Is Jason Collins Playing Too Much?

I was thinking about an article I read last year over at Wages of Wins that compared the number of minutes allocated by various teams to what it termed "bad players." The main thrust of the article was to praise the Chicago Bulls for making personnel decisions that resulted in the fewest "bad players" on its roster, and for allocating the fewest minutes to those players.

It got me thinking, could Jason Collins be the most over-used bad player in NBA history? The table below shows how Collins ranks, according to John Hollinger's Player Statistics, in lowest Player Efficiency Rating over the last 7 seasons among players to play in at least 10 games and average at least 10 minutes per game. The only season in which Collins failed to rank in the bottom 5 in this category was 2009-10, when Mike Woodson blessedly allocated only 4.8 MPG to Collins.

Lowest PER among players w/ 10 MPG and 10 GP:

Year GP MPG PER Rank

2011-12 15 10.0 0.97 1st

2010-11 49 12.1 5.37 3rd

2009-10 24 4.8 0.96 NR

2008-09 31 13.6 3.29 1st

2007-08 74 15.8 3.40 4th

2006-07 80 23.1 3.02 2nd

2005-06 71 26.7 5.49 5th

Once again, my interest here is not to engage in a discussion of the valididty of Hollinger's PER statistic. The argument is frequently made that certain players (such as Bruce Bowen) contribute to winning basketball in ways that are not reflected in the raw statistics that PER compares. If anyone would like to make an argument that Collins makes a Bowen-like defensive impact that's not given justice by this post, please have at it in the comments.

Here's my argument: In Monday's game against the Celtics, Collins checked in with 6:16 to play in the third quarter after Jeff Teague's monster dunk over Ray Allen. The Hawks led 47-40 after Allen's technical free throw. Over the next 3:34, the Celtics rattled off 5 unanswered points. Collins' plays looked like this: offensive foul, turnover, defensive rebound, missed a pair of free throws, offensive rebound, traveling, defensive rebound, missed a pair of free throws.

That's what the eye test shows you. The raw stats for Collins, as reflected in the table above, are also stunningly-consistent over 7 seasons.

Quote of the Day -- March 20, 2012

Kevin Garnett, when asked if Jeff Teague’s dunk on Ray Allen and subsequent taunting in the third quarter angered the Celtics:

“I don’t even know who you are talking about. That guy’s a nobody.’’

No Hawk was assessed a technical foul for excessive celebration after Teague closed out the home loss with an air ball on a three-point attempt.

Initial Feedback: The Latest Offensive Implosion

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.

Boxscore

Players
Jeff Teague: That his emphatic third quarter dunk came with a technical foul attached was all too typical of Atlanta's misguided effort. A rare offensive triumph undercut by misdirected effort. Nice hip-check on Rondo to free Joe Johnson for the three that made it 71-75. 3/10

Kirk Hinrich: A dreadful night, ineffectual offensively and frequently at fault on the infrequent occasions Boston scored. His block of Brandon Bass followed by setting up Joe Johnson for a game-tying transition three seemed a notable fourth quarter exception at the time. 'Twas not to be. 3/10

Joe Johnson: Atypically and delightfully took a page out of Paul Pierce's book to draw and sell minimal contact on Pierce's fourth foul early in the third quarter. Otherwise, he hit shots only intermittently and did nothing of value when not hitting shots. Perked up briefly after the Hawks fell behind by 15. Committed his seventh turnover once the Hawks were back within four. 4/10

Josh Smith: There's not a direct correlation between seven jump shot Josh Smith quarters and 15 point Atlanta Hawks quarters but the two are not unrelated. We can (and should) argue circles about whether the jumpers are indicative or the cause of bad offense but the results are, either way, dispiriting. As was his remonstrating at Tracy McGrady prior to the in-bounds play that ended the third quarter. Once the ball was in play, McGrady wasn't the one who lost a man who sneakily moved five feet to the left. He made 3-4 jump shots in the first four-and-a-half minutes. Boston let him shoot eight more. He missed them all. 4/10

Zaza Pachulia: Grabbed 8 of Atlanta's 22 rebounds (and all three of the team's offensive rebounds) in the first half when not serving as a scapegoat for Tracy McGrady or Joe Johnson's inability to create offense off the dribble. This team can be so miserable to watch. Dribbling establishes status, rebounding just happens. 5/10

Tracy McGrady: His production has dipped to the point where playing back-to-back games can't adversely affect it too much. Here's hoping he can play again this week. 3/10

Ivan Johnson: The difference between playing the Cavaliers and playing the Celtics, in microcosm. 2/10

Jerry Stackhouse: It must be the dog days of the season. Back-to-back Jerry Stackhouse makes in the second quarter gave the Hawks a four-point lead (and the game a much needed instance of back-to-back makes) drove my thoughts to utility of writing about a playoff team not just employing but playing Jerry Stackhouse in 2012. That he was playing because Jannero Pargo, Willie Green, and Vladimir Radmanovic were all unavailable brought no comfort in the grand scheme of things. 3/10

Jason Collins: I don't deny he has his use and acknowledge both that he's better than Erick Dampier and was on the court in the third quarter due, in part, to Zaza Pachulia needing to visit the locker room. Still, 0 points on 5 possessions is bad. Even in the context of this game. Four rebounds were a nice surprise. 1/10

The head coach
The injuries aren't his fault and he can't do anything to change them. Josh Smith's shot selection isn't his fault. Joe Johnson's meandering dribbling isn't his fault. The difference there is that Larry Drew has proven incapable of instilling change. This team remains perfectly capable of overpowering inferior opposition and folding to the slightest residual competency from a marginal opponent. It's not a good sign that the Hawks came back only once the game became ragged and desperate. 2/10

A thought regarding the opposition
A shadow of their former selves, the aged Celtics should serve as an object lesson the Hawks as to the dangers of stasis with an expensive core surrounded by fungible spare parts. The Hawks got their core together younger, the Celtics timed their acquisitions perfectly. Without change, neither will end ceremoniously. At least the Celtics got to enjoy three Hall of Famers and a championship out of the journey.

Remaining Schedule Favorable to Hawks

It was a good weekend for the Hawks as the Magic, 76ers, Pacers and Celtics all lost while Atlanta assembled a modest 2-game win streak. Among Eastern Conference teams, only the Bulls (impressively, given injury woes) have a better record in the last 10 games than the 6-4 Hawks.

The Hawks presently hold the 6th seed in playoff position, and must overtake division rival Orlando (2.5 games ahead in the standings) to gain home court advantage. The Hawks are ahead of Philadelphia in winning percentage, but the 76ers hold the 4th playoff position because they lead the Atlantic division (the seeding process is explained here).

Tonight's opponent the Celtics are the team immediately behind the Hawks in the playoff picture, currently holding the 7th position. However, if Boston hopes to move up, the team has its work cut out for it. The Celtics have played the 5th-easiest schedule in the league thus far. This site shows the strength of schedule for remaining opponents among Eastern Conference teams. The Celtics face the second-toughest remaining schedule while Atlanta, which has faced the 3rd-hardest schedule, will face the 2nd-easiest schedule the rest of the way.

Further, while the Celtics and 76ers have the most road games remaining among Eastern Conference teams (13) and the fewest home games (8 for Philadelphia, 9 for Boston), the Hawks have the most home games (14) and fewest road games (7). The Hawks would do well to deny the Celtics a much-needed road victory tonight at Phillips Arena.

Initial Feedback: The Latest Offensive Explosion

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.

By Mark Phelps

Boxscore

Players

Joe Johnson: Joe's hot hand started the game out as he used his size advantage to expose the defensive limitations of the Cavs' backcourt. He stayed hot throughout the game, finishing 11-of-16 and 3-4 from the arc, surprisingly playing off the ball and getting int catch-and-shoot situations often. Joe also picked up five assists and four rebounds. Since both Teague and Hinrich are starting and Joe is technically moving up to the small forward slot, you might expect a few more rebounds, but you can't argue too much with a great game like this. 9/10

Josh Smith: Josh provided the flipside to Joe's coin, extremely cold shooting from the floor, finishing a paltry 3-15, but the nine assists, eight boards, and ability to guard five positions shows that he's a more complete player than often given credit for. A great use of a poor shooting night, even if his defense was lacking late in the game. 5/10

Zaza Pachulia: You can't fault Zaza's energy for the game. Despite not shooting well, he was all over the court, fighting for rebounds and hounding the Cleveland offense. His 12 rebounds helped swing the game the Hawks' direction early, and so far, only twice in March has he been kept from the double-digit plateau in rebounds. He picked up 40 minutes on the front half of a back-to-back, showing why he is an integral part to this Hawks team. 5/10

Kirk Hinrich: Hinrich has shown flashes of his old self this month, and this is what you want to see. His effective use of screens and penetration of the lane led to a 6-10 shooting performance. A few more assists than the one he chalked up would be nice, but if we see this side of Kirk more often, there will be no complaints over not
dealing him at the deadline. 6/10

Jeff Teague: Absolutely great day for Teague. Jeff saw a lot of action with both the first and second units, had a great shooting day at 8-14, and hounded the super-quick Kyrie Irving as much as anyone could expect. Though he didn't share the ball as well as he might, he still provided a great spark on offense and didn't seem to lose a step on D. 7/10

Ivan Johnson: Would anyone bother defining Ivan as anything other than a hustle player? It totally paid off today, as he was constantly being rewarded for solid positioning and running the court. He was 5-5 from the floor and picked up four rebounds. Even if the Cavs aren't a top-tier team, he really showed why he was pulled out of the D-league today. 8/10

Tracy McGrady: It's always great to see Tracy play well -- the Hawks become a much deeper team, and we needed that with numerous injuries and illnesses affecting the Hawks bench today. Excellent energy in attacking the basket and using his length to harass the Cavs on both offense and defense. Quietly efficient basketball and six rebounds off the bench from the small forward slot. 6/10

Jerry Stackhouse: Give it to Jerry Stackhouse. He will never know at the beginning of a game if he will play one minute of game time and he's far too old to be what he used to be, but he always comes out with the fervor of a player half his age. Jerry picked up nine points, including three on trips to the line in nine minutes. 5/10

Jason Collins: Hey! Jason Collins is back...so, there you have it. Incomplete

Erick Dampier: One minute for Erick. Incomplete

The head coach
Drew played a reasonably smart game today, using the Hawks' height advantage to run the score up early -- the Cavs never led after the first five minutes of the game. He was also able to rest Joe & Josh a bit since the Hawks will be back home to play another tomorrow against Boston. Effective use of post offense and high screens for the long-range guns, and we help push the Cavs one step closer to another postseason off. 7/10

A thought regarding the opposition
1) Why have people been saying the race for Rookie of the Year was between Irving and Rubio? Even before he was hurt, Rubio has still not been the player Irving has been. I know every team would love to have this guy. Great shooter, above average passer. Oh yeah, he's NINETEEN. Point guards of the NBA, watch out.

2) I was a little surprised the Cavs waived Jason Kapono after the trade that sent Ramon Sessions to L.A. Sure, he's not the player he was a few years back, but he can still be a dangerous long-range weapon and he was signed for minimum money. It will be interesting to see if any team that needs a bomber going into the playoffs takes a gamble on him.

Notes: Neither Kapono nor also-newly-acquired Luke Walton played in this game. Former Hawk Donald Sloan did step onto the court for a minute.

Initial Feedback: Medium Fish Eat the Little Ones

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.

Boxscore

Players

Joe Johnson: It's good to see that the pre-trade-deadline tendinitis has cleared up. 9/10

Josh Smith: After Rick Sund energized the fan base with the trade of a second round draft pick for cash, Smoove followed up with one of his most entertaining dunks of the year, a reverse 180 that brought back memories of Dominique. If Sund has stuck with the core this long, the Hawks need to stick with it through next season's playoffs. To trade Josh in the off-season or at next year's trading deadline without seeing what this group can do in the playoffs with a healthy roster would be a travesty. 8/10

Zaza Pachulia: Energized the fan base with yet another double-double. Did you enjoy the 7 assists? 7/10

Kirk Hinrich: It took 41 minutes of playing time, but 5 points and 5 assists with zero turnovers is a spectacular line for Kirk, relative to how he's been playing. With the Lakers trading for Ramon Sessions, Kirk will remain a Hawk through the playoffs. He's getting better, and we might see another impact performance in the postseason like what we saw against Orlando. He still has a chance to be worth two first-rounders if he can help the Hawks win another playoff series. 6/10

Jeff Teague: A performance that reminds you what Teague can do defensively when he tries. His 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals against John Wall were impressive. As he watches Mike Woodson's treatment of Jeremy Lin, the sensation who doubled MSG's market capitalization in 10 magical February days, Teague should count himself fortunate that he has earned Larry Drew's trust. 7/10

Ivan Johnson: Had a monster dunk of his own, and for one play he looked like the fearless player who won a spot in the rotation early this season. That was before Drew's roller coaster minutes made Ivan start second guessing himself and hesitating with his offense. A modest 6 points and 2 rebounds in 15 minutes was his line for the night. 4/10

Tracy McGrady: Played only 9 minutes, which apparently wasn't enough for T-Mac to give his usual production. Had only 2 points and did not record an assist or a rebound. 2/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: Played only 5 minutes, so I won't bother with assigning a grade. Incomplete

Jannero Pargo: Not one of his more explosive scoring performances of the season, but this is exactly what you want from Pargo: 8 points, 1 assist and zero turnovers in 14 minutes. 6/10

The head coach

Drew should be happy that Woodson is back in business in New York. It means he's no longer a branch on a dead coaching tree. It will be interesting to see how the Hawks and Knicks perform down the stretch because both coaches have a limited opportunity to audition for a more permanent position. Can't give Drew too much credit for this performance against depleted bottom feeders. 5/10

A thought regarding the opposition

The trade of Nene for JaVale McGee helps both teams. George Karl may turn McGee into a better player than Nene, and the Nuggets obviously wouldn't ship out their franchise center for a project if he hadn't disappointed. But any transformation of McGee into a solid player was never going to happen in Washington, and Nene will instantly raise the team's professionalism. This failure of the Wizards' organizational culture reminds me how it took the Hawks organization way longer than it should have to realize (in two senses) the potential of Smoove, Teague and Zaza.

Initial Feedback: Running on Fumes

by James Goeders

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.

Boxscore

Players
Jeff Teague: Teague was given the tough task of guarding Chris Paul after playing 40+ minutes last night and the fatigue showed in his jump shot. Jeff was only 3-of-11 from the floor finishing with 10 points. The 5 dimes and 3 rebounds were nice, especially combined with 0 turnovers, but the guards in general gave up way too many shots. 3/10

Kirk Hinrich: A night after having his best game of the season, Hinrich went back to being mostly ineffective ending the game with a single made field goal and only 4 points. He did come down with 5 rebounds. 2/10

Joe Johnson: Joe did his best to keep the Hawks in this one, but by the second half the jumpshots weren't even making it to the basket. Way too many three point attempts came up short and Joe kept shooting them. Leading scorer for the Hawks with 19 and had 5 assists, but only grabbed 1 rebound. 5/10

Josh Smith: J-Smoove had another perfect night from the line and a decent night overall shooting 6-of-14 for 18 points (his lowest total in March). Early foul trouble kept him off the court for extended periods leading to more minutes for TMac. Josh pulled down 6 rebounds and had 4 assists, his fourth straight game with at least 3 assists. Had another monster block, this time stuffing Mo Williams, about the only time the Hawks slowed him down all night. 5/10

Zaza Pachulia: Zaza very quietly had another double-double, his fourth in the last seven games, on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. Will be good to get Ivan Johnson back to give Zaza some help and an occasional rest. 6/10

Tracy McGrady: TMac played the most minutes of anyone off the bench, which makes sense since he hasn't been in action in almost a week. McGrady finished with 9 points and only 3 assists, but you can tell he sees the court better than most players on the team and is consistently finding the open man. To completely refute that point, he's got to cut down on the turnovers. 4/10

Jannero Pargo: Much better effort tonight than last night in Denver with 2-of-4 three pointers falling in. Finished with 8 points in 15 minutes of action but grabbed just 1 rebound with no assists. 2/10

Jerry Stackhouse: Stack played 13 minutes off the bench which showed just how desperate the Hawks were for warm bodies to put on the court. 1/10

Erick Dampier: Even with Zaza having played a ton of minutes last night and Ivan Johnson and Vladimir Radmanovic not playing at all tonight, Damp still only got in the game for 9 minutes and again did not have a single field goal attempt. If the big man isn't going to take any shots, can he at least try and grab some rebounds? 1/10

The head coach A lab created super coach wasn't going to pull this one out tonight for the Hawks. The lack of any bench production and the starters coming off an overtime road game the night before just spelled disaster for the Hawks against an athletic opponent.
4/10

A thought regarding the opposition Mo Williams led all scorers with 25 off the bench and the Clippers were able to get an easy victory playing the second team for most of the second half. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were the only starters to play over 30 minutes.

Initial Feedback: Missed Opportunities

By James Goeders

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.

Boxscore

Players
Jeff Teague: Teague played a ton of minutes but had a tough time from the floor only scoring 9 on 2-of-8 shooting. Jeff was able to dish out 8 assists and grab 5 rebounds, but he had a tough time defensively with Ty Lawson 4/10

Kirk Hinrich: Hinrich was huge in this game getting another start at the 2, but he mostly will be remembered for missing the free throw with 1.1 seconds remaining that would have given the Hawks the lead (his only miss from the line all night). Kirk had his first 20+ point game of the season (22) building on his strong March. Hinrich finished 7-of-8 from the floor (3-of-4 from behind the arc) and had 4 assists, but not a single rebound. 6/10

Joe Johnson: It was a weird game for Joe, as he started hot but the two early fouls got Pargo in much earlier than anyone would want. One might think that moving over to the 3 would get Joe more chances at rebounds, but he finished with only 2. His game high 34 points (including 6-of-10 from 3) were great, but there were stretches when Joe would dribble out the shot clock and leave the Hawks in a precarious situation. The final 2 minutes of regulation were particularly frustrating after an elite 2nd half. Kept the Hawks in it after Josh fouled out, but this doesn't feel like his team like it did before the break 8/10

Josh Smith: When the jumper is falling J-Smoove is unstoppable, and you get games like tonight. After a rough first quarter, Josh went off and finished with 33 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks in 36 minutes of action. On top of that, Smoove hit 2-of-3 from behind the arc and all 5 free throw opportunities. Josh was beastly on both sides of the court and you could feel the energy leave the team when he fouled out with over a minute left in OT. 9/10

Zaza Pachulia: Zaza did work on the glass grabbing 13 rebounds, but the missed lay-in at the buzzer was all anyone will remember. The playcall was perfect but the shot just did not go down. With Ivan Johnson currently not available there is a huge hole defensively when Zaza is on the bench. His 45 minutes tonight will make things quite interesting tomorrow when he's chasing Blake Griffin around. 5/10

Marvin Williams: Another great night for Marvin off the bench as he was one of only four Hawks players in double figures. Amazing energy all over the court with 3 steals, 2 dimes, and 2 rebounds. Vital in the Hawks' run in the 3rd quarter. Marvin is finally aggressively going to the basket, and then he was knocked out of the game with a right hip injury. He came in as a decoy on the final possession of regulation, but it was quite disappointing to not have him down the stretch. 6/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: Definition of worthless tonight. Missed all four shots from the floor (all behind the arc) to finish with no points and four fouls. You'd think a guy playing 11 minutes at the 4/5 would luck into more than 2 rebounds. What has happened to this 3-point specialist? 1/10

Jannero Pargo: Joined VladRad as the two worst Hawks players in +/- finishing with a -11. Pargo was also mostly ineffective on the court making 1-of-5 shots and finishing with 3 points. He was able to grab 2 rebounds and dish out 3 assists making his night less of an abomination. Lost the inbounds pass with 9 seconds left off his knee giving Denver the opportunity to make the go-ahead 3 pointer. 2/10

Erick Dampier: Four completely irrelevant minutes 1/10

The head coach Tried throwing a number of different things at Denver to slow down their offense (going small, going to a zone, etc) and it should have led to the Hawks stealing one on the road. After giving up 64 points in the first half, the Hawks held Denver to 54 in the 2nd (including OT). It was good to see him pick up the technical defending Josh (and Marvin) who were both knocked to the ground by Nene in successive possessions. As short handed as the Hawks were, Coach Drew got all he could hope for from the starters and Marvin. Will be interesting to see what he can do tomorrow with so many guys playing 40+ minutes.
6/10

A thought regarding the opposition Gallinari's fade-away three to go up 1 at the end of regulation was just absurd. Denver has a weakness falling asleep inside on defense, and the Hawks drew up the perfect play to exploit it and win the game, and the shot just did not fall.

Hawks Ownership Plays Semantics Game Regarding Josh Smith's Trade Desire

The Associated Press is reporting that the likelihood of the Hawks trading Josh Smith before Thursday's trade deadline is "as close to zero as you can get," according to Atlanta Spirit part-owner Bruce Levenson.

The AP story quotes Levenson saying, "I don't know where the rumors are coming from and neither does Josh. [He] said to me, 'They're not coming from me, Bruce. They're not coming from my agent.'"

The problem with this bit of revisionism is that Atlanta Journal-Constitution Hawks beat writer Michael Cunningham never specified in his blog entry that Josh or his agent were his source. Josh Smith still has not gone on record saying he does not want to be traded or that Cunningham's source was incorrect about his desires or lack of faith in the organization's commitment to winning a championship.

Until Josh goes on record to deny that the comments of Cunningham's source accurately reflect his feelings, denials such as the above from Levenson will ring a bit hollow.

Narrow-margin Road Futility Reaches Historic Proportions for Atlanta Hawks

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Hawks, after tonight's 118-117 loss at Denver, have tied the Pistons (from 1978 to 1981) and Clippers (1994 to 2002) for the longest streak of one-point road losses in NBA history. The Hawks have now lost their last nine road games decided by one point, dating back to March 2007.

Initial Feedback: Volume Shooting Continues to Work

By James Goeders

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.

Boxscore

Players
Jeff Teague: Jeff looked really good against the 5'9" Isiah Thomas, scoring 16 points (shooting 7-for-11 from the floor) with 7 assists and 3 steals. Made the only 3 he took and had a sick dunk off of a turnover. 7/10

Joe Johnson: In the first half it looked like the knee was still bothering Joe a great deal as he started 1-for-7. He did have 6 assists, but at times seemed timid and too willing to give up the ball. Totally turned that around in the 2nd half finishing with 21 points (his highest point total since January 31 against Toronto). Made all 9 FT attempts which was vital in the final minute to preserve the victory. 7/10

Kirk Hinrich: Hinrich got the start at the 2 even with Joe back in the lineup to try and match the smaller size Sacramento put on the court. Finished with 12 points (helped by 2-of-5 shooting from behind the arc), 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Played 42 minutes (the most of any player) and was most useful defensively as Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton were both held way below their ppg averages. 6/10

Josh Smith: Tonight was precisely why the Hawks cannot afford to trade J-Smoove. Josh led all scorers with 28 points, 19 coming in the 2nd half. The 3rd quarter was all Josh, Joe, and Jeff as they scored 26 of the Hawks 29 points (Vlad Rad hit the 3). Smoove kept playing aggressive and when he was double-teamed did a great job of finding the open man (which was usually Joe Johnson standing alone at the 3 point line) resulting in 3 assists. Did work on defense getting 3 blocks and 3 steals. Still took too many jumpers (FIVE 3 pointers!), but finished shooting 57% from the floor 9/10

Zaza Pachulia: Zaza was a beast in the first half, recording a double double with 4 minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter. Was outmatched at times by the 6'11" 270 lb Cousins, but grabbed 13 rebounds to go with his 10 points. Disappeared in the 2nd half when he got into foul trouble, but Marvin and VladRad were able to give quality minutes 7/10

Marvin Williams: Marvin didn't get the start tonight, but had a great game off of the bench finishing with 12 points and 5 rebounds in 24 minutes. Marvin showed incredible effort in the 2nd quarter with the second team. One of the biggest plays of the night was Marvin's steal that he took coast-to-coast and finished with a dunk and an and-1 that fouled out DeMarcus Cousins. Was vital in the final minute when Zaza fouled out and Drew decided to put Marvin at the 4 and Josh at the 5. 8/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: Was a beast off of the bench grabbing 10 rebounds in only 16 minutes of work. Only had 5 points, but was much more useful battling under the hoop. 5/10

Jannero Pargo: Had two just ridiculously bad turnovers in his 7 minutes of action, all coming in the first half. Had one made basket and one horrible airball. Was the only Hawks player with a negative plus/minus (-5) to further demonstrate how bad those 7 minutes were. 1/10

Erick Dampier: Damp came in to spell Zaza for 6 minutes in the first half and did not take a single shot. He was able to grab 2 rebounds to go with an assist and a block. incomplete

The head coach Leaving Marvin on the bench to start the game and going with 3 guards seemed questionable at tipoff. It was even more questionable when the Kings scored 12 of their first 14 points in the paint. However, Marvin seemed to get a spark coming in at the 3:03 mark of the 1st quarter, and for just the second time in the last 31 games all 5 starters scored double figures for the Hawks. Going small obviously worked to slow down the Kings' guards.
7/10

A thought regarding the opposition
The Kings are a young team that show it with their carelessness with the basketball. They're dangerous from behind the arc and get a ton of minutes from their bench. Cousins is going to be a stud.

Arena Apothecary: Dig This Groove: Don't Trade Smoove!

Oh, jeez, Travis v. Noam. I'm in an internet friend no man's land:

Over at the bastion of internet awesomeness known as Hardwood Paroxysm, Noam Schiller wrote about the possibility of a Josh Smith trade, and that post included the following:

"Of course, [a trade] fits with us just fine. We hate Josh Smith in Atlanta, and we fully understand if he hates it as well."

Dear Noam, I am a huge fan of your work, but please, please shut up. Atlanta absolutely cannot trade Smoove. I might be the only one, but I most definitely do not hate him. I love Josh Smith; I treasure him, in fact. Because think about it: Josh Smith is almost all we have.

We're not getting out of this maddening, middling mediocrity until the financial albatross that is Joe Johnson's contract comes off the books. (And maybe not even then because the ASG ownership is a walking debacle and a waking nightmare.) Not only is Joe the most overpaid "star" in the game, he's also by far the least entertaining. I have never vehemently disliked watching a good Hawks player before, or any Hawks player, really, but I really, really, hate watching Joe Johnson play basketball. He is the most thoroughly "blah" twenty-a-night guy of all time. Then there's good ol' Al Horford, who when healthy is so very good at his job, but it's all dirty work and grind, the kind of thing you deeply appreciate but can't really admire. I love the man, but he'll never be the recipient of breathless superlatives.

Initial Feedback: Palace Muse Ick

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.

Boxscore

Players
Jeff Teague: An ineffectual game and his decision not to shoot when Joe Johnson passed him the ball on the final possession summed up the conundrum of his time in Atlanta: where does lack of ability end and lack of confidence begin? 3/10

Joe Johnson: Yay, Joe Johnson's back and he brought dribble non-penetration (against Rodney Stuckey) on the final possession leading to a guarded, 20-foot fall-away for the win (missed) with him. That possession undermined a decent offensive performance. By his standards, if not the terms of his contract. He switched every screen possible defensively, something to watch regarding the true health of his knee. 6/10

Marvin Williams: Makes some shots but he doesn't rebound. Different, but no more or less effective than the norm. 5/10

Josh Smith: If this loss has a silver lining it's the positive reinforcement Larry Drew might have received from leaving Josh Smith in the game in the third quarter with four fouls. Sure, Smith picked up his fifth fairly quickly, but he played 11:26 of the fourth without fouling out. This game (21 points on 19 FGA and 8 FTA) did not help his TS%. 6/10

Zaza Pachulia: Didn't match up well with Greg Monroe, which says more good about Monroe than bad about Pachulia. 3/10

Ivan Johnson: Extremely active on both ends so it's surprising to realize he only grabbed four rebounds (two on each end) in 30:29. 10 points and 5 steals aren't nothing, though. 5/10

Kirk Hinrich: Made some shots, played decent defense. For perhaps the first time this season, he might have deserved more minutes. 4/10

Tracy McGrady: He sees the game the well, but he just can't score anymore. His ability is entirely wrapped up in passing and defensive rebounding. Was on the floor for both big Pistons runs, leading to -17 in just under 16 minutes. 2/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: Short minutes, no reason why not. 2/10

Jannero Pargo: Career eFG%: 44.8. Hawks have been spared those type of games so far this season. 2/10

Erick Dampier: Erick Dampier played in this game. 1/10

The head coach
I gave Larry Drew credit when the Hawks took care of business against bad teams at the start of the season. Well, tonight the Hawks lost to the Pistons and went 13 minutes without a field goal in the second half. Business wasn't good and he's coaching his second straight team with a bottom-third offense. 2/10

Comparing the Twilight of Two Hawks Eras

By Buddy Grizzard

With Thursday's revelation that Josh Smith still wants out of Atlanta, despite belated common acceptance that Josh Smith is (and has been) the team's leader and best player, it seems like a good time to compare the impending conclusion of the present Hawks era to the dissolution of a previous era.

The failure of the current Hawks regime to establish a championship culture has interesting contrasts and parallels with the Hawks' failures during the Dominque Wilkins era. No Hawks team since the franchise moved to Atlanta from St. Louis has ever advanced to the conference finals, much less the NBA finals. What follows is an analysis of that sustained futility, followed by suggestions for changing the franchise’s course.

In May of 1988, the Atlanta Hawks faced an aging Boston Celtics dynasty in the conference semifinals. Hawks star small forward Dominique Wilkins engaged in an epic scoring duel with Larry Bird in Game 7, but the team came up one victory shy of advancing to the conference finals. The team lost in the first round to the Milwaukee Bucks the next season, missed the playoffs in 1989-90 and an era was over.

When franchise leadership saw a team that notched at least 50 wins in four consecutive seasons begin to decline, decisions were made that are still matters of intense debate among Atlanta sports fans two decades later. One key decision was letting coach Mike Fratello go after the team missed the playoffs in 1989-90. The other was the decision to trade Wilkins for Danny Manning in 1994 rather than grant him a contract extension to remain with the Hawks during his declining years.

The present-day Hawks organization finds itself in a similar position of near-contention. The revelation that Josh Smith does not want to be a part of the team's future comes after the franchise has already made staffing decisions with major implications. Here's a comparison of those decisions in the two eras:

The head coach

Mike Fratello is the most successful coach in Atlanta Hawks history with 18 playoff victories. By 1990, however, a sizeable portion of the team’s roster had stopped listening to him. When Bob Weiss was hired to replace Fratello, Wilkins praised him as a "player's coach." There’s no question that if Fratello had Wilkins’ support, he would have remained as coach.

Fast forward to 2010 when the Hawks were destroyed in the second round by the Orlando Magic in the most lopsided playoff series in league history. Once again it seemed that Hawks players were tuning the coach out, and the franchise decided to make a change. History repeated itself as a coach with quantifiable success (Mike Woodson, 11 playoff victories) was replaced by a coach with questionable qualifications.

Prior to joining the Hawks, Weiss coached the San Antonio Spurs to two losing seasons. Larry Drew had no previous head coaching experience. Nevertheless, when Drew was introduced as head coach of the Hawks, almost every rotation player was present at the press conference. Rather than base a coaching hire on a successful track record, the Hawks once again hired the coach the players wanted.

The problem with this approach is twofold. First, players should not be relied upon to pick the right person to lead a franchise. That's what you hire competent front office personnel for. In the case of Drew's hiring, general manager Rick Sund's presumptive choice (Dwane Casey) was passed over, subsequently served as the lead assistant on a championship team and was hired as head coach by the Toronto Raptors. Ownership apparently overruled Sund and picked Drew, a coach whose qualifications included serving as lead assistant during the most spectacular playoff failure in NBA history.

The second problem with giving players influence over coaching decisions is that once the coach is installed, players may feel like the coach owes his position to them, thus undermining the coach's authority. This problem is compounded in Drew’s case by the fact that he is possibly the lowest-paid coach in the league. If ownership values the coach so little, why would players hesitate to defy the coach? A perfect example of this is how Josh Smith's three-point attempts skyrocketed in Drew's first season after Woodson had successfully reined Smith in the previous season.

For all we know, Smith may have lobbied the hardest for Drew. But once again, players are responsible for performing on the court. Team ownership and management are responsible for hiring the best coach to lead the team, especially when the franchise has a quarter-billion dollars in player salaries committed.

The star player

With Fratello out of the way, Wilkins got the coach he wanted. The result was two playoff victories in three seasons and the end of an era. After the Hawks were swept by the Chicago Bulls in the first round in 1993, Weiss was replaced by Lenny Wilkens. As the trade deadline approached the following season, the Hawks had to make a decision about Wilkins' expiring contract. Wilkins wanted to retire as a Hawk and was seeking a long-term extension. Hawks management and ownership decided not to tie the team's future to a player in his 12th season who had already suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon.

When the Hawks traded Wilkins for Danny Manning, it became the only franchise to ever trade its leading scorer in mid-season while in first place in its conference. This may be the most heavily-scrutinized decision in Atlanta pro sports history. The prevailing opinion among fans is that the Hawks were championship contenders if the team kept Wilkins until the end of the season.

I hold a contrary opinion, based on how Wilkins performed for the remainder of his career. Nothing Wilkins did from the time he was traded until he retired showed me that he had transformed into a player capable of leading a team to a championship. By trading Wilkins and seeing Manning walk away, the Hawks were left with a slotted star salary and no star. This money was used to sign Dikembe Mutombo, thus launching a new Hawks era with minimal rebuilding.

In the summer of 2010, the Hawks faced a similar decision. After trading for Joe Johnson, the franchise watched him make three consecutive All-Star teams. With Johnson already 29 years old, the team had the choice to offer him a max contract of six years and $119 million or risk losing him to free agency. Shooting guards are not known to age well in the NBA (see Allan Houston). Hawks ownership made the decision to go all-in to win now in contrast to how the team had previously divested itself of Wilkins.

While I applaud Hawks ownership for its willingness to spend money to retain talent, my opinion at the time was that this money would be better invested elsewhere. My dream scenario was for the Hawks to trade Johnson to the Nets, a franchise desperate to build a winner ahead of its move to Brooklyn, for some of the assets it later gave up to obtain Deron Williams. I felt that Johnson’s production could be replaced, and that ball movement and team play would increase in the absence of Johnson’s tendency to dribble out the shot clock and shoot contested jumpers.

The present day

With all of that history behind us, we find ourselves today with Josh Smith apparently questioning the Hawks organization’s commitment to winning a championship. The Hawks without Al Horford and Joe Johnson for parts of this season have remained in playoff contention. Without Josh Smith, in my opinion, the Hawks are a lottery team. Horford will never be the rim protector that Smith is. Johnson has already begun a statistical decline that’s only going to accelerate. If the Hawks organization would like to counter the impression that it is not committed to competing for a championship, I would like to offer the following plan of action:

1. Trade Joe Johnson to any taker for any offer

In discussing the premise of this post with Bret LaGree, he expressed zero optimism that the Hawks will be able to find a taker for Johnson’s contract. I’m more optimistic. I see a number of NBA owners out there with more money than sense, Donald Sterling being chief among them. The Clippers are desperate for a shooting guard, Sterling has virtually unlimited resources and Johnson might be the most talented player they could potentially add.

A trade with the Clippers might look lopsided because of the flotsam the Hawks would be taking back, but the point is to get out from under Johnson’s contract while taking back shorter-term contracts to prepare the roster for being built around Josh Smith. The Hawks should trade Johnson to the Clippers for Mo Williams, Ryan Gomes and Chauncey Billups’ expiring contract (along with picks and cash if they can get it).

The other desperate potential trade partner with virtually unlimited resources is the Orlando Magic. Otis Smith has loaded down Orlando’s roster with undesirable contracts to the point where the Magic have very few trade assets. The Magic’s only real chance to add players to try to placate Dwight Howard is by taking on contracts other teams don’t want. If the Hawks want to have a future that doesn’t include visiting the draft lottery while paying Joe Johnson $25 million, then the Hawks don’t want Johnson’s contract. Trade it to Orlando for Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick. The latter will have an expiring contract next year and Turk will only have two years left.

2. Fire Larry Drew and retire or “promote” Rick Sund

Larry Drew has failed as an NBA coach because of the favoritism he has shown certain players, his inability to spot, utilize or develop the talent on his own bench, and because he has provided Josh Smith with a pretext for wanting out by throwing his players under the bus and not taking his share of responsibility for the team’s shortcomings. Nobody will EVER take the Hawks seriously as an organization with the will to contend for championships as long as the franchise employs a coach no other team would hire.

As for Rick Sund, I have sung his praises on these very pages for drafting Jeff Teague, improving the team’s defensive accountability and strengthening the bench in the offseason on a limited (on the verge of non-existent) budget. But let’s face it… is this the general manager you want in charge during the total rebuild that will likely ensue in the event the Hawks are unable to extend Josh Smith? AJC columnist Jeff Shultz pointed out during the last Hawks coaching search that Sund does not have a good record on coaching hires. And as good as the Teague and Jordan Crawford picks may have been, I just can’t see entrusting a rebuild to the man who drafted Robert Swift.

3. Hire Dennis Lindsey and hand him the keys

There’s no possible way an executive with the stature of Dennis Lindsey, the assistant GM of the San Antonio Spurs, would take the Hawks GM job without an understanding with ownership that he will have the autonomy to make his own decisions. If the Hawks owners were to somehow score this coup, it would signal to the rest of the league (and to fans) that Hawks ownership has finally decided to let basketball people make the team’s basketball decisions.

The last understudy of Spurs GM R.C. Buford to get a similar gig with another franchise was Sam Presti, the man who built the Oklahoma City Thunder into championship contenders with breathtaking swiftness. Dennis Lindsey is not Sam Presti (who famously convinced the Spurs to draft Tony Parker), but he nevertheless has been the protégé of two of the greatest executives in NBA history, Buford and the former Spurs GM who hired him, Greg Popovich. If the Hawks want to create a championship culture and convince the world that the franchise is serious about building a contender, hire the guy that was groomed by champions.

4. Hold a press conference and announce that the Hawks are NOT trading Josh Smith

Here, let me write the press release for you:

“The Atlanta Hawks organization would like to announce that we have no intention whatsoever of trading Josh Smith. Josh is the heart and soul of the Atlanta Hawks. He is our anchor on offense and defense and the organization would rather face the prospect of losing him to free agency than allow him to leave the organization one second before his contract expires. The Hawks will not be offering Josh for trade, but our general manager has been authorized to entertain calls regarding Josh, provided that the caller is offering an All-Star and additional considerations in return.”

Initial Feedback: Heartbreaker in Miami

By James Goeders

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.

Boxscore

Players
Jeff Teague: Kept attacking the basket even after Lebron destroyed him a few times. Was the Hawks second leading scorer with 16 points and had 4 rebounds. Needs to do a better job protecting the ball, as he had 5 turnovers and only 2 assists. His 6 straight points late in the fourth tied up the game, but then went away. 5/10

Zaza Pachulia: Had a tough night playing against the Heat and the officials. Some absolutely ridiculous calls were made against Zaza, but he kept the Hawks close by grabbing 10 rebounds and adding 9 points. He owned Joel Anthony inside with just huge effort all game. Only downside for Zaza were some poor passes that resulted in 3 turnovers. 6/10

Josh Smith: Continues to lead the Hawks while Joe is on the bench with another 20+ point game (23) and 6 rebounds. Scored the first 8 points of the game for Atlanta off jump shots which of course kept him shooting from the perimeter. Had to take two deep 3s as the shot clock expired towards the end of the game, but did make 1 of 2 to give the Hawks a late lead 80-77. Took some really tough shots late, and wasted 9 of the final 12 seconds standing around with the ball when the Hawks needed a tying basket. Not sure how much of that was on Josh and how much is on Larry Drew. 7/10*

*Bonus point for the way he answered Jerome Jurenovich's question before halftime about his thoughts on the Hawks not having a single FT attempt to that point:

"That's what I was asking the officials, I mean, no way in hell have I seen a game where a team is playing that good of a defense. We just gotta keep grinding and hopefully it'll turn around and they'll probably see some stuff they missed in the first half."

Kirk Hinrich: Only had 5 points starting at the 2, but grabbed 4 rebounds and had 2 assists and 2 steals. His one made 3 of the night was big to cap a 10-0 Hawks run to give the big lead in the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately the Heat went on a run right after that to take back the lead. Looked much less lost on defense than last night, but that's mostly because the Heat offense went exclusively through LeBron in the first 3 quarters. 4/10

Marvin Williams: With T-Mac sidelined due to the back-to-back games, I was hoping Marvin would come to life with the added minutes. He did have the best plus/minus of anyone on the team (+8), but only had 7 points for his 31 minutes on the court. Marvin played great defense on Bosh in the first half, but was unable to slow down LeBron (but who can?). Another positive was that Marvin was the only Hawk to not commit a turnover on a night where they had 22 that led to 32 Heat points. 4/10

Jannero Pargo: What was Joe Johnson doing to kill Pargo's offensive game? Pargo had 9 points and was 2-for-3 behind the arc, and there's not more you can ask for from the 5th best guard on the team. The one miss, sadly, was the shot at the buzzer to try and tie. I can't imagine that was the best option the Hawks had on that play, though. Huge situation when the Hawks had no one to take the big shot. 5/10

Jerry Stackhouse: Joined Ivan Johnson in getting the most minutes of anyone off the bench with 19, and was one of only three Hawks in double figures (10). This was Stack's best game in a Hawks uniform, but the 3 turnovers were definitely moments of lost focus. His three to tie the game late in the fourth seemed really big at the time, and would have been huge if the outcome had been different. Can anyone honestly expect a better game from Stack the rest of the season, or even his career? 8/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: Had no chance of slowing down LeBron, so it was always disappointing to see that match-up play out. When his defensive is a liability he needs to be making shots, but VladRad made his only 3 in the first quarter and then went cold. I still was thinking he might get a look in the final 12 seconds when the Hawks were trailing by 3. 2/10

Ivan Johnson: Did a great job defensively against LeBron and Bosh. Had two ticky-tack fouls called on him right after coming into the game but kept going to the offensive glass strong. Only had 2 points, but grabbed 5 rebounds. 3/10

Erick Dampier: Was inserted to battle with Dexter Pittman, but only played 4 minutes. It was almost like he was in just to have another body to get a horrible foul called on. Incomplete

The head coach
It felt like he always waited a possession or two too late to call a timeout when Miami would make a run. I really liked when he switched to a zone with 4 minutes left, and it led to a bad Bosh three point attempt, but then the Hawks completely went away from it and surrendered the lead. Really can't have too many complaints when the Hawks are this shorthanded, but it would have been great to steal a second win in Miami. 5/10

A thought regarding the opposition
The Miami version of the Big Three is too good on a normal night, but when they shoot 16 more FTs than their opponents it's going to be tough to beat them. The Hawks made the most of their trips to the charity stripe (8-for-9), but it was an 11 point swing for Miami. LeBron and Wade were the only Heat players in double-figures, but still combined for 49 points. It stings to lose a game like this that the Hawks had a great chance to win, but at least they looked competitive instead of rolling over like we were seeing before the All-Star break.

TrueHoop: Closers Aren't Everything

Head man Henry Abbott passes along a nugget from a yet-to-be-released feature from NBA.com. Guess which team is leading the league in effective field goal percentage when trailing by three points or less or tied in the final three minutes of games this season.

Initial Feedback: A Bid for Josh Smith

By Buddy Grizzard

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.

Boxscore

Starters
Josh Smith: When Smoove suggested that player agents are "putting in a bid over the phone" for the All-Star reserve selection he has thus far been denied, there was no more obvious target than Indiana center Roy Hibbert, a first-time All-Star this year. Smith continued his recent run of eschewing jump shots and attacking the basket in the first half, but fell back in love with the jump shot in the second half. Fortunately for the Hawks, this was one of those nights (where the shots went in). Josh shot 12-for-19 for 27 points and added 9 rebounds. He's had several games since his latest All-Star snub where he bricked a ton of shots trying to prove his detractors wrong (and in the process proving them right). When Josh either A. stays away from jump shots or B. makes most of his jump shots, you can see why he's the most deserving active player who has never been named to an All-Star team. 8/10

Zaza Pachulia: I mentioned previously that no coach the Hawks have employed since Lenny Wilkens is in much demand around the league. Remember Josh Powell, the player Larry Drew considered moving ahead of Zaza in the lineup last year near the trade deadline? Powell is in so much demand around the NBA that he just signed to play in Switzerland. The Hawks won this game in large part because, while Josh drifted out to the perimeter in the second half, the team still managed to pound it inside to Zaza. Facing yet another All-Star center in Hibbert, Zaza posted another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds on better-than-50% shooting. 7/10

Marvin Williams: Marv gets left open for a lot of jump shots. If he made a higher percentage in this game, it wouldn't have been nearly as close. Nevertheless, Marvin's 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting and 6 rebounds were substantial contributions in a win against a team the Hawks hope to overtake in the battle for playoff position in the East. 5/10

Jeff Teague: At times Teague looked like he had a mismatch against Darren Collison, his fellow Year of the Point Guard draftee. But Collison's defense was apparently somewhat effective as Teague was limited to 9 points on 3-for-10 shooting while adding 9 assists. His defense on Collison appears to have been more effective as the latter was limited to 5 points on 2-for-7 shooting with 4 assists. 6/10

Kirk Hinrich: The real mismatch was Kirk against Pacers shooting guard Paul George, who is listed at 6-8. Hinrich's struggles against George's length were to be expected, but he couldn't seem to make even a basic entry pass. Conversely, George was limited to 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting. The Hawks' undersized shooting guard platoon of Hinrich and Jannero Pargo was evidently doing something right. 3/10

Bench

Tracy McGrady: It's really too bad that McGrady comes to the Hawks at a point in his career where his body won't cooperate and allow him to apply the skills that are obviously still there. In 20 minutes, McGrady contributed 5 points and 6 assists. Hopefully T-Mac and Drew have come to an understanding and McGrady is in his best physical condition come playoff time. He could be the difference in the Hawks meeting or exceeding its own playoff expectations. 5/10

Jannero Pargo: In the last several games my own expectations for the type of player Pargo should be have made a course correction. I look at Pargo and I think "backup point guard." When Pargo shared the floor with Teague against the Pacers, replacing Hinrich at shooting guard, he appeared to be playing his natural position. In 24 minutes Pargo outplayed his 6-8 counterpart George, contributing 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting and limiting his turnovers thanks to reduced ball-handling responsibilities. 7/10

Jerry Stackhouse: Stack looks like the old guy at the YMCA hoofing it up and down the court and trying to keep up with the young guys who jump about 30 inches higher than he does. Once again on the floor when the game was decided, Stack rattled home two free throws to put the Hawks up 99-96 with 22 seconds to play. On the ensuing Pacers possession, Stack got two hands on the rebound of Danny Granger's missed 3-pointer. He wasn't able to control it but it ended up in Marvin Williams' hands and the game was decided. 5/10

Erick Dampier: On one play, Hibbert skied for a rebound over Dampier's back, but it wasn't a foul because Damp's outstretched hands weren't within 2 feet of the ball when Hibbert grabbed it. I was reminded of a similar play earlier in the season when Ersan Ilyasova got on his pogo stick to rob Vladimir Radmanovic. Despite the contrast in athletic ability, Damp did a good job pushing Hibbert away from the basket and sealing out for 4 rebounds to go with 2 points in 12 minutes. 4/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: I was concerned that Drew would over-use the Rad man in a game where his limited athletic ability was like to be highly exposed. Instead, Vlad contributed 4 points, a rebound and an assist in only 4 minutes as the Hawks' defense remained superb through most of the game. 4/10

Ivan Johnson: I've mentioned before that in a stretch where Ivan played more than 20 minutes per game, he flirted with averaging a double-double. In this game Ivan rivaled Vlad's per-minute production with 9 points and 4 rebounds in only 11 minutes. 6/10

The head coach
Playing Pargo at shooting guard seemed like a huge risk after watching Hinrich's struggles against George. But Pargo's ability to create separation with his speed opened up looks that allowed him to score when the Hawks desperately needed it. This small-ball lineup might not work over the course of a 7-game playoff series, but that Pacers had no answer for it on this night. 7/10

A thought regarding the opposition
In contrast to the Hawks organization, which is 5th in the NBA in future committed salary, the Pacers are dead last, the only team with less than $100 million committed. Larry Bird deserves consideration as one of the best NBA executives presently employed.

Initial Feedback: NTETH: Never Try to Explain the Hawks

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.

Boxscore

Players
Jeff Teague: Aggressive offensively and took advantage of Hinrich guarding Westbrook to be an active help defender. 6/10

Kirk Hinrich: Easily his best game of the season. Not only because he made some shots for once but also because he generally kept Russell Westbrook in front of him. If Westbrook makes jump shots, you tip your cap to him. You've taken away the best part of his game. 6/10

Marvin Williams: Did a good enough job of Kevin Durant that Scott Brooks went small after Kendrick Perkins fouled out to make Josh Smith guard Durant. Was great defensively down the stretch when Drew put him back on Durant. The five free throws made up for another poor shooting night from the field. 6/10

Josh Smith: Shooting an airball from the top of the key, dunking on Serge Ibaka, then barely drawing iron on the free throw is the most Josh Smith offensive possession ever. The three-pointer that put the Hawks up 92-88 (after completely failing to close out on Durant on the other end) doesn't even compete. Pretty inefficient offensively for three quarters but the Hawks can get away with that when he (mostly) stays on the block and Joe Johnson* is not going down the same path while using another quarter of the team's possessions. 9/10

Zaza Pachulia: His nine offensive rebounds were essentially the difference between this game and so many other losses against good teams this season. 6/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: It's borderline cruel to ask him to guard Durant. All Radmanovic can do in that is knock down shots to mitigate what he's going to give up on the other end. He did. 4/10

Jannero Pargo: Take shots, make shots. Rinse, repeat. 4/10

Ivan Johnson: Hadn't played 20 minutes in a game in almost a month, but contributed solid minutes to the cause tonight. 3/10

Jerry Stackhouse: Got some more first half run by virtue of Hinrich receiving the Horford Treatment. The four first half assists he earned showed his instincts are intact. In every other respect, his body showed its age. The fascination with posting up a 37-year-old who hasn't been a rotation player in four years baffles me. 1/10

Tracy McGrady: Less then 24 hours after his key role in a fourth quarter comeback win, his body gives out on a futile drive to the basket. Not someone you can count on, which makes those nights he contributes rather bittersweet. Incomplete

The head coach
This Larry Drew's team. Can play with anybody when the jump shots go in and/or the opposition can't attack the defense with the pick-and-roll (the hands of the firm of Perkins, Collison, and Aldrich aided Atlanta's cause tonight). It was a high-effort, physical, and scrappy game. The Hawks have to drag teams down to their one point per possession offensive level (to be fair, the Hawks scored 1.039 points per possession tonight, the first time they've broken the one point per possession barrier since the win in Phoenix) to win. They've done that in three of the last four. 6/10

A thought regarding the opposition
Beating the team with the best record in the NBA despite a third of your roster being hurt is pretty sweet but it can't compare to the joy of beating a team that willingly employs and plays Royal Ivey.

A game ball to everyone who entertained the Thunder last night, as well.

*At this point, does the contract look worse on the nights Joe Johnson plays or on the nights he sits out?

Initial Feedback: Volume Shooting Works!

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.

By Buddy Grizzard

Players

Josh Smith: Opened the game with a post-up and drew a foul on Ersan Ilyasova, a sign of good things to come. Throughout the first half, Josh attacked the basket, taking and missing only a single 19-foot elbow jumper 5 minutes before the half. Playing the right way, and with none of the poor body language he displayed in the loss to Golden State, Josh put up a monster stat line for the half with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. This is what an All-Star performance looks like: 24 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks while limiting himself to one badly-missed, ill-advised outside shot per half. 9/10

Jeff Teague: When Brandon Jennings scored 8 points in a 33-second stretch to put Milwaukee ahead by 9 with under 3 minutes to play before halftime, Teague was nowhere to be found. I can no more explain the regression of Teague's defensive game than I can explain his absence from those possessions. For the game's first 21 minutes, Teague matched Jennings point for point by attacking the basket and making Jennings work on both ends. The Bucks closed the first half on a 13-2 run, all but 2 scored by Milwaukee's back court. This was one game where Teague's seat on the bench for the entire 4th quarter was well-deserved. 2/10

Kirk Hinrich: I've often speculated that Kirk was obtained, not only to improve the defensive accountability of the Atlanta Hawks, but because his expiring contract might bring the Hawks a more permanent addition to the roster at this year's trading deadline. If the Hawks hope the Lakers will see Hinrich as the solution to its point guard dilemma (and send the Hawks a first-round pick to provide some compensation for all that the Hawks gave up to obtain the badly-fading Hinrich), let's hope Mitch Kupchak missed the first half of this game. The only thing worse than watching Teague try to guard Jennings was watching Hinrich try to bring the ball up as he racked up 5 first-half turnovers. 2/10

Zaza Pachulia: After playing his best defense of the season against Dwight Howard as the Hawks salvaged a win just before the All-Star break, Zaza played literally the worst defensive game I've seen him play. Drew Gooden, when he's on, has a combination of power, mobility and craftiness with the ball that Zaza had no answer for. 2/10

Marvin Williams: Guarded for much of the game by Carlos Delfino, who gives up at least two inches, I saw Marvin post up once. He looked extremely confused and immediately passed the ball back out to the perimeter. Given the opportunity to increase his role in the offense with Joe Johnson missing extended time due to knee tendinitis, Marv has continued to be mostly invisible. Marvin started the season hot but played the fewest minutes of any starter due to Drew's many bench options at small forward. But since February, it has been Marvin's poor play, not Drew's rotations, that has destroyed any trade value Marvin might have had, and any chance the Hawks had to get his salary off its books. 2/10

Bench:

Ivan Johnson: Played exceptional defense in the first half, drew two charges and avoided taking any bad shots. After Ivan stole the ball from Shaun Livingston, he attempted a touchdown pass that was intercepted, prompting a disgusted look from Larry Drew and a quick re-entry for Zaza. I was afraid Ivan's return to LD's dog house would last the duration of the game, but surprisingly he came back in the second half and contributed. Ivan's combination of power and foot speed did more to neutralize Gooden than anything Zaza contributed. His stat line of 2 points and 3 rebounds in 16 minutes does not tell the story of his defensive impact, especially during the 4th quarter run that won the game for the Hawks. 4/10

Jerry Stackhouse: With Joe Johnson and Willie Green out due to injuries, this was Stack's chance. He showed his age by shooting 2-for-7 and letting Beno Udrih blow by him, but he was on the floor in the 4th. His 4-for-4 shooting from the free throw line and 8 points (without an assist or a rebound) in 23 minutes contributed to the winning margin. 5/10

Jannero Pargo: I've complained about Pargo's lack of talent as a ball handler and passer (and those deficiencies were certainly on display in this game). But you cannot discount Pargo's utility as a streak shooter off the bench, or question his inner dog. When Jeff Teague utterly failed to answer the challenge brought by Jennings, Pargo took over in the second half to bring the Hawks back. During one possession where an obvious Jennings foul on Pargo wasn't called, Pargo calmly blew by him and pulled up for a 15-footer, then walked back up court staring Jennings down the whole way. 7/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: With the Hawks' depleted front court, Radmanovic has spent a lot of time spelling Josh Smith with disastrous results. This was one of those nights when Vlad's shot was on, which allows you to overlook the lack of defensive foot speed and rim defense. 6/10

Tracy McGrady: Showed the production that made him a steal as a veteran's minimum addition. His 9 points on 4-for-9 shooting and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes were contributions we'd come to expect from him before Hinrich's return (and his subsequent complaint about playing time and resultant residence in the dog house) gutted his minutes. 7/10

The head coach

The Hawks have lost so many games because Drew consitently takes players out of the game who are hot and leaves players in the game who are cold. On this night, Drew had a kean sense for whom to play and whom to sit. 7/10

A thought regarding the opposition

Roster decimated by injuries? Check. Fading star unhappy with playing time? Check. Borderline playoff team? Check. The Hawks and Bucks have so many similarities, it was good to see the home team get a gut-check win to help ease the memory of the disastrous loss to Golden State the team stumbled out of the All-Star break with.