Hawks 88 Bobcats 83

by Hoopinion on Nov 22, 2008 10:50 AM EST

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
CHA	89.7	0.93	46.8	12.8	17.5	16.7
ATL	89.7	0.98	52.3	30.8	22.2	23.4

A question for the forum: How can the same team that looks completely incapable of getting the ball to Joe Johnson in the post when he's guarded by either Raymond Felton or Matt Carroll for almost an entire quarter also be able to get wide open three-point shots at will for the final eight-and-a-half minutes of the game?

I'm thoroughly flummoxed. Any insight would be appreciated.

Some things I do know...

I won't be going out of my way to watch the Bobcats/Wizards game on December 23rd.
Marvin Williams is a significantly better player than he was at the end of last season.
Maurice Evans* is rock solid.
The Hawks' difficulty guarding opposing point guards will continue unabated. Last night further demonstrated that neither Mike Bibby nor Acie Law IV can stay with NBA point guards and that Flip Murray cannot both pressure the ball and stay in front of his man.
Raymond Felton is thoroughly discombobulated. I don't know if he's lost all confidence in his game or just isn't very good. He needs a new team. I'm not as sure as I was yesterday that I'm interested in the Hawks being that team.
Neither Al Horford nor Zaza Pachulia are completely healthy.
I hope Dominique Wilkins' (wonderful) title, Vice President of Basketball, caries no real player personnel decision responsibilities. During last night's broadcast he expressed serious dismay regarding the Knicks decision to trade Jamal Crawford because Crawford is "a great young point guard." I say the following as someone who likes Jamal Crawford and believe him to be a useful player: neither of those adjectives nor that noun are descriptive of him. Best not to get into 'Nique's assertion that Joe Johnson doesn't shoot that many free throws because he's "so efficient."

*Am I the only one indulging in fantasies of the Hawks not screwing up Josh Childress's restricted free agency and signing Maurice Evans. That's the foundation of a 50-win team's bench.

(This is where I'd normally include any and all interesting post-game quotes.)

Quick links...

Queen City Hoops has a typically thorough recap of the game from Charlotte's perspective.
Micah Hart looks back at the first 10 games and ahead to the next 10.

Back at it tonight in Cleveland.

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Jeez, 'Nique.

Third Quarter Collapse: An Orlando Magic blog at SB Nation

by Evan Dunlap on Nov 22, 2008 12:27 PM EST reply actions

Certainly. There’s no reason the Hawks couldn’t have gotten Evans while they were mucking around with Childress. It might have sent him a sign “Hey, we’re dedicated to becoming a better team,” message during that idle period when they weren’t negotiating.

Unfortunately, the dearth of big men at the end of the Hawks bench would still have been problematic, as Childress is no more suited to play PF than Marvin is. And honestly, I can’t say that the Hawks would have won any more games than they have to this point if Childress were still on the team.

Perhaps, in that second game against the Nets, if you gave all of Flip’s minutes to Chillz, that might have swung it. Beyond that, I credit the high number of turnovers Flip had against Boston more to the Celtics defense than to his overdribbling, and he did chip in 14 points. Woodson’s usage patterns suggest that we’d have still seen someone totally undersized attempt to guard KG in the post. Can’t imagine many games where Ray Allen and Eddie House brick so many open threes.

by Bronn on Nov 22, 2008 4:18 PM EST reply actions

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