So ends an era. One wherein terrible management turned a good player into a profound organizational handicap. Michael Cunningham reports: The Hawks and Nets have agreed to terms on a trade that will send All-Star guard Joe Johnson to Brooklyn for expiring contracts and a first-round pick, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
Let's hear it for Danny Ferry, who performed a miracle. And let's hear it for Billy King, who saw the post-prime years of (presently) an above average score and passer who doesn't rebound, whose defense can best be described as "won't kill you if you put him on the other team's second-most dangerous wing" and thought to himself, "That's worth $90 million and a first-round draft pick."The cost of the Joe Johnson era was only, it turned out, $105 million, one first-round pick, and one league average player. Danny Ferry turned a potential disaster into something that didn't work out as planned. The Hawks have moved on. This trade doesn't improve them in the short-term, it only makes improvement possible in the future. Ferry will have to make several good decisions (and have them work) to get the Hawks to win two playoff series in a season for the first time since they moved to Atlanta. Tonight, though raise a glass to Ferry, to Joe Johnson, to Billy King, and to the future.
Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.
Your ratings and commentary, dear reader, are welcomed in the comments to this post.BoxscorePlayersJeff Teague: The difference between this season's Hawks team playing one good quarter to dismiss inferior opposition and the past two seasons' Hawks teams playing one good quarter to dismiss inferior opposition is, largely, Al Horford. Losing a really good player affects your margin for error. Zaza Pachulia's absence tonight only exaggerated that narrow margin. 7/10Joe Johnson: Speaking of narrow margins, there's not much difference between a heroic 22-point, 19-shot performance and a doesn't make you lose by itself against a lottery team 16-point, 17-shot performance. Joe Johnson plays in that margin most of the time now and the Hawks are less than a third of the way through his contract. 5/10Josh Smith: There's no doubt that Horford's absence is an aesthetic as well as a practical loss. Even when taking care of business, the Hawks don't evidence much understanding of how they're accomplishing that. For example, Josh Smith made 11 of 14 field goals and 6 of 8 free throws when going toward the basket. He made 1 of 11 jump shots. This is not just a Josh Smith problem. Those bad shots are not all bad decisions he makes. This is an Atlanta Hawks problem. 8/10Kirk Hinrich: Joe Johnson has a long and distinguished history of defending Deron Williams effectively. The small lineup (and injuries) didn't make that possible. Hinrich and Teague both struggled with Williams' strength but both battled gamely and, just as importantly, made shots on the other end to more than mitigate that mismatch. 6/10Jason Collins: Other than Shelden Williams, no one did more to hold Shelden Williams scoreless than Jason Collins. Williams deserves no like credit in the other direction. That was all Jason Collins. 1/10Marvin Williams: A welcome return for a player who figures to be essential in the playoffs given Horford's likely absence and McGrady's rapid physical disintegration. Given Williams' playoff history, I don't blame the less confident among us. 6/10Ivan Johnson: Activity does not always actualize. Congratulations on the birth of your namesake, an energetic, unfocused effort does not surprise given the circumstances. 3/10Tracy McGrady: Had nothing. Doubled down on Josh Smith's truly wonderful T. Only the greats can draw a T after getting the call because they think a different referee should have called the foul. McGrady's piggy-backing smacked of chasing former glory. 1/10Willie Green: Yes, I considered whether or not I'd rather have Gerald Green. Willie isn't healthy and one hopes he doesn't make things worse through an admirable instinct to answer the bell. 1/10Jerry Stackhouse: Made no impact in the game nor an entry in the boxscore while being on the court for the final 81.8% of New Jersey's 11-0 run that ended the third quarter. 0/10The head coachJosh Smith took 11 jump shots. The Hawks trailed the Nets at home after three quarters. The injuries aren't his fault, the lousy roster construction isn't all his fault, but the team remains unconvincing. Fans of several teams would not take an adequate head coach in charge of decent talent for granted. Almost four seasons in, it's getting old here. Or maybe I'm just getting old. Either way, let's do it again tomorrow night. 4/10
Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.
Your ratings and commentary, dear reader, are welcomed in the comments to this post.BoxscorePlayersJeff Teague: Got in the lane, finished or found the open man, and knocked down open jumpers. None of the Hawks played a great defensive game, but Teague's block on Deron Williams deserves commendation. 8/10Joe Johnson: Led the devastating jump shot barrage and helped put the game away with a couple of his patented, contested, made fall-away jumpers in the fourth quarter. Played some solid on-the-ball defense but his tendency toward immobile ball-watching didn't help the team's effort to defend the three-point line or on the defensive glass. 7/10Josh Smith: That so many jumpers went in doesn't make them better shots but, at the risk of rationalizing Smith's shot selection, fewer of the jumpers are coming as a result of him floating a step inside the three-point line. I doubt there's a real difference between Smith shooting 19-footers and 21-footers, but the former creates a more aesthetically pleasing viewing experience. 9/10Al Horford: More than once, he seemed oddly unprepared to shoot his patented face-up jumper when left wide open, resulting in just 4 of his 10 jumpers going in. Struggled to close out on shooters when the Nets went small in the second half and his absence in the defensive paint was felt on the boards. 6/10Vladimir Radmanovic: Solid fill-in effort from a guy who may have to fill in for Tracy McGrady as often as not. His ability to spread the floor is a great asset to the starters, individually, and the team's offense as a whole. No Marvin Williams on the glass, Radmanovic made an effort and met reasonably mild expectations. 5/10Zaza Pachulia: It's a fine line for Zaza, but when his shots aren't going in when he gets multiple chances to score, he's on the wrong side of the line. 3/10Tracy McGrady: For all that McGrady's already added to the Hawks this season, the team would be better off with him playing few minutes and providing little value the rest of the regular season if that he means he's able to contribute in the playoffs. 2/10Jannero Pargo: Five points in six minutes. Making the most of limited minutes until Hinrich returns. 3/10Willie Green: Any night Willie Green doesn't hurt you, it's a good night. 3/10Ivan Johnson: Two minutes, no impact. 1/10The head coachIt's interesting that he chose to ride his starters for the first time this season against the Nets. Obviously the absence of Williams and the effective absence of McGrady influenced his decision. The Hawks attempted a ton of jump shots (55 of 78 field goal attempts by my count) but New Jersey's poor, passive defense makes that less of an indictment than it might otherwise be. Even against the Nets, three minutes is too long a time in the NBA to attempt to run out the clock with a 10 point lead. I won't miss the trapping defense from the second unit when it goes away, either. 7/10A thought regarding the oppositionAvery Johnson deserves credit for keeping his team in the game after the disastrous first quarter. He made good use of his limited (both in numbers and ability) personnel to construct an offensive attack that challenged the Hawks. That there was no way to construct a defensive resistance says more about the personnel on hand than Johnson's tactical acumen.
Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate* response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.
*Barring the inability to connect to the blog software for 15 hours. Apologies for the delay.
BoxscorePlayers Jeff Teague: Teague probably wasn't ready from day one, but surely we needn't have waited two full seasons for this. 7/10Joe Johnson: Very efficient scoring night. Scoring's the most important part of the game, so if you're going to contribute in just one facet of the game, that would be the one to pick. 6/10Marvin Williams: We're at the point where 11 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes from Marvin Williams seems surprising light, production-wise. 6/10Josh Smith: Doubled his season total of made jump shots but was partially culpable for the team's dreadful defensive rebounding. 5/10Al Horford: His zero defensive rebounds proved a touching tribute to the missing Robin Lopez. 4/10Zaza Pachulia: He is and always has been an excellent third big man. Let's not forget Zaza getting a role worthy of his talents amidst Jeff Teague's breakthrough season. 6/10Tracy McGrady: I'm perfectly fine with McGrady picking his spots. His solid fourth quarter made up for his somnambulant first three. 5/10Vladimir Radmanovic: He can't continue to turn the ball over this often. 3/10Jannero Pargo: Proved that he can contribute without making shots. The Hawks don't win this game without Pargo's contributions. 4/10Willie Green: Best performance yet as a Hawk. Four points on five shots, but no turnovers or fouls. 3/10The head coachProbably stayed with the second unit too deep into the fourth quarter but this is the type of opponent you risk giving your starters some extra rest. Not that the starters looked especially desperate. The Horford Treatment made a brief, relatively harmless appearance but was more than made up for by leaving Horford in the game after picking up his fifth foul. More playing time for Marvin Williams would help the defensive rebounding. 6/10A thought regarding the oppositionMarShon Brooks can score.
Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.
Your ratings and commentary, dear reader, are welcomed in the comments to this post.BoxscorePlayers Jeff Teague: Under control without resting for a moment. Knocked down three of four three-pointers. What took so long for this opportunity? 7/10
Joe Johnson: Can still get anywhere he wants on the floor, presuming where he wants to get isn't within 15 feet of the basket. 4/10
Marvin Williams: Aggressive offensively and his seven trips to the foul line more than made up for poor shooting. Nine rebounds (four offensive) demonstrate his most direct path toward providing consistent value for money. 7/10
Josh Smith: Early returns indicate that excess weight was not the cause of poor shot selection last season. Talented enough that his rebounding, passing, and defending can make up for four unnecessary jump shots. 5/10
Al Horford: Fairly passive offensively overall but spared a moment to dominate Kris Humphries in the third quarter. As is typical, paired with Smith to anchor the team's defense. 6/10
Zaza Pachulia: With this second unit, Zaza should continue to get plays run for him. 13 and 11 nights won't be a regular occurrence but the moody, disengaged Zaza could disappear entirely.7/10
Vladimir Radmanovic: Perhaps sometime tomorrow night, someone will guard Radmanovic for the first time this season. His spacing was excellent, he knocked down open shots, and was active defensively. Can't reasonably ask any more of him. 7/10
Tracy McGrady: Looks equal parts old and skilled. I suspect he'd be more useful complementing the starters than leading the second unit. 4/10
Jannero Pargo: A good night for the inactive Donald Sloan. Pargo dribbles too much, lacks vision and was physically dominated by Sundiata Gaines in the second half. 2/10
Willie Green: I don't look forward to him playing in a game where his minutes matter. 1/10
Ivan Johnson: Congratulations on his NBA debut. Only disappointment is that 'Nique nicknamed him "9 to 5" due to hard work, not because Johnson's a huge Lily Tomlin fan. 3/10
Jerry Stackhouse: To put a word in Pape Sy's mouth, "Seriously?" 1/10The head coachThe Hawks defended Deron Williams effectively and held the rest of the Nets down through some combination of good defense and just letting them beat themselves. Wisely didn't give the bench heavy minutes until the game was decided. Josh Smith got The Horford Treatment. In tonight's context, it was a meaningless decision. 8/10A thought regarding the oppositionI included the Nets among the ten teams trying to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference more for their willingness to improve the team than the current roster. As constituted, this team sorely misses Brook Lopez and Brook Lopez isn't very good.
For some thoughts more specific to tonight's game, check out the 3-on-3 at Nets Are Scorching. I don't doubt the sincerity of Larry Drew's desire to have his team play more aggressive defense and push the tempo this season, nor that Jeff Teague's presence will aid both efforts. Aggressive defense and The Horford Treatment cannot co-exist and I'm confident that, if picking up two fouls in the first half while playing aggressive defense leads to lengthy spells on the bench, then players will adjust as necessary to keep themselves on the court.
As for tempo, last season the Hawks finished 27th in possessions per game, same as in 2009-10, but, effectively, last year's team played at a much slower pace. Mike Woodson's last team had so few possessions because it never turned the ball over and got a lot of offensive rebounds. Larry Drew's first team turned the ball over at a roughly league-average rate and never got an offensive rebound. I expect the Hawks, in the half-court under Drew, will continue to run several seconds of motion offense to create a jump shot, so they'll have to increase tempo by creating transition opportunities to off-set a deliberate half-court offense.
The main reason the Hawks haven't pushed the tempo more often over the past several seasons has been poor defensive rebounding. Under Woodson, the switching defense often inverted the personnel, having big men challenge shooters and guards left to block out on the boxes. Last season, Larry Drew admittedly suffered from Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams being limited by injury but also gave over 1,000 minutes, for reasons good and ill, to poor rebounding big men Jason Collins and Josh Powell.
Also, Jamal Crawford (from John Hollinger's player comments): Crawford predictably regressed from his fluke rule season in 2009-10...his rebounding went from merely poor to You Can't Be Serious. Crawford is 6-6 and athletic; nobody expects him to outmuscle Kevin Love on the block, but you'd think a few boards would come his way just by dumb luck. Instead he rebounded only 3.4 percent of missed shots when he was on the floor, the single worst figure in the entire NBA. In a league that employed J.J. Barea, Earl Boykins, Aaron Brooks, Patty Mills and Pooh Jeter, among others, Crawford -- who, again, is 6-6 -- managed to land at rock bottom.
This was not only the worst figure in the NBA last season, it was very nearly the worst in history by a player 6-6 or taller. However, it turns out that there was another 6-6 Hawk who was even worse -- Randy Wittman posted a 3.3 in 1986-87, as did one other player (Jim Paxson in 1989-90).
Crawford will be missed whenever the second unit struggles to score (which, admittedly, could be a nightly occurrence) but his absence will be a virtue every time the other team has the ball, both before and after a shot goes up.
BoxscoreGameflowHoopdata boxscoreHighlightsTeam
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% |
| TO% |
NJ
| 87
| 1.000
| 50
| 10.1
| 18.4
|
| 14.9
|
| ATL | 87
| 1.126 | 52.6
| 20.5
| 26.5
|
| 13.8 |
Admittedly, as one who claimed weeks in advance that the Hawks should be judged more on their post-February 14th schedule than the routine wins they so frequently tallied against inferior competition prior to the All-Star break, I'm less inclined than many to grant this game the same weight as those recently played against Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami, and Denver.Not that the Hawks make it easy to credit them for the victory (or clinching a playoff spot). A 30-point lead with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter wasn't quite sufficient to put away the New Jersey Nets playing without their best player on the second night of a back-to-back. True, the Nets didn't quite get back in the game, thanks to three straight Al Horford scores (true, two of them came courtesy of long jumpers, and one of those a step-back 18-footer as the shot clock expired, but the first came via an all-too-rare trip to the free throw line for Horford), but the Nets did go on a 34-14 run in a little less than a quarter's worth of time against Atlanta's regular rotation.One can't deny the damper that Joe Johnson's thumb injury, one that will keep him out of tonight's game in Cleveland, put on the night, either. The team may have signed Johnson to an onerous contract and Johnson might be late into his least-good season as a Hawk but he remains an above average player on a team with very little guard depth.I mentioned above that New Jersey's sort-of comeback run came against Atlanta's regular rotation. That's due in part to Jason Collins and Hilton Armstrong and Etan Thomas all being active for the game. Presumably* all made available to Larry Drew should Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia prove insufficient to battle the beastly Brook Lopez (0 rebounds in 30:46 tonight) on the glass, once Johnson left the game, the Hawks had more backup centers dressed than guards. Tonight, no matter who Larry Drew tells to put on his suit, he will have more backup centers than guards who have played a single second in the NBA from which to choose. I'm sure this will all pay off when Al Horford's trying to close out on Ryan Anderson on Wednesday against Orlando.
*Checking to see if Josh Powell got arrested or suspended again...apparently he did not.Joe Johnson on his injured right thumb: "I didn’t know if it was still attached when it happened. It hurt that much."
In positive injury news, though Johnson will miss tonight's game and Josh Smith is still hampered by his sprained knee, in Michael Cunningham's post-game injury report, only Al Horford's sprained ankle, and not his sore hamstring, rates a mention.
Larry Drew: "We really played our game that first half. We were pushing the ball, we were moving the ball. Guys were making plays, Joe was making plays out of the post. We were swigning the ball well. It just seemed like everything was going right. I thought we played as well of a first half as we could offensively and defensively we did a really good job."
Kirk Hinrich: "I think our mindset was great for three quarters or so. We just have to feel when we are starting to go the other way and get a little bit of slippage and come together and not allow that to happen."
Al Hoford on clinching a playoff spot: "It’s special. It’s something I don’t take or granted. A lot of guys play in this league and don’t get this chance. I’m very excited about it. Now it’s about us building on this and keep getting better."
Routine as it is for the Hawks to make the playoffs now, it was far more routine for far longer for them not to make the playoffs.
Josh Smith: "It's a big accomplishment. There's a lot of guys who play a whole career and don't make it. I think if we get our act together, we can do something special this year."
BoxscoreGameflowHoopdata boxscoreHighlightsTeam
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
ATL
| 94
| 0.872
| 42.6
| 25.7
| 16.3
| 17
|
| NJ | 95
| 0.937 | 44
| 17.9
| 23.8
| 16.8 |
The Hawks lost because they turned the ball over too often, because they missed too many open shots, because too many of those shots were jump shots, because of poor perimeter defense both predictable (no Atlanta guard could stay in front of Devin Harris) and unpredictable (Mike Bibby turned Sasha Vujacic into a reasonably effective offensive player), because the bench is impotent offensively in the absence of Jamal Crawford, because Larry Drew was willing to play Josh Powell* and Jason Collins at center in the fourth quarter, because Josh Smith literally ducked closing out on Travis Outlaw as Outlaw attempted a corner three with 2:31 left in the game, and because Larry Drew is more apt to make sure that either Bibby (19 points on 15 shots, plus 5 turnovers) or Joe Johnson (14 points on 16 field goal and 6 free throw attempts) is on the court than that either Al Horford or Josh Smith is on the court.*The Teague/Evans/Wilkins/Powell plus either Bibby or Johnson lineups that allowed the Nets to wrest control of the game at the top of the fourth quarter defies explanation.It would be an exaggeration to blame any one of the above flaws for the loss so, in the interest of fairness, I'll focus on two in greater depth.1) Reliance on jump shots to score48 of Atlanta's 74 field goal attempts were jump shots taken outside the paint and their scoring tracked fairly closely to their success in making those shots.| Quarter | FGM | FGA | eFG% | Points |
| First | 9 | 14 | 67.9% | 30 |
| Second | 1 | 11 | 9.1% | 13 |
| Third | 4 | 13 | 38.5% | 19 |
| Fourth | 4 | 10 | 50% | 20 |
Yes, the Hawks are typically a jump shooting team but not to this degree. They're the fourth-most likely NBA team to take a long two-point jumper but (partly due to attempting fewer shots per game than the average NBA team) are not prone to taking a high percentage of three-point shots or jumpers inside of 15 feet.2) Larry Drew's belief that Josh Powell is a reasonable NBA rotation playerJosh Powell played 12:24 of the game and the Hawks were outscored by 14 points while he was on the floor. Though extreme in its degree, that the Hawks were inhibited by Powell playing should come as no surprise. Entering the game, the Hawks had been outscored by 7 points per 100 possessions when Powell was on the floor and were 12.4 points per 100 possessions better with Powell off the court. Again, Powell was similarly ineffective in previous seasons with previous teams.Larry Drew: "We were looking to get more in the paint. We tried to post and they were coming on the double team, which we were already prepared for. That was a situation where we were settling from the outside when we should have tried to put the ball on the floor more to get more drive-and-kick situations. We had some open looks and they just didn’t fall tonight."
Joe Johnson on his 9-30 shooting (2-12 from beyond the arc) since returning to action: "It’s not going to come back overnight. I just have to take my time."
"..and the bulk of the team's shots," he did not add.More from Johnson: "In the first quarter, we had good ball movement. We were getting into the teeth of the defense and making the game easy. After that, for whatever reason, we stopped doing that."
Drew on Johnson: "It will probably take another game or two for him to get into a rhythm. Early he was explosive and really making some nice plays. He kind of got cold again and couldn’t get it going again."
Mike Bibby: "They were running the same plays and it took us a while to catch on to them. They were running pick-and-rolls, getting mismatches, spreading us out."
Those tricky pick-and-rolls. As Michael Cunningham points out, it's not exactly an unusual opposition strategy against the Hawks: When winning time arrived, the Nets did to the Hawks what any team with competent pick-and-roll guards can do: Get dribble penetration then take advantage when the defense scrambles. Good shots usually will be available against the Hawks in those situations and then it becomes a matter of making them. The Nets made enough to win.
Kris Willis on playing poor defensive guards for 84 minutes: [T]he Hawks real problem...is an inability to defend night in and night out. I don't like Mike Bibby playing 43 minutes and I am unsure of Johnson playing 41 minutes after being out so long but can an argument really be made with the way the bench played today? Maybe Jeff Teague makes a lot of sense as Devin Harris was carving up the Hawks early but Bibby was one of the few Hawks that was making shots and coach Drew has said time and time again that he wants shot makers on the floor late.Would Teague have been able to get the Hawks into the offense?
Teague getting smacked in the face (no call) a minute and twelve seconds in to the fourth quarter forced Bibby to play a few extra minutes.On opening night, Mike Bibby helped lay the groundwork for Mike Conley, Jr.'s contract extension, yesterday, he helped Sasha Vujacic make a new friend. Devin Kharpertian at Nets Are Scorching: Look, I don’t want to like Sasha. He’s been an inside joke among me & some friends for a long time. But fast don’t lie, and Sasha is growing on me fast. His hustle is certainly appreciated – he’s getting quick open looks on offense and he’s racking up steals on the defensive end. I’ve made a lot of fun of him since the trade, but I can’t be upset at his contributions today. Here are two examples:
1) At the end of the third quarter, the Nets had the ball with seven seconds remaining and Troy Murphy threw the ball out of bounds. On Atlanta’s inbounds, Sasha poked the ball away, ran it down, and threw it to Devin for a potential buzzer-beater. That sort of hustle is definitely appreciated on a team that desperately needs it.
2) On his first pick & roll with Favors in the fourth quarter, Sasha found Favors at the rim for a layup and-1 to put the Nets up 69-64. Maybe Farmar can learn something from him.
All in all, Sasha finished with 10 points, six rebounds, three steals, three assists, one bloodied lip (which he played through all game) and a game high +/- of +23.
TIP-OFF: 1pm (EST)
TELEVISION: SportSouth
RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.
GAME NOTES: Hawks/NetsATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Jamal Crawford is questionable out.
NEW JERSEY INJURY REPORT: Damion James and Anthony Morrow are out. Quinton Ross is questionable.BY THE NUMBERS
2010-11
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
ATL (off)
| 90
| 1.078
| 51
| 22.5
| 24 | 15.2
|
NJ (def)
| 88.6 | 1.088 | 49
| 34.4
| 24.1
| 13.6 |
2010-11
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
ATL (def)
| 90.2
| 1.062
| 48.9 | 27.5
| 26 | 14.4
|
NJ (off)
| 88.6 | 1.029
| 46.6
| 25.2
| 25
| 16 |
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Nets Are ScorchingFOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -3.5, 183.5 o/u
PREVIOUSLY...the New Jersey Nets have lost 11 of 13 games, most recently losing 98-92 in Toronto on Friday night. Their last three wins (dating back to their November 23rd overtime win against the Hawks) have come at home.
The Hawks won the second meeting between the team this season: 116-101 in Atlanta on December 7th.
Injuries to Damion James, Anthony Morrow, and Quinton Ross (plus the trade of Terrence Williams to Houston) have reduced the Nets to listing but four probable starters for tonight's game in their official game notes.
Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
BoxscoreGameflowHoopdata boxscoreHighlightsTeam
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
NJ
| 90
| 1.122
| 51.4
| 52.1
| 25.6
| 14.4
|
| ATL | 90
| 1.289 | 64.1
| 20.5
| 29.4
| 12.2 |
One night they win with defense and asymmetry. The next night they coast to victory on the back of an offensive onslaught. A team that contains multitudes or just one of those things? I don't think one can doubt the varied and significant abilities of Josh Smith and Al Horford. Nor can one doubt the difference in defensive quality between the Orlando Magic and the New Jersey Nets. Suffice it to say, the Hawks cannot count either on holding opponents to 74 points on 87 possessions nor scoring 116 points on 90 possessions with any regularity. Accomplishing those feats on successive nights simply provides the spice of life.
It would be harsh to fault the Hawks for a workmanlike effort against the Nets. However important the victory of the Magic may or may not be in the grand scheme of things, it had to be immediately draining both physically and emotionally and it's not like the home crowd* was going to give them a boost.*I really dislike complaining about the home crowd because 1) there's an inference one includes the fans who do go to the game for lacking something and 2) at some level you're criticizing people for a lack of disposable time and income. Still, that was a disappointing crowd, both in size and volume, to welcome the Hawks back after the win in Orlando.I declared the game over when Avery Johnson called timeout immediately following the Jason Collins that put the Hawks up 16 with 8:24 left in the third quarter. Tot heir credit, the visitors did not fold completely. They scored 50 points in the final 20 minutes of the game and pulled within six with 4:08 left in the game. But they never looked like they could stop the Hawks when Smith and Horford were both on the floor and allowed 49 points over the final 20 minutes. The Hawks scored on eight straight possessions after New Jersey pulled within six, with Horford making three buckets and a pair of free throws, Smith setting Mike Bibby up for a layup, Jamal Crawford making a couple of shots off the dribble, and Marvin Williams knocking down two free throws.Smith, Horford, and Crawford were the story of the game. They scored 84 of Atlanta's 116 points and assisted on another 13 points. Horford was +25, Crawford was +19, and Smith was +17. In this game, for those three players, single-game plus/minus numbers are not misleading.ESPN Stats and Information on Josh Smith's 34 points on 14-16 shooting: [O]ver the last four seasons, only three other players have scored at least 34 points on at least 14-16 shooting: Amar’e Stoudemire (this season), Chris Bosh (2007-08) and Kevin Martin (2007-08).
Josh Smith: "We were unselfish with the basketball, and everybody was reaping the benefits."
Smith, 12-18 from outside of 16 feet (3-6 from three-point range) over the past two games: "I work hard on my jump shot. I’m not surprised if anything goes in. I assume it’s going to go in every time. I’m a confident player."
There will be an update to the Josh Smith: Jump Shooter? series before Friday's game.Jamal Crawford: "I feel a lot more comfortable (in the offense) right now."
Larry Drew on starting the big lineup again: "Most 3’s will not be able to match up against [Smith] especially when he posts them. He’s learned to be a pretty good paleyr in the post when I can get him down there, but it does pose a problem for the opposition because they have to make a decision on whether to match up big against him or like last night (against Orlando), they matched up Quentin Richardson and I went right into the post at him and they had to change the matchup.
I think [Horford] likes the fact that he doesn’t have to get down there, every single night, bang against somebody that’s bigger and stronger. It certainly relieves him of that, puts him in a position where he can be a little fresher at the end of the game."
It's important not to go overboard with the new lineup, as well. The Hawks are +20 as a team the past two nights. They're -3 over the 34:39 Jason Collins has played.Avery Johnson aids the argument that effort is not the secret to playing effective defense: "I know statistically, with them shooting 60 percent from the field and the amount of points we gave up, it doesn't look good, but I thought our effort was much better tonight than it was on Sunday. Our guys tried. Unfortunately, we played a better team tonight."
At Nets Are Scorching, Mark Ginocchio appraises the New Jersey defensive performance: Before the season began in October, one of Avery Johnson’s primary goals was to hold opposing teams to a field goal percentage of under 44 percent. It was a very ambitious goal, one that’s indicative of a top defense in this league. We liked this goal so much at Nets Are Scorching, we even keep track of this stat in the sidebar on our front page.
I’m obviously bringing this up because defensive performances like the one the Nets put forward in last night’s 116-101 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta, will go a long way in ensuring the team does not meet Johnson’s preseason goal. In allowing Atlanta to shoot 60.3 percent for the game, the Nets, while more competitive than they were in Sunday’s smackdown against Boston, had perhaps their worst defensive game of the season, though something tells me there’s plenty of time for this team to top themselves later in the season.
At Peachtree Hoops, Kris Willis offers the shorter recap: "It is really hard to lose when you can't miss."
TIP-OFF: 7pm (EST)
TELEVISION: SportSouth
RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.
CHAT: Daily Dime Live
GAME NOTES: Hawks/NetsATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Joe Johnson is out.NEW JERSEY INJURY REPORT: None.BY THE NUMBERS
2010-11
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
NJ (off)
| 87.9
| 1.036
| 47.4
| 24.1
| 23.5 | 15.8
|
ATL (def)
| 90.5 | 1.054 | 48.5
| 27.6
| 26.3
| 14.5 |
2010-11
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
NJ (def)
| 87.9
| 1.092
| 48.5 | 35
| 24.9 | 13.1
|
ATL (off)
| 90.4 | 1.082
| 50.7
| 22.4
| 24
| 14.7 |
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Nets Are Scorching, Whoop-De-Damn-DoFOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -6.5, 185.5 o/u
PREVIOUSLY...the New Jersey Nets have lost six of seven since beating the Atlanta Hawks 107-101 in overtime at home on November 23rd.The Nets have to be seriously concerned about both the continued regression of Brook Lopez's scoring efficiency back to the low levels of his college days and his plummeting rebound rates. Sure, Lopez plays alongside some quality defensive rebounders: Kris Humphries, Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy, and Terrence Williams but that hardly excuses the seven-footer from posting a defensive rebound rate 17% lower than Marvin Williams, who plays the bulk of his minutes alongside two pretty good defensive rebounders.Lopez's struggles have seriously undermined Devin Harris's renaissance, an unlikely career year from Humphries, and a very promising rookie season from Favors.Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
BoxscoreGameflowHoopdata boxscoreHighlightsTeam
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| ATL | 95
| 1.063
| 51.1 | 11.2
| 27.1
| 13.7
|
| NJ | 95
| 1.126 | 51.3
| 31.3
| 22
| 10.5 |
When they share the court, Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby are redundant. Their offensive strengths overlap and they don't play especially well together. They shared the court for over 19 minutes against the Nets. Bibby didn't score a single point in that time and Crawford scored just 8 of his 21 points alongside Bibby. He scored his other 13 points in the 18 minutes Bibby wasn't on the court alongside him.Defensively, they're two of the worst perimeter players in the league. Bibby is ineffective but is generally where he needs to be. More importantly, Bibby is where his teammates expect him to be. Crawford is completely unpredictable in how he'll screw up defensive rotations which, combined with his abysmal defensive rebounding, puts tremendous stress on his teammates.Except for the final defensive possession of regulation (when Marvin Williams replaced Bibby) and the final 19 seconds of overtime (when Jeff Teague replaced Bibby) Crawford and Bibby shared the court for the final 13 minutes and 10 seconds of the game. It did not work. Bibby didn't attempt a single shot, earned one assist, and grabbed two defensive rebounds in that time. Crawford scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, on just 5 shots, but he turned the ball over twice and was a big part of why Devin Harris had 10 points (on 6 shots) and earned 3 assists while Anthony Morrow added 11 points (on 4 shots) in the fourth quarter and overtime.It's very difficult to get a sufficient number of stops when you play a point guard and a lead guard so poor defensively that you have to put your biggest guard, himself a sub-par defender, on the opposing team's quickest player and primary ball-handler down the stretch.Perhaps, if Marvin Williams or Jeff Teague spent more than the final defensive seconds of the game on the court the game wouldn't have come down to the final seconds. Both played well, if far from spectacularly. Williams keyed a nice team defensive stretch* early in the second quarter, playing the point on a matchup zone. Williams knocked down a three-pointer to pull the Hawks within 1 with 1:39 left in the third quarter. He was substituted 27 seconds later and didn't play another offensive possession. Teague was far more successful in his first half stint, scoring both his points, earning both his assists, and twice picking New Jersey pockets than in his second half stint where he committed two turnovers.*The Hawks were within two points when he left the game at the 6:58 mark of the second quarter. They were down eight when he re-appeared at the start of the second half.The frontcourt rotations weren't appreciably better for the Hawks. The Horford Treatment reappeared and it brought with it the Pachulia Corollary. Horford picked up his second personal foul with 4:11 left in the first half and the Hawks down two. Since Pachulia (who would play just 10 minutes and 46 seconds in the game) already had two fouls, in lumbered Jason Collins who got to foul Kris Humphries twice, got to watch Brook Lopez score two quick buckets, and stood there while both Humphries and Lopez grabbed an offensive rebound. An action-packed four minutes (including a defensive rebound, bringing his DR% back over 8.0 and inching ahead of Mike Bibby's) for the bulky lynchpin. When he left the game, the Hawks were down eight.Horford, of course, finished regulation with three personal fouls and the overtime period with five personal fouls so Larry Drew effectively fouled out his best player four minutes early. Not that the Hawks exhibited any indication of who their best player was when Horford played. Unlike the Nets, who took a page out of Boston's Monday night book, quickly and frequently got the ball to Brook Lopez in positions where his size was an advantage over Horford, the Hawks ignored their leading and most efficient scorer for much of the opening period. Horford had three touches in the 9 minutes and 5 seconds he played in the first quarter. The Hawks scored 5 of their 21 first quarter points as a result of those rare instances of involving Horford.Here's what an off-night for Horford looks like: 14 points on 11 shots, 10 rebounds (3 offensive), 5 assists, and 1 turnover.Here's what an increasingly typical* night looks like for franchise player Joe Johnson: 16 points on 18 shots (0 points on 4 shots in overtime), 8 assists, 6 rebounds (1 offensive), and 2 turnovers.Neither acquitted themselves especially well defensively, though it should be noted that Brook Lopez scored 8 of his 32 points and grabbed 2 of his 4 offensive rebounds in the nine minutes he was not sharing the court with Horford and Joe Johnson was, ridiculously and hopelessly, asked to stay in front of Devin Harris.*Johnson's True Shooting Percentage is now 49.8% on the season. And he still comfortably leads the team in usage rate. And no combination of injury and ineffectiveness will limit his playing time.Twice it appeared as if Josh Smith's playing time was tied to his shot selection (9-21 from the floor, 1-6 from outside 16 feet, no jump shots after he was pulled from the game four minutes into the second half), a coaching decision many could get behind, one even more could get behind were it not tied to Josh Powell's minutes. Even on a night when Powell played well by his standards: 6 points on 6 shots, 4 rebounds (1 offensive), and no turnovers in 18:47, he was far less productive than the historically superior Pachulia: 4 points on 4 shots, 6 rebounds (3 offensive), 2 assists, and no turnovers in 10:46.In a game that's tied after 48 minutes, do you really want to look back and wish you'd played your better players more? That you'd built your offense around your best player?Larry Drew: "We just have to keep working. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. Throughout the season you are going to have ups and downs. You have to learn how to handle adversity and it makes you stronger."
You also have to learn how not to create your own adversity.Jamal Crawford: "The effort was there. It just didn’t go our way. We expended so much energy getting back in the game we didn’t have enough to finish."
This is what effort gets you: a narrow loss in New Jersey. Talent remains king and defense remains a talent.Mike Bibby: "You lose some games. You can’t win all 82. We’ve got a lot of games left. We can’t get down."
Michael Cunningham on the decidedly familiar look of the offense last night: The Hawks went retro with some Iso-Joe and Jamal. It was a mixed bag. They rallied behind a combined 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting from those two in the fourth quarter. But costly turnovers by both cost them possessions when the game was there to be taken late in regulation.
The Human Highlight Blog on the same subject: The Hawks scrapped the new motion/flex offense in favor of a handoff heavy isolation offense featuring the two players that have been struggling the most offensively: Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford.
So gone were the open looks that Al Horford would get out of the flex. Not a single Joe Johnson cutting to the hoop to get a pass from Horford with Bibby setting the back screen. Nope, we got Horford hunched over with his back to the basket, straining to handoff to his outside shooting overlords and a series of what Nique always calls "tough shots" for the backcourt.
TIP-OFF: 7pm (EST)
TELEVISION: SportSouth
RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.
CHAT: Daily Dime Live
GAME NOTES: Hawks/NetsATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Pape Sy is out.
NEW JERSEY INJURY REPORT: Quinton Ross is out.BY THE NUMBERS
2010-11
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
ATL (off)
| 90.9
| 1.091
| 51.8 | 25
| 24.4 | 15.9
|
NJ (def)
| 88.1 | 1.091 | 48.4
| 37
| 24.6
| 12.8 |
2010-11
| Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
ATL (def)
| 91.3
| 1.078
| 49.7 | 26.5
| 28.1 | 14.7
|
NJ (off)
| 88.1 | 1.053
| 47.8
| 22.5
| 26.2
| 16 |
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Nets Are ScorchingFOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -2.5, 189.5 o/u
PREVIOUSLY...the New Jersey Nets lost 107-103 in Denver on Saturday, wrapping up a four-game West Coast road trip on which they went 1-3. Though the Nets are only 4-9 on the season, they've played 7 of their 13 games on the road (where they're 2-5) and have faced both Orlando and Miami twice, going 0-4 in those meetings while the Hawks were getting two cracks at the Timberwolves.Take a peek at Wayne Winston's power rankings through yesterday's games and you'll see why the Hawks could have worries beyond Devin Harris tonight.Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
BoxscoreGameflowHighlights| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| ATL | 89.2
| 1.21
| 54.1 | 18.8
| 23.8 | 7.8
|
| NJ | 89.2 | 0.941 | 41
| 25.6
| 26
| 17.9 |
I was off-line much of last night and am ill today. So I'll keep it bulleted and brief before getting to the links.- The Nets, short-handed themselves, gave a game effort but lack the talent to compete with the Hawks, even a short-handed Hawks team.
- By talent, I mostly mean players who can make shots. The turnovers didn't help but the Nets, Brook Lopez excluded, never looked likely to complete the act of putting the ball in the basket.
- Given the Nets' effort and their own short-handedness the ease with which the Hawks separated themselves from the Nets in the second quarter is admirable. Maintaining that separation was impressive.
- Jamal Crawford, Marvin Williams, and Mo Evans ably stepped up in Joe Johnson's absence.
- I don't know why Marvin Williams becomes a better defensive rebounder* in Joe Johnson's absence.
- I don't get playing Jeff Teague alongside Mike Bibby other than as a casualty of the team's campaign to get Jamal Crawford voted Sixth Man of the Year. I don't know that those twelve-and-a-half minutes playing alongside Bibby helped Teague much but I doubt they hurt him, either.
- The Hawks were -3 with both Bibby and Teague on the court. When Crawford replaced Teague in the third quarter, the Hawks led 63-50.
*Sample size: 3 games against bad teamsMike Woodson: "There are no ‘gimmes’ in this league. We’ve had games like this where we came out on the other end. I thought our guys came out focused."
Jamal Crawford: "We are getting better at not giving teams a chance to put together a run and come back."
Woodson on Teague: "He was OK. Probably a little nervous. He played pretty good. He’s got to work to get better and he will get better. We’ll push him. He played pretty well considering he’s not played a lot of minutes. Not by any measure am I disappointed in his play."
Kiki Vandewghe holds his team to a higher standard than do I: "It was the first game in a very long time that I just felt like we didn't have our energy."
Mark Ginocchio, Nets Are Scorching: The Atlanta Hawks are everything the Nets are not: athletic, deep and offensively efficient.
I'm still not tired of the Hawks being on the good end of such comparisons.
TIP-OFF: 7:30pm (EST)
TELEVISION: Fox Sports South
CHAT: Daily Dime Live (in which I will be participating)
RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass
GAME NOTES: Hawks/NetsATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Joe Johnson is out. Mike Bibby will play and start alongside Jeff Teague in the backcourt.
NEW JERSEY INJURY REPORT: Yi Jianlian is out. Devin Harris is a game-time decision.BY THE NUMBERS| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
ATL (off)
| 89.4
| 1.134
| 50.5 | 22.2
| 28 | 13.3
|
NJ (def)
| 90.1 | 1.123 | 51.7
| 31.9
| 28.7
| 16 |
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
ATL (def)
| 89.4
| 1.084
| 50.1 | 27.8
| 27.4 | 15.9
|
NJ (off)
| 90.1 | 1.012 | 45.6
| 23.4
| 25
| 16.3 |
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -6.5, 195 o/u
OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Nets Are Scorching
PREVIOUSLY, THE NEW JERSEY NETS...lost 116-108 to the Rockets in Houston on Saturday night. It was New Jersey's fourth straight loss.The Nets have lost 11 straight home games since beating the Clippers on January 27th. They are 3-28 at home this season.It's not all bad news for the Nets. They finally broke through the one point per offensive possession barrier ten games ago. They've stayed above that mark through each subsequent game and currently sit at their high-water mark (1.012 points per possession) for the season.The Hawks beat the Nets 130-107 on December 13th and 119-89 on January 6th in Atlanta.Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.
BoxscoreHoopdata BoxscoreGameflowHighlights| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
NJ
| 90.8
| 0.98
| 43.7 | 31.6
| 24.4 | 17.6
|
ATL
| 90.8 | 1.31 | 66.0
| 26.7
| 27.6
| 19.8 |
The Nets are too poor a team and gave too listless a performance to give the Hawks credit for a job well done but Atlanta got the job done, and, courtesy of an outstanding collective shooting night (56.6 2PTFG%, 59.1 3PTFG%, 95.2 FT%), got the job done early. Only Joe Johnson cracked 30 minutes (and he only by 28 seconds) ahead of the Hawks' three games in four days against Boston (twice) and Orlando.Due to the sheer volume of wide-open shots generated against New Jersey's inert zone defense, this game will likely have no bearing on how the Hawks perform in any of the next three games with one* exception: team defense. The Hawks jumped out to a 17-point lead after one quarter courtesy of a fine team defensive performance coupled with the lack of resistance they faced offensively but didn't put the game away for good until the bench went on an 18-2 run early in the fourth quarter despite scoring 57 points over the second and third quarters because they allowed New Jersey, the league's least efficient offensive team, to score 55 points on 45 possessions.*If you, dear reader, can discern the future meaning (if any) of the technicals drawn by Woodson (up 19) and Josh Smith (up 16) you're ahead of me. I've failed to formulate any insight beyond "unnecessary."The defensive performance across the middle two quarters may be nothing more dire than a manifestation of the mismatch but its timing was odd, coming as it did, on the heels of a players-only meeting from which the players emerged speaking of a renewed commitment to defending selflessly.This is an example of why I hesitate to draw a lesson from last night's game. Jamal Crawford: "They zoned us. We've got good looks against zones in the past, but we just haven't knocked them down."
I know Jamal Crawford thinks they're all good shots, but isn't that, inherently, the problem? And the reason for skepticism following a perfectly acceptable 30-point win?There were eight more possessions last night than in the Miami game but the Hawks attempted just four more field goals and, of those field goals, attempted just one fewer jump shot. Now, last night those jump shots were clearly defended far less enthusiastically. They were nearly all, bless you, 'Nique, rhythm jumpers but getting loads of open jump shots against a terrible defense, coasting defensively for two quarters, and watching the bench get to the line in the fourth quarter to put the game away is not an especially sound long-term strategy.Though there's no reason to believe that the effort level will be the same Friday night, in front of a (presumably) packed house, when the Celtics come to town.
