Hawks 121 Hornets 98

Boxscore

Gameflow

Highlights

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
NO	95.8	1.022	47.8	12.1	31.1	17.7
ATL	95.8	1.262	58.5	20.4	38.6	14.6

Joe Johnson tipped in Josh Smith's missed breakaway layup with 9:26 left in the first half to put the Hawks up 8-6. New Orleans never caught the Hawks. Three-and-a-quarter, erm, quarters of indifferent defending kept the Hawks form putting the game away until the 16-0 run that began somewhat inauspiciously with Mike Bibby making of one of two free throws and turned a 95-89 lead with 8:22 left in the game into a 11-89 lead with 4:03 left.

To date, this is an outstanding offensive team, capable of scoring, in terms of an NBA game, essentially at will despite making just 62% of their free throws and 40% of the team's rotation (Marvin Williams, Jeff Teague, Mo Evans, and Joe Smith) combining to make just 6 of 25 field goal attempts. The five Hawks who played the most minutes last night: Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Mike Bibby, and Jamal Crawford shot 74.1 eFG% for the game. It was a tremendous offensive performance even if it partly revealed how far New Orleans' problems extend beyond Byron Scott or Chris Paul's absence.

I can't imagine what it felt like for a Hornets fan to watch this game, the team without Paul and Tim Floyd newly installed in a prominent place on the bench. I'm sure they don't want sympathy any more than Hawks fans did during the long, dark days not-so-long ago. Without the experience of watching a bad, seemingly hopeless basketball team for so long, would watching this Hawks team feel so fulfilling? This team isn't perfect, as the losses in Los Angeles and Charlotte demonstrated, but it is very good and has proven capable of combining four good offensive quarters with one good defensive quarter to comfortably see off inferior opposition. Having also demonstrated a higher level of sustained two-way execution in both Portland and Boston one can't* nitpick the inconsistent defense with a clean conscience.

*At least this one can't.

The Atlanta Hawks are calmly and coolly taking care of business into the season's fourth week. Their success doesn't feel like an illusion, and, though they're unlikely to win 80% of their games the rest of the way, I suspect that will have more to do with the vagaries and length of NBA season than fundamental flaws in the team.

Mike Woodson:

"They knew it was that time to buckle down. You could hear guys saying, ‘Let's go,' and they went right out and did what they said they were."

Al Horford:

"I think that's when we're at our best, when we're running, when we're just freelancing and playing, but it all starts getting that stop on defense and getting the rebound."

Jamal Crawford:

"It's not going to be pretty, but as long as you leave with a win, that's all that matters."

Joe Johnson:

"We'll take it."

Cue dramatic music.

Johnson:

"But the work is not finished."

Now, that's a post-game quote we can all get behind.

November 14th Game Thread: New Orleans (3-7) @ Atlanta (7-2)

TIP-OFF: 7:00pm (EST)

TELEVISION: Fox Sports South

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Hornets

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.

CHARLOTTE INJURY REPORT: Chris Paul is out. Ike Diogu is questionable.

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -12.5, 196.5 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Hornets247

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Hawks 97 Celtics 86

Boxscore

Gameflow

Highlights

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL	87.5	1.109	47.6	20.2	41.0	14.8
BOS	87.5	0.983	50.0	17.8	16.2	17.1

Ah, sweet, delicious rebounding. The Celtics, despite making just one three-pointer*, shot a higher percentage from the floor** than the Hawks. The Celtics, despite turning the ball over slightly more often than the Hawks, had a narrow edge in fastbreak points, 12-10. The Hawks entered the game leading the league in points in the paint per game. Boston outscored the Hawks in the paint 58 to 44***.

*Rasheed Wallace, 10:59 left in the second quarter to put Boston ahead 25-24.

**The Hawks' defense on the initial shot was not as good as the team's overall defense. Boston went 1-4 from the floor with a turnover on their second-chance opportunities.

***Though the 44 Hawks points in the paint were nine below the team's season average, it was the second-most points Boston's allowed in the paint through 10 games this season.

All those indicators, which any reasonable person would likely have supposed prior to the game that, were they to come to pass, would lead to a predictable Celtic victory at home, failed to overcome one thing* the Hawks did extraordinarily well. Atlanta, led by their four post players** grabbed 41% of the possible offensive rebounds and 83.8% of possible defensive rebounds. It was overwhelming display of consistent carom control. The Hawks had between 3 and 5 offensive rebounds in each of the four quarters, 7 defensive rebounds in quarters 1, 3, and 4, and 10 defensive rebounds in the second quarter.

*Or two things (offensive rebounding and defensive rebounding), depending on your semantic preference vis-a-vis rebounding.

**Four offensive rebounds a piece for Horford and Josh Smith. Three each for Joe Smith (in 13:27) and Zaza Pachulia (in 14:32).

The benefit of the offensive rebounds shows up in the Hawks' offensive efficiency as well. Despite shooting below their season average from the floor, Atlanta scored 110.9 points per 100 possessions against the Celtics, in Boston, simply due to the number of shots they got up per possession. In an 87 or 88 possession game, Atlanta attempted 84 field goals (and 23 free throws). Furthermore, the Hawks did the vast majority of that offensive damage in the second half, scoring 56 on 43.5 (estimated) possessions*, grabbing 38.1% of possible offensive rebounds, and recording more made three-pointers (4) than turnovers (3)**.

*128.9 pts per 100 possessions

**Or, as Mike D'Antoni might call it were he as self-serious as Larry Brown, "playing the right way."

The Hawks hadn't won in Boston since January 24, 2007. That's less than three years ago but Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright, and Gerald Green all started that game. These teams are both a full generation removed from those teams and this Hawks team had beaten the Celtics in Atlanta, had competed with the Celtics in Boston, but hadn't won in Boston. Now they have. It's another step forward for a team that, though it's just 11% into the new season, I may fairly be accused of habitually underrating. Point to Mr. Bradley.

Mike Woodson, Trailblazer underminer:

"We needed to beat a good team on the road for our confidence level. I think that's the best team in the East. Tonight we matched them from beginning to end. From a defensive standpoint, we finally stepped up and played 48 minutes defensively."

Kevin Garnett:

"We tried to turn it up and put a little pressure on them, but I give all the credit to them."

Doc Rivers:

"I just think they kicked our butt, honestly."

More from Doc:

"I just thought [the Hawks] played with an amazing amount of speed, power, passion, and execution."

It's the fourth item in that list that makes the biggest difference.

And Paul Pierce joins the chorus of defeated opponents decrying his team's inability to stop the Hawks when they go one-on-one:

"I thought, initially, we stopped a lot of their plays and it was just all about controlling their one-on-one game . . . and I think, for the most part, we didn’t do that. We’ve got to do a better job of just staying in front of our man. I think team defense was initially good but we’ve got to play better one-on-one defense."

I've no problem with Joe Johnson being a more vocal leader in the abstract. The difficulty for me, concerning the particular times he's spoken up this season, is that what he's said hasn't made much sense.

Zaza Pachulia:

"You've got to beat this kind of team. I'm not saying every time, but you've got to steal a game especially on the road. The next step, to build on the things we did last year, this is it. This is the kind of game you have to win."

The Human Highlight Blog explains how Boston neither took advantage of mismatches when the Hawks switched on screens nor effectively ran their normal sets:

Boston looked anxious and puzzled by the Hawks well-known habit of switching---and just like when a team that doesn't zip up and down the court falls into the trap of doing so against a team who does, the Celtics disrupted their regular offense to take advantage of certain switches--and while they got inside enough to shoot almost (50) percent, there was never any flow to their show.

The opposition, here embodied by Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub, concurs:

The Hawks lived up to their reputation as a team that switches often on screen/rolls, and that left the C’s with all sorts of tantalizing mismatches—Bibby guarding Pierce, Horford guarding Rondo. Credit the Hawks—they were quick and active enough with their help to prevent the C’s from taking advantage of those mismatches.

Peachtree Hoops:

Let's review. If the Hawks outplay, out hustle, complain less, win the turnover battle, and rebound the ball like it is the only thing that has purpose in the world, they are a pretty good team. I was 99% sure that was the case, but now, I know.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

November 13th Game Thread: Atlanta (6-2) @ Boston (8-1)

TIP-OFF: 8:00pm (EST)

TELEVISION: ESPN, ESPN360

CHAT: Daily Dime Live

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Celtics

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.

BOSTON INJURY REPORT: Glen Davis and Tony Allen are out. Brian Scalabrine (back spasms) is listed as day-to-day.

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Boston -9, 193 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: CelticsHub, CelticsBlog

PREVIOUSLY, THE BOSTON CELTICS...beat Utah 105-86 on Wednesday night. The 8-1 Celtics are seventh in the league in offensive efficiency and second in defensive efficiency. They are ranked in the top nine in the league in each of the four defensive factors.

Both The Boston Herald and The Boston Globe went with the Shelden Williams-playing-the-team-that-drafted-him angle this morning. Sure, Shelden's already done that four times in his career, but never as a BOSTON CELTIC which, naturally, makes it the first time it counts.

Key quotes from the Herald story:

Williams insists he will take no revenge motives to the floor tonight, but when asked if he believed he got a fair shot with the Hawks, he answered flatly, “Honestly I don’t think so.”

...

"I don’t think there was a lot of consistency in my minutes. When I did play consistent minutes, I either had a double-double or close to a double-double more often than not - especially my rookie year when I was given a lot of minutes toward the end of the season and I came away with Rookie of the Month. Then all of a sudden it goes from you’re playing minutes to not playing. Just like that. So I don’t think I was given a fair shot. It wasn’t a good situation that I came into, with the way things were run there. I never knew what to expect. I never knew what was going on. I would have a good game, and then the next couple of games I would barely play or not even play at all. I know rookies have to go through ups and downs, but I just thought if somebody has a good game they’d play the next game and not be held out. But I guess they saw things differently."

Williams played in 81 games as a rookie. He started 31. He had 8 double-doubles and 6 near* double-doubles. Williams averaged 18.7 minutes per game. He played at least 20 minutes in 33 games and at least 15 minutes in 52 games. Among post players, only Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia played more minutes or averaged more minutes per game than Williams did for the Hawks that season.

Shelden's had a nice nine games but he has not sustained play of anything approaching this quality over an NBA season to this point in his career. Not that it's in any way his fault that Billy Knight drafted him fifth rather than Brandon Roy.

*Defined by me, for this purpose, as at least 8 points and 8 rebounds in a game.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Perspective on Marvin Williams Through Eight Games

Marvin Williams has unquestionably been tough to watch through eight games. He's appeared generally out of sorts and has shot poorly while limiting himself or being limited largely to a spot-up shooter role. I think it's important not to overstate his struggles, partly because he's been such a small part of the team's offense thus far. Just by virtue of his lower usage rate and his playing fewer minutes per game so far this season, his raw numbers are going to look far inferior. In the interests of perspective, let's a look at some of his rate stats compared to last season.

First, shooting and scoring...

Year	2PTFG%	3PTFG%	FT Rate	TS%	Pts/36	USG%
2008-09	49.3%	35.5%	35.4	56.9%	14.5	18.2%
2009-10	47.5%	26.7%	49.1	56.5%	12.4	15.2%

Williams is a couple of slightly higher-usage, hot shooting games from being essentially the same offensive player he was last year.

Rebounding, passing, ball-handling, and defensive box score stats...

Year	OR%	DR%	A/100	T0/100	S/100	BS/100
2008-09	6.2%	15.3%	2.1	1.8	1.5	1.0
2009-10	4.7%	15.2%	0.7	1.8	1.4	1.6

As for on/off defensive stats (in terms of team Defensive Efficiency)...

Year	On	Off	Diff
2008-09	108.5	105.8	+2.7
2009-10	105.6	110.8	-5.2

A negative differential being good in this case, the Hawks, despite being a slightly worse defensive team in the early days of this season than they were last season, have been better than last season when Williams is on the floor.

Overall, when put in context and acknowledging the extremely small sample this season provides, Marvin Williams isn't off to a slow start so much as Jamal Crawford and Maurice Evans are off to hot starts. Should Crawford and Evans continue to play at the high level at which they've begun this season that may mean that Williams, even if he matches last season's production on a rate basis, will not match last season's playing time* but more Hawks being as productive as Williams was last season isn't exactly a recipe for disaster even if it is a recipe for Williams to post superficially disappointing individual stats.

*On a per game basis, that is. One hopes for better health for Marvin this season.

Quotes, Notes, and Links: Hawks 114 Knicks 101

Gameflow

Highlights

Al Horford:

"In the first half we missed a lot of easy shots. I did myself. Coach told us to stay confident and keep fighting. I think in the second half that's what we did and how we were able to pull away. We came out and were more aggressive. I think that was the difference."

Mike Woodson, presumably referring to the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons:

"We've grown. The last two years we've been in some tough games. We've won some tough ones and we've lost. You know this team hasn't quit these last two years and it's a sign of the guys in that locker room. We're all fighting for something. We're trying to be better than a year ago."

Josh Smith:

"We can wear a team down with our depth and our athleticism, and the way we're able to switch we can kind of stop a lot of plays being ran. We didn't play our best basketball, so we had to turn it around in the second half and we did."

An interesting perspective from Seth at Posting and Toasting:

Like the Knicks, the Hawks switch pretty much everything on defense. They just do it with a lot more conviction and better angle management. You know what I mean? The Knicks always look like their tripping over each other when defending the pick. The Hawks got it right.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Peachtree Hoops nicely sums up Marvin Williams' current predicament:

In no way do I think Marvin has regressed, but he is certainly lost. And the old adage, "don't mess with what is working" only sounds good when things are working. Because when things stop working and Marvin Williams is crying in the corner unable to shoot the ball, we are going to say I wish we did something to carve out Marv's role the team.

The Human Highlight Blog looks at the Al Horford/David Lee matchup through the prism of five-year-old college practices. I'll do something similar for Brandon Rush and Julian Wright* should they happen to get released on the same day.

*Byron Scott, you're killing me.

Dime interviews Josh Smith (HT: @one66soul)

Dime: Like I was saying your field goal percentage is way up, and I’ve also noticed you haven’t taken a single three yet this season. Have you made it a point to get away from shooting jumpers?
Josh Smith: Yeah I wanted to focus on driving to the lane and making mid-range shots. We got a lot of guys on this team who can hit it from behind the arc so it allows me to focus on other things.

Substitute "free throws" for "mid-range shots" and it's the perfect answer.

Hawks 114 Knicks 101

Boxscore

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL	95.2	1.197	58.0	24.7	23.1	15.8
NY	95.2	1.061	50.0	18.8	21.4	16.8

The Knicks' defensive performance in the second half put the Hawks' defensive performance in the first half in perspective. There's an obvious, visible difference between an average defensive team playing a poor half against a poor offensive team and a poor defensive team playing a poor half against a good offensive team.

Overall, the Hawks weren't good defensively and, considering the opposition*, that's still a reasonable area of concern for Hawk partisans. How the offense worked in the second half, though, even accounting for the minimal resistance from the Knicks, should be taken to heart by players, coaches, and fans. Joe Johnson is a fine one-on-one player, worthy of dominating the ball in an advantageous** matchup. Al Horford, even when matched up against smaller defenders is a far more effective offensive player when catching the ball on the move, be it in the half-court or after out-running opposing frontcourt players down the floor. Josh Smith is a poor player when slinging jump shots from the perimeter (1-3 on the night) but a devastating player when, like Horford, attacking the rim (9-12 on shots at the rim, 2-4 on FTA, 4 assists) in any circumstance. When those three, good passers all, are drawing a defense's attention, both Mike Bibby and Maurice Evans are eminently capable of finding open space on the perimeter to knock down the resultant open shots.

Sure, Marvin Williams doesn't appear to fill a useful role in the offense right now***, Jamal Crawford was so poor defensively in the first half that Mike Woodson couldn't afford to play him, Zaza Pachulia and Joe Smith similarly failed to earn even a second of playing time in the second half, the Hawks' veterans again failed to put an inferior team away early and, in failing, kept Jeff Teague on the bench, but a 13-point win over this Knicks team is not going to be an exercise in perfection so much as competence.

*A poor rebounding team whose coach wants his players to shoot a lot of threes but the players, outside or Gallinari and Douglas, can't make or aren't making threes.

** The first half demonstrated his (not unique) inability to score, dribble, or pass when double-teamed effectively.

***But what a talent to have in reserve.

There exist levels above tonight's performance for which this team can strive to reach. If they take the lessons (possibly) learned tonight and make them a part of the basic repertoire (say, starting Friday night in Boston) this could be a red-letter night for the team. If, however, they choose to take as tonight's primary lesson that they can play just one half of good basketball and still probably skate past inferior opposition then nights like this will become a discomfiting norm and Friday night's game in Boston might well resemble the loss in Los Angeles where proud effort fails to overcome inconsistent execution and the distance between the Hawks and the league's championship contenders appears as vast as ever.

With my track record as a prognosticator, I'll keep mum save for hinting at my anticipation to discover but one bit more about this team.

November 11th Game Thread: Atlanta (5-2) @ New York (1-7)

TIP-OFF: 7:30pm (EST)

TELEVISION: SportSouth

CHAT: Daily Dime Live

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass (color commentary from Lang Whitaker tonight)

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Knicks

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.

NEW YORK INJURY REPORT: Eddy Curry is out. Nate Robinson is doubtful.

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -5.5, 207.5 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Knickerblogger

PREVIOUSLY, THE NEW YORK KNICKS...lost their fourth consecutive game, a 95-93 setback at home against Utah. Rookie Toney Douglas took advantage of Nate Robinson's absence and Chris Duhon continuing to plumb new depths of shooting futility (28.1 2PTFG%, 23.5 3PTFG% on the season) to impress for a second consecutive game. In 40.5 minutes over the past two games Douglas has 37 points on 22 shots.

Danilo Gallinari (45.9 3PTFG%) is the only Knicks other than Douglas currently making more than one-in-three of his three-point attempts which is something of a problem for a team that attempts more than one-third of its field goals from beyond the arc. Combine that with New York's inability to get to the free throw line (18.2 FT Rate, 27th in the league) or grab offensive rebounds (18.9 OR%, last in the league) and you have the reasons why New York is 25th in the league in offensive efficiency. Do not be distracted by New York averaging the fourth-most points per game in the league. The Knick offense has been terrible. Their per game average is boosted by the team's number of possessions per game (4th in the league) and the three overtime periods they've played.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

David Thorpe on Jeff Teague

Teague ranks ninth in Thorpe's rookie rankings (Insider):

In a loaded point guard class, there might be not be a quicker and more dynamic driver than Teague. But, and this is a big but, he needs to learn how to read where the help action is coming from before he starts his drive. A recent game against the Nuggets taught him that lesson, as he finished 1-for-9 with most of his misses coming on shots in the paint after strong dribble-drives. A floater, teardrop or simple pull-up jumper would serve Teague well here, because he's next to impossible to stay in front of.

Season-Long Theme: Marvin Williams' Role

Previously: Rebounding, Josh Smith's Shot Selection, Three-Point Shooting, Jeff Teague's Playing Time, Backcourt Defense

Commenter Toq12 asked that I look at "the productivity of the Hawks offense when Crawford is playing in place of Marvin Williams." Anyway interested just in the answer that question is invited to skip ahead to the bolded text. The rest is (fair warning) context, tangential curiosity, and the avoidance of conclusions. Before the season, I suspected that Jamal Crawford might marginalize Maurice Evans. That hasn't been the case through seven games but Crawford's (generally) strong play has appeared to limit Marvin Williams' minutes.

Last season, Williams, despite missing 21 games and making cameos off the bench in the final two regular season games, played 53% of Atlanta's total minutes. Through seven games this season, Williams, in good health, has played 59.8% of Atlanta's total minutes. On a per game basis, Williams is playing 5.6 fewer minutes than last season and, whereas Flip Murray played 24.7 minutes per game last season, Crawford averages 29.9 minutes per game this season.

So, what has the impact of using Crawford in a three-guard lineup at the expense of Williams been so far in this young season?

Sub-question, how has Williams played (and the team done with him) as an undersized power forward?

First, the simple on/off efficiency numbers for both players...

Name	Off Poss	Team Pts	Off Eff	Def Poss	Opp Pts	Def Eff
Crawford (On)	424	491	1.158	422	459	1.088
Crawford (Off)	242	257	1.062	241	256	1.062
Williams (On)	388	402	1.036	389	408	1.049
Williams (Off)	278	326	1.173	274	307	1.120
TEAM	666	748	1.123	663	715	1.078

The Hawks' offense has been much better (9.6 pts/100 possessions) and the defense slightly worse (2.6 pts/100 possessions) with Crawford on the floor. Conversely, the Hawks' defense has been much better (7.1 pts/100 possessions) with Williams on the floor. The offense, however, when Williams is on the floor, has been much, much worse (13.7 pts/100 possessions) than when he is on the bench.

Of course, Crawford and Williams share the floor some of the time (162 offensive, 164 defensive possessions).

Name	Off Poss	Team Pts	Off Eff	Def Poss	Opp Pts	Def Eff
Crawford & Williams	162	184	1.136	164	170	1.037
Crawford w/o Williams	262	307	1.172	258	289	1.120
Williams w/o Crawford	236	238	1.053	225	238	1.058
TEAM	666	748	1.123	663	715	1.078

Almost all of Williams on-court possessions (191 offensive, 190 defensive) without Crawford on the court occur as part of the starting lineup which has been outscored 198-192 so far this season.

As for the original question, specifically about the offense's efficiency when Crawford is replacing Marvin Williams in the lineup, let's look at Crawford on the court without either Williams or Maurice Evans on the court.

Three-guard lineups without Marvin Williams on the floor...

Time	Off Poss	Team Pts	Off Eff	Def Poss	Opp Pts	Def Eff
Through 11/10/09	103	135	1.311	107	102	0.953

That rather tidy point differential is fueled by the aforementioned Bibby/Crawford/Johnson/Josh Smith/Horford lineup that has scored 99 points in 70 offensive possessions. The Hawks' offense has spectacularly, unsustainably better when Jamal Crawford has replaced Marvin Williams in the lineup. The defense has also been better.

Finally, Marvin Williams by position...

Position	Off Poss	Team Pts	Off Eff	Def Poss	Opp Pts	Def Eff
Small Forward	304	317	1.043	309	334	1.081
Power Forward	84	85	1.012	80	74	0.925

A further breakdown of the team's defensive efficiency with Williams at small forward...

Context	Def Poss	Opp Pts	Def Eff
w/ starting lineup	190	198	1.042
all other lineups	117	136	1.162

Far and away the two worst players in terms of on-court defensive efficiency are Joe Smith and Zaza Pachulia. The Williams/Joe Smith/Pachulia frontcourt has played just 15 defensive possessions together. The Hawks have allowed 20 points on those possessions. Williams was also on court for most of the disastrous Teague/Johnson two-guard backcourt possessions.

There aren't any real answers seven games into the season, but the right questions are coming into focus.

Season-Long Theme: Backcourt Defense

Previously: Rebounding, Josh Smith's Shot Selection, Three-Point Shooting, Jeff Teague's Playing Time

I looked at the Hawks' backcourt defense after the opening night win over Indiana. The parameters of this on-going survey have changed a bit. On opening night, Joe Johnson played at the 3 for just three defensive possessions. In the six subsequent games, he's played the 3 for 142 defensive possessions, thus, the three-guard lineups get their own chart in this edition. Also, Maurice Evans has played 14 defensive possessions at shooting guard (all of them alongside Jamal Crawford) so that tandem gets its own row on the chart. I'm not including Evans in the individual chart as his time at the 2-guard constitutes just 6% of his total defensive possessions played.

all data from BasketballValue.com

First, the two-guard lineups...

Backcourt	Def Poss	Opp Pts	Def Eff
Crawford/Evans	14	10	0.714
Teague/Crawford	123	125	1.016
Bibby/Johnson	229	235	1.026
Bibby/Crawford	33	35	1.061
TEAM	663	715	1.078
Crawford/Johnson	107	136	1.271
Teague/Johnson	12	21	1.75

It's interesting (though I'm not willing to draw any conclusions about it at this time) that Teague and Crawford have been fine while playing alongside each other but when either one plays alongside Joe Johnson (in a two guard lineup) those tandems have been terrible.

As the number of possessions under consideration grows, I'll examine whether the various backcourt combinations are getting unequal court time alongside the better or the worse post defenders.

Individual defensive ratings for post defenders, year-to-date...

Player	Def Poss	Opp Pts	Def Eff
Horford	452	468	1.035
Josh Smith	435	467	1.074
TEAM	663	715	1.078
Joe Smith	132	153	1.159
Pachulia	199	245	1.231

An examination of Marvin Williams' offensive and defensive efficiencies at the 3 and 4 is coming in the next post

Now, the three-guard lineups...

Backcourt	Def Poss	Opp Pts	Def Eff
Teague/Crawford/Johnson	31	31	1.000
TEAM	663	715	1.078
Bibby/Crawford/Johnson	114	123	1.079

The best, offensively, of Atlanta's frequently used lineups has been Bibby/Crawford/Johnson/Josh Smith/Horford which has scored 99 points in 70 offensive possessions (offensive efficiency: 1.414).

Finally, the on-court defensive efficiencies for the Hawks' guards...

Player	Def Poss	Opp Pts	Def Eff
Bibby	376	393	1.045
Teague	166	176	1.060
TEAM	663	715	1.078
Crawford	422	459	1.088
Johnson	493	545	1.105

Season-Long Theme: Jeff Teague's Playing Time

Previously: Rebounding, Josh Smith's Shot Selection, Three-Point Shooting

I think most concerns about Jeff Teague suffering a fate similar to Acie Law IV are unfounded. First of all, any minutes Teague doesn't get are going to Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, or Maurice Evans in the service of securing the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. That's a far different caliber of player than Law sat behind (Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Salim Stoudamire, or Mario West) on a sub-.500 basketball team. Secondly, Mike Woodson appears far more invested in Teague's future than he ever was in Law's. Third, Teague is younger than Law, his future is longer, and there's no real rush to get him major minutes in the NBA. Finally, through seven games Jeff Teague's played a good bit of basketball and played reasonably well .

Even with a DNP-CD in Portland, Teague has played 24% of Atlanta's minutes* so far this season. He's averaging 17.1 points per 100 offensive possessions despite struggling to finish at the rim (41.7 FG% on non-dunks at the basket, 17% of those attempts being blocked) or get to the foul line (4 FTA in 80 minutes--still one more free throw attempt than Mike Bibby's managed in 195 minutes). His playmaking has been exemplary as evidenced by the 17 assists** he's earned while turning the ball over just 3 times and, while Teague is not a plus defender yet, his quick hands are evident in the team-leading*** 3.8 steals per 100 defensive possessions he's averaged in his first couple of weeks as a professional.

*In comparison, Law played 21.7% of Atlanta's minutes as a rookie despite missing 26 games through injury and the head coach's prerogative.

**Per 100 offensive possessions, Teague is averaging 10.74 assists. Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford have combined for 11.01 assists per 100 offensive possessions.

***Josh Smith is second at 2.6 steals per 100 defensive possessions.

Season-Long Theme: Three-Point Shooting

Previously: Rebounding, Josh Smith's Shot Selection

I expounded upon my concerns about the Hawks ability to maintain the volume and accuracy of they demonstrated from beyond the three-point line last season in the season preview. Seven games is far too small a sample to draw conclusions from so highly variable an action as taking 24' jump shots so I'll simply present the relevant data.

Season	3PTFG%	3PTFGA/FGA	WinPct
2007-08 (before Bibby)	32.3%	.143	.440
2007-08 (with Bibby)	39.3%	.197	.469
2008-09	36.6%	.253	.573
2009-10	33.1%	.205	.714

Joe Johnson, Eastern Conference Player of the Week

From the official release:

Johnson's Hawks finished the week with a 3-1 mark, which included wins over Portland, Denver and Sacramento. Johnson averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists for Atlanta on the week. Saving his best for last, Johnson posted a well-balanced statline of 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists on Saturday nights as the Hawks upended the Nuggets 125-100.

I'm not going to look at every Eastern Conference player's week but I'm not sure they even got the right Hawk. Josh Smith averaged 15 points, 7.75 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.75 blocks on the week. Johnson's extra 5 points per game necessitated 7 more field goal attempts per game. As for Johnson's other counting stats, they were compiled over 37 minutes per game, while Smith accrued his in just 30.6 minutes per game.

Season-Long Theme: Josh Smith's Shot Selection

Previously: Rebounding

Josh Smith has yet to attempt a three-point shot this season. Not coincidentally, the career 46.9 eFG% shooter is shooting 57.3 eFG% through seven games. Smith hasn't completely renounced* the jump shot but in addition to re-purposing the 10% of his field goal attempts that occurred beyond the arc last season, he's reduced his two-point jump shot attempts from 36% to 28.8% of his total field goal attempts.

(For more on Smith's career shot distribution by distance refer to this post.)

His persistence in attacking the basket has been rewarded both by making 71.1% of his shots at or near the rim and in a career high assist of 5.1 per 36 minutes. Finding the open teammate is much easier when one or more defender must deign to guard you. Somewhat surprisingly, Smith isn't getting to the line any more often than he has the past. If he continues to make just 60.6% of his free throws, the Hawks won't complain about opponents not fouling him more often.

Of the 21 jump shots Smith has taken this year, one miss came on a failed drive to the basket (more good defense than bad intentions) and three have come after receiving a pass very late in the shot clock. One of his five made jump shots came courtesy of a bank shot. His intentions in that instance remain unknown but I feel it would be churlish to discredit the make in any way at this point in time.

On the subject of peer pressure, Smith has attempted 15 jump shots in four road games and 6 jump shots in three home games. I'm reluctant** to boo, personally, but years of hearing "No!" in Philips Arena every time he wound up the J may have, may have, served a positive function.

*Nor should he completely renounce it for practical, game theory reasons.

**To boo players, that is. The joy of lustily booing officials is one the lessons my grandmother taught me at a young age.

Season-Long Theme: Rebounding

Last season, the Hawks were a poor rebounding team, below-average on both the offensive and defensive glass. So far this year they haven't made any strides on the offensive glass but the team's defensive rebounding (despite consecutive poor performances @Sacramento and @Charlotte last week) is far ahead of last year's pace and better than the league average.

Atlanta Hawks: Rebounding 2008-09 vs. 2009-10

Year	DR%	LgAvg	Rank	OR%	LgAvg	Rank
2008-09	71.6	73.3	24th	26.0	26.7	19th
2009-10	74.6	73.7	10th	24.7	26.3	24th

Significant individual improvement on the defensive glass has been achieved (thus far) from Al Horford (individual DR% up from 25.0% to 27.7%), Joe Johnson (up from 10.5% to 15.9%), Mike Bibby (up from 10.3% to 12.7%), and Maurice Evans (up from 9.9% to 11.7%).

The improved defensive rebounding hasn't helped the Hawks appreciably in terms of defensive efficiency (They're currently 18th in the league.) but I suspect it has had some role in the Hawks increasing both the number of possessions (up 5.6 per game over last year) and the team's offensive efficiency (They're currently 4th in the league.)

Season-Long Themes, a Preview

I've mentioned a couple of these previously (Backcourt Defense, Josh Smith's Shot Selection) but over the course of today and tomorrow, I'll take the first (as) comprehensive (as one can after seven games) look at the team's (at this point still supposed) major concerns and/or benchmarks for success.

Planned subjects of study:

• Backcourt Defense
• Josh Smith's Shot Selection
• Rebounding
• Three-point Shooting
• Jeff Teague's Playing Time

If there's a pressing issue I've overlooked, please bring it to my attention in the comments.

Quotes, Notes, and Links: Hawks 125 Nuggets 100

Gameflow

Highlights

Josh Smith:

"It's a big statement. Having a letdown loss last night, and being able to come in and beat the number two or three team last year in the Western Conference. That's a big boost of confidence. I had opportunities to succeed and I seized the moment. I have wonderful guys to pass the ball to and I was really looking to crash the boards."

Joe Johnson:

"I think we still have a little bit of immaturity on this team. And that's something we've got to look forward to working on. In no way possible should Charlotte beat us by 20, even though they were at home."

Which one is supposed to be the immature one?

Jamal Crawford was also looking forward rather than talking about the past:

"It's big, more mentally than anything else. We had tough loss against Charlotte last night, and we beat a tough Denver team. We didn't lay down, and we fought. From start to finish, I thought we were really good as a team."

Mike Woodson:

"I know George [Karl] is probably in there wondering where was the energy for his group tonight, just like I was last night, shaking my head."

George Karl:

"Atlanta has as many good one-on-one players as any in the NBA, and that showed."

It's funny because it's true. Last night, the Hawks did an excellent job of spreading the floor and letting players beat their defender one-on-one. That there was rarely a help defender arriving for Denver speaks to the their role in Atlanta's outstanding offensive night.

In other news, I'm getting pretty damn good at predicting* what people will say after basketball games.

George Karl:

"No one should feel happy about what went on, but no one should feel like it's broken, either. Anytime you go on a six-game road trip, if you can win half your games or more, it's a great success, and we have a chance of doing it."

*I'm aware this is not a gift of great utility.

Karl further demonstrates how to criticize a team while taking responsibility for one's own role in a short-term failure:

"Offensively, we take way too many tough shots and a lot of that should be on me. We don't have enough sets in right now, and today our playbook was limited because Kenyon gives us a versatility, and I think we missed that."

John Hollinger elaborates on how the Nuggets missed Kenyon Martin and JR Smith (and not just because Renaldo Balkman and Joey Graham aren't nearly as good):

With Kenyon Martin’s mid-range threat replaced by non-shooter Renaldo Balkman and Smith replaced by another weak perimeter threat in Joey Graham, the Nuggets made only two triples on the night. Worse yet, their drivers constantly faced crowds of Hawks at the rim, as Atlanta saw no need to respect any perimeter shooter besides Chauncey Billups. Atlanta returned nine Denver shots to sender, including six blocks by Josh Smith.

The Human Highlight Blog has a fine appreciation of Josh Smith's performance:

Through all the times we've pulled our hair out watching him, Atlanta's Saturday night 125-100 victory over the suddenly staggering Denver Nuggets showed why you just can't give up on a player like Josh Smith.

Smith was omnipresent throughout the dominant home team win on both ends of the floor. He consistently challenged the Nuggets interior on his way to an 8-10/2-4, 22 point night on the one end while stamping the defensive effort of the evening with his (6) blocks and a level of activity that had the Nuggets either settling for outside shots or looking over their shoulder.

The Nuggets had no answer for Smith's ridiculous athleticism and new found respect for attacking the hoop. He is one of the best finishers in the league now and he made the case over and over again against anyone Denver threw at him.

Hawks 125 Nuggets 100

Boxscore

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
DEN	94.8	1.054	42.3	43.6	21.7	10.5
ATL	94.8	1.318	56.3	31.0	23.5	8.3

Whatever the Hawks suffered due to the vagaries of the schedule last night, the Nuggets--sluggish, disinterested, and irritable--made up for it tonight in Atlanta. Denver appeared more comfortable with their feet up than with them on the court, giving up an 8-2 run to start the game, a 7-0 Atlanta run over the first three minutes of the second quarter and a 10-0 run over the first 4:20 of the third quarter. That interminable, foul-riddled (22 personal fouls and 33 free throw attempts combined) third quarter delayed knowledge of the game's margin but not its result.

Once Carmelo Anthony figured himself unlikely to make many shots from the field, he put all his efforts into getting to the foul line. Scoring one point at a time will (almost) never better two- and three-point baskets. Denver attempted 11 and made 7 more free throws than the Hawks but Atlanta made 7 more two-point and 6 more three-point field goals.

Josh Smith led the team in two-pointers made. Not coincidentally, just one of his 10 attempts was a jump shot*. Even better, he grabbed nine rebounds, earned seven assists, blocked six shots, stole the ball twice, and turned it over just once. Those seven assists (just three fewer than the entire team registered last night in Charlotte) led the team which, as a whole, assisted on two-thirds of made baskets. Al Horford registered five assists (and 12 rebounds). Joe Johnson had five assists to go with 22 points and 7 rebounds of his own. Jamal Crawford (25 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) and Jeff Teague each had four assists. Mike Bibby had three (plus 11 points on seven shots) in 20:13, his minutes limited by an inability to guard Chauncey Billups without fouling. There was little one-on-one basketball to irritate either insiders or outsiders.

*and he even made that one, 5-21 on the year now

An NBA season finds its balance, and team's find their true selves, in between the extremes. Just as the Bobcats are not so much better than the Hawks as they looked last night nor are the Hawks so much better than the Nuggets as they appeared tonight. The Hawks' road trip had an unsatisfying end but was, in its entirety, a successful trip. Before the game, Mike Woodson offered the perspective his best player was unable to see immediately following the loss last night:

"If we had won last night, it would have been a great trip. It was a good trip because you go out, you play .500 on the road...that's what we want to do this year. We only won 16 out there last year and your elite teams, your good teams, they're winning at least 21 to 25 games on the road. If we can get to 21 games on the road it'd fantastic for this team and anything over that is icing on the cake."

George Karl will probably say something similar about the Nuggets tonight or tomorrow. They've lost two in a row on the road, haven't really been in either game in its final quarter-and-a-half, but they're 3-2 on the road, they're 2-0 at home, JR Smith's about to return, and it will take something more drastic than consecutive losses for the team's structure to feel true stress.

Closer to home, it's seven days into November and Atlanta's 2-2 on the road and 3-0 at home. The season's eight-and-a-half-percent done, as a whole, it's been strong, everyone's healthy, and the team's course is not due to change. Calm (which is not the same as complacency) should prevail in the coming days before the Hawks will head to New York and Boston, try to win both games (even though they probably won't win more than one), then return home to take advantage of their home court and some other teams' road trips as the season putters along, one hopes, in a similar competent rhythm.

November 7th Game Thread: Denver (5-1) @ Atlanta (4-2)

TIP-OFF: 7pm (EST)

TELEVISION: SportSouth, NBA TV

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Nuggets

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.

DENVER INJURY/SUSPENSION REPORT: JR Smith serves the final game of his 7-game suspension tonight. Kenyon Martin suffered a left fibula contusion last night in Miami and is out.

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -3, 211.5 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Roundball Mining Company

PREVIOUSLY, THE DENVER NUGGETS...lost 96-88 in Miami last night. Denver's first loss of the season was a eight-point defeat much like the Hawks' loss in Los Angeles was an eight-point defeat. Denver finished the game on a 14-3 run and outscored Miami 32-18 in the fourth quarter to make the margin of defeat superficially slighter.

Carmelo Anthony has been excellent through 6 games, averaging 31.7 PPG (48.4 2PTFG%, 41.2 3PTFG%, 81.4 FT% on 11.7 FTA per game) to lead the Nuggets to the league's 3rd best offensive efficiency despite Anthony Carter starting in place of the suspended JR Smith. As expected by those gifted with (occasional) foresight, Ty Lawson entered the NBA ready to contribute.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.