pistons will be key for a wannabe high-paced Hawks collective that cannot get mired in halfcourt play, a team that is likely to be without rookie Kevin Huerter (doubtful, sprained ankle). To properly kickstart the transition play, wingmen Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince and DeAndre’ Bembry will have to be active help-rebounders for Collins and the understandably occupied Hawks centers Len and Dewayne Dedmon.
Defensively, Atlanta’s wings can find size, length, and matchup advantages versus Brown, Kennard, Ellington and Langston Galloway, and can afford to assist with interior action until some of Detroit’s swingmen display a hot hand. When not getting defensive rebounds themselves, they also must be the first players scampering down the floor to give Trae Young (11 assists, somehow, vs. NYK) options early in the shot clock.
Cutting down on hesitations followed by aimless drives from the perimeter, Prince is doing a better job of finding his catch-and-shoot spots and letting it fly (47.6 February 3FG%). Effectively, he has cut down on turnovers (1.4 February TOs/game), committing 52 in his first 20 games but just 19 goofs in his last 16 appearances. Prince’s next trick will come when he recognizes a defender has closed out, and he instinctively passes the rock to a teammate with a better shot opportunity.
Atlanta’s starting small forward has not produced more than three assists in a game since November 13. This, after Prince dropped six dimes (although accompanied by an equal number of turnovers) in his season debut.
With Jeremy Lin gone and rookie Jaylen Adams not quite up to speed, secondary assist sources will be welcome from any Hawks, but particularly from Baze (14.7% of teammate field goals assisted, down from 20.1% last season) and Prince. Young not having to manufacture his own buckets near-exclusively (38.0 percent of 3FGs assisted; Dennis Schroder’s 56.6 percent last season, for comparison) would be a wondrous development for the Hawks offense during the remainder of this season.
Here at home, do the Hawks wish to be a spoiler threat versus the likes of the Lakers and Pistons? Or, would they rather be the kind of team that helps sad-sack teams like the Knicks and Suns pop their losing pimples? The good news for Atlanta and its forward-looking fans is that the Hawks have given themselves plenty of room, within The Bubble, to either fly or flop.
Let’s Go Hawks!
~lw3
"Dunking is better than sex." - Shawn Kemp, 1996
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