Atlanta Hawks Weekly: Missed Free Throws, Missed Opportunities

The week gone by saw the Atlanta Hawks take to the floor four times and most notably embarking upon their first multiple-game road trip out West. The week started on Sunday in the historic surroundings of the Staples Center, where the Hawks battled hard with the Kobe-less Lakers. From there, Atlanta moved on within California, travelling to Sacramento to face off against the Kings on Tuesday. With the road trip finishing up on Thursday, the Hawks played against the Nuggets at high altitude in the Pepsi Center in Denver. Finally returning home to match up against their divisional rivals, the Orlando Magic. The week would finish 2-2, but it could easily have been 4-0.

The Week That Was

Los Angeles Lakers – Sunday, Nov.3 (Staples Center, Los Angeles)

The Hawks rolled up at the Staples Center having lost seven straight games against the Lakers. With the absence of Kobe Bryant, they wouldn’t have many better opportunities to beat LA either. The Hawks began the game by missing shots and struggling defensively. In particular, they once again were very poor at the defending the three point line early on. This year’s unpredictable young Lakers core appear to be an incredibly willing group of shooters, and in the first the three’s were falling. Xavier Henry, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Nick Young all scored deep in the first helping the Lakers get up by as much as 13. The first quarter finished 33-22.

Things didn’t improve by much in the second as the Lakers stayed hot from the field. While Atlanta struggled to make shots, the Lakers pushed their lead out as far as 21 points. Coach Budenholzer would have been far from happy at the half, as despite showing some fight to keep it in range, down 62-49, the Hawks defense was far from good enough.

Kyle Korver shot 6-for-6 from long range to keep the Hawks alive. (Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule)

The tables turned in the third, when after the Lakers scored the opening four points to put LA up by 17, Atlanta pushed back hard. A couple of Cartier Martin 3-pointers helped the Hawks to gather momentum and confidence, and begin to make a game of it. If Martin’s 3s gave Atlanta a slight push back into the game, it was Kyle Korver‘s long range shooting that grabbed his team by the scruff of the neck and dragged it back into contention.

Dennis Schroeder was effective and aggressive off the bench early in the fourth as the gap closed further. As Atlanta pulled themselves all the way back into the mix. After trailing from early in the first, a Paul Millsap jumper tied the game up with 35 seconds remaining. With six seconds remaining, Pau Gasol drove towards the rim but was stopped by Paul Millsap en route to the rim. The play was reviewed and adjudged to be a blocking foul, although replays showed it to be almost too close to call with Paul Millsap’s feet set just on the very edge of the restricted area. Whether the call was right or wrong, Gasol knocked down both free throws, leaving the Hawks to put together a poor end of game play which resulted in Pau blocking Korver’s heave. After fighting all the way back, this was a tough loss for Atlanta. The Hawks were a little unlucky as eight different Lakers managed to make three pointers, but only had themselves to blame after leaving 12 points at the free throw line. Lakers win 105-103.

Sacramento Kings – Tuesday, Nov.5 (Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento)

Once again, the Hawks came up against the type of hot shooting that was starting to become familiar, in the first quarter in this game. The Kings shot 59 percent in the first putting up 32 points, with John Salmons, Marcus Thornton and rookie Ben McLemore playing particularly strong starts.

The Kings offense would hit a wall from there though, as the Hawks picked up their defensive intensity dramatically, Sacramento would only manage 33 points for the second and third quarters combined. For the Hawks, there were three key men who helped to build their significant lead. Jeff Teague ran rings around the Sacramento defense for much of the night, getting to wherever he wanted on the floor to run the offense. Teague scored 18 points, despite having an uncharacteristically poor free throw shooting night, only going for 4-for-8.

Al Horford was dominant for the Hawks in Sacramento alongside Paul Millsap. (Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule)

Teague’s passing was much more significant though, his 10 assists allowed the Hawks big men to establish a comfortable scoring flow inside. The front court pairing of Horford and Millsap showed signs of developing a strong understanding with both men posting double-double’s. Horford had 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Millsap had 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Behind these stellar numbers, Atlanta built up their lead to as much as 19 points at the beginning of the 4th, before the Kings regained their shooting touch. With McLemore’s impressive night from the bench continuing, he had 15 points and 6 rebounds, Isaiah Thomas also stepped up his game to lead the Kings comeback. Thomas would finish the night with 26 points, 18 of which he scored in the 4th, but it wouldn’t be enough. Despite coming back to within three points with 32 seconds remaining, the Kings would fall just short of a comeback. Hawks win, 105-100.

Denver Nuggets – Thursday, Nov.7 (Pepsi Center, Denver)

The Pepsi Center offers one of the greatest home court advantages in the NBA. The partisan crowd, combined with the challenges of playing at such high altitude, means that it offers a challenge that is unique to that arena. These factors had proved too hard for the Hawks to overcome in recent years too, as entering this game Atlanta had lost six straight games on trips to Colorado. The Hawks were quick out of the traps on this occasion though, getting out to a 16-6 start with an even spread of scoring. This year’s Nuggets, although lacking the depth and reliability of last year’s squad, showed that they are just as capable of putting a run together. By the time the 1st quarter ended the game was all tied at 26.

In a back and forth game with frequent lead changes, Paul Millsap was the stand out man on the court. Millsap’s shooting was top class, going 10-for-15 from the field including 2-for-3 from downtown for a total of 29 points. The only part of Millsap’s shooting game that wasn’t on form was once again his free throw shooting. The former Louisiana Tech man was 7-for-11 from the stripe, which is by no means disastrous, but this was a night where every missed opportunity would come back to haunt Atlanta.

For the Nuggets, JaVale McGee was both incredibly impressive and as laid back and unpredictable as ever. McGee had 14 points, including a number of impressive alley-oop dunks, but only three rebounds, a dismal return for a 7-footer. If one particular play summed up McGee’s potential and his athletic ability it was a head to head with Jeff Teague. Teague dribbled in towards the block from the right perimeter, pump faking the shot as he approached McGee. McGee took the bait, jumping for the block, but showed unbelievable athleticism to block Teague’s floater while he was on the way down from his first attempt.

The Hawks led by eight with six minutes remaining in the fourth, but in truth luck seemed to be on the Nuggets side all night. Both Ty Lawson and Randy Foye had 3-pointers land short on the front iron of the rim, before bouncing up and falling softly back down through the net. While Lawson also had good fortune in one of the game’s most decisive moments. With 59 seconds remaining, the Hawks trailed by two and put together an excellent defensive play. With the shot clock expiring though, Lawson launched an overthrown desperation 3-pointer that was lucky enough to bank in off the backboard.

Coming down the court for the final play, the Hawks had a chance to tie and take the game to OT, but in spite of finding decent shots for both Millsap and Horford, they couldn’t convert. Nuggets edged it, 109-107.

Orlando Magic – Saturday, Nov.9 (Philips Arena, Atlanta)

While the Hawks might struggle in the Staples Center and the Pepsi Center, the Magic have struggled in Atlanta in recent years. The Magic had lost eight consecutive games against the Hawks in Philips Arena before last night’s game. Without doubt, one of the keys for the Hawks if they were to keep that streak going was to find a way to contain Nikola Vucevic. Vucevic came into game averaging more than 17 points and 13 rebounds a night for the season so far and it was clear from early in the first that the Hawks were trying to nullify the Montenegrin center.

Mike Scott had a big impact off the bench.(Photo Credit: NBA.com)

Tasked with guarding Vucevic was Al Horford, who imposed himself early on, by blocking a Vucevic shot and boxing out on the defensive  end. Millsap and Pero Antic, also provided solid cover on the Magic’s main man whether in helping Horford on the double team, or taking sole responsibility when he was off the floor.

Millsap continued his good work from the road trip, with a strong double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, while also filling up the stat sheet with multiple blocks, steals and assists. Off the bench, where Atlanta got very little in Denver, Mike Scott stepped up to finish with an impressive haul of 17 points. This was the first game of the season in which he gave the same caliber of performance he was putting up nightly in preseason. The Hawks closed out strongly playing efficient basketball. Hawks win by 104-94.

Slam Dunks and Air Balls

Here’s a look at the best and worst aspects of the Hawks play from the past week:

Slam Dunks

• If there was anything that stood out most from this past week, it’s that this Hawks group has staying power. Despite finding themselves completely outplayed in the first quarter in the Staples Center, they kept fighting and pulled themselves right back into it. Likewise, against the Kings and Nuggets, in topsy-turvy games on the road, they held on through the rough patches to give themselves a chance at the death. If they can consistently hang tight like that, the Hawks will steal plenty of games that they don’t deserve to win over the coming months.
• While the Hawks have at times been playing matador defense on their own end, offensively they have been outstanding. Coach Budenholzer has been emphasizing ball movement in the concepts he’s bringing to the Hawks and so far it’s paying dividends. The Hawks are tied first with the Heat for most assists per game in the league at 28.3, they are 6th in the league in points per game at 105.0, and along with the Miami Heat are the only two teams to score more than 100 points in every game.
• In Josh Smith‘s time in Atlanta, he and Al Horford built a remarkable understanding, combining countless times a night as two of the best passing bigs in the league. Promisingly enough, it already appears that Millsap and Horford have began to gel in a similar manner. Both men are putting together stat sheet stuffing performance every night, and as a duo they have combined averages of 40.25 points, 20.25 rebounds, eight assists, 4.5 steals and four blocks per game in the past week.

Air Balls

• The only thing to stop the Hawks from going 4-0 this week was poor free throw shooting. In fact, the fourth worst free throw shooting in the league at 68.2 percent for the season so far. For this week it was an even poorer 65.9 percent, too. The Hawks are currently top 10 in the league in getting to the line, so if they don’t improve on draining their charity shots, there will be a lot of heartbreaking close losses coming up. The Lakers loss was probably the best example of how costly it can be from this week, where Atlanta shot 14-for-26, only 53.8 percent, and lost by 2.
• One worry for the Atlanta coaching staff will be how the Hawks have gone for 0-for-2 in final possesions when the game was on the line. Against the Lakers, they were so desperate to find the in form Korver that the result was a rushed contested shot. While against Denver, both Millsap and Horford ended up with half chances to tie. If Millsap had have taken a bit more time on his attempt, they might have worked a better shot, but the shot came a little early in the clock. In close game situations down the stretch, the word to preach from now on is composure.
• The starting five are proving to be a strong and formidable group, often building up leads before taking to the bench to let the second unit take the wheel. Unfortunately, this has often been when the opposition is allowed back into the game as a result of poor offense. Against the Kings and Nuggets, no member of the bench reached double digit points, and it at times looks like the bench lacks a go to scorer. When given the chance Mike Scott seems happy and capable of filling that role, having got 17 against Orlando and 13 against LA. Regardless though, the overall bench productivity will need to be upped if winning is to become a regular occurrence.

Rookie Watch

Dennis Schroeder: Schroeder will have learned a lot in the past week having got his first true taste of an NBA road trip, played solid basketball as a backup and courted controversy from the league. For the week, the German point guard averaged 5.33 points and 4.0 assists. But the real story comes from the one game suspension he picked up that ruled him out of the game in Denver. On trying to get around a DeMarcus Cousins screen during the game in Sacramento, Schroeder was reprimanded for a below the belt shot. The rookie who loves to press and defend will have learned a lot about what can and can’t be done in the league, as his learning experience continues.

Pero Antic: Antic has had a much improved week for Atlanta coming into increased minutes in the rotation. Antic has averaged 4 points and 2.5 rebounds for the past week, but is still struggling with his three point shot.

Weekly Stat Rankings

Here is a quick roundup of where the Hawks rank for the past week in some of the NBA’s key stats:

PPG: 105.0 (6th)
RPG: 40.5 (24th)
APG: 28.3 (T-1st)
SPG: 10.5 (1st)
BPG: 5.5 (11th)
FG%: 46.9 (6th)
3PT%: 36.0 (13th)
FT%: 68.2 (27th)

Player of the Week

Paul Millsap, HoopsHabit Hawks Player of the week. (Photo Credit: NBA.com)

Paul Millsap has been absolutely outstanding for the Hawks in the past 7 days, the fact that wins and losses seem to be falling on his shoulders, just serves to highlight his importance.

Weekly averages: 21.5 PPG, 9.75 RPG, 4.25 APG, 2.75 SPG, 1.25 BPG, 56.3% FG

Coming Up Next

Nov.11 Charlotte Bobcats (Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte)
Nov.13 New York Knicks (Philips Arena, Atlanta)
Nov.15 Philadelphia 76ers (Philips Arena, Atlanta)
Nov.16 New York Knicks (Madison Square Garden)

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