Atlanta Hawks Weekly: The Rollercoaster Continues

For the second week in a row, the Atlanta Hawks had a packed schedule playing four times. As opposed to last week, Atlanta were at least lucky enough to play all four games against teams from within their own conference keeping traveling to a minimum. The week opened up on the road against South East division rivals the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday. On Wednesday night, the Hawks found themselves in the national media spotlight with the visit of the Knicks to Philips Arena for their first nationally televised outing of the season. Two nights later, the Philadelphia 76ers, surprise package of the early season were the visitors in the highlight factory. With the week closing up with a return clash against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. All in all, the Hawks put together a strong week, going 3-1.

The Week That Was

Charlotte Bobcats – Monday Nov.11 (Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte)

After a couple of missed opportunities last week, the Hawks arrived in Charlotte hoping to add more W’s to what had been an impressive start. Heading into the game the Bobcats had failed to beat the Hawks in two whole seasons, a remarkable record for teams in the same division. The Bobcats have shown signs of improvement of late though. The development of Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd Gilchrist has added an extra dimension to their play. And although fans in Charlotte were skeptical about the pick on draft night, Cody Zeller should turn out to be a reliable option up front for years to come. Coming into this game Charlotte also had Al Jefferson returning from injury, making his first start as a Bobcat, meaning there was rare cause for optimism at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Cartier Martin made his minutes count coming off the bench against Charlotte.(NBA.com photo)

In what would be a back and forth game, with neither team establishing any real defensive rhythm, there were a number of lead changes early on, before the Bobcats began to take an edge. Charlotte were able to push Atlanta due to a remarkably even spread of scoring in this game, with a variety of players chipping in to keep the scoreboard ticking over. In total, Charlotte had seven players reach double figures in scoring. Al Jefferson had 10 points and seven rebounds, Michael Kidd Gilchrist had 16 points and six rebounds, but the surprise package and standout for Charlotte was Josh McRoberts. McRoberts had 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds, including shooting 5-for-8 from 3-point range.

The Hawks trailed by eight points entering the third quarter, before upping their game significantly. The Hawks played their best quarter of the season to date, shutting up shop on the defensive end, while going on a tear offensively, to win the quarter the 34-16. In the third, the Hawks forced six turnovers out of the Bobcats, while shooting a lights out  72.2 percent from the field. Al Horford continued his strong scoring start to the season with 24 points, and Cartier Martin was a difference maker with 15 off the bench, including three 3-pointers. Jeff Teague was also key, recording another double-double, with 14 points and 12 assists. In the end, the Hawks would coast to victory 103-94.

New York Knicks – Wednesday Nov. 13 (Philips Arena, Atlanta)

The Knicks arrived in the South with Hubie Brown and ESPN in tow for the Hawks’ first nationally televised game of the season. With Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire both absent through injuries, New York were short on big bodies, but history was just around the corner for their talisman, as a long 2-pointer in the second quarter brought Carmelo Anthony to the 18,000 career point mark.

The key to this game was 3-point shooting. The Knicks came flying out of the gates, shooting the long ball as well as they had since their fast start of last season. Shooting it with regularity, a host of Knicks got in on the act. Six different New York men made at least one 3-pointer on the night. Their shooting from deep was almost flawless in the first half, holding consistently at the 50 percent mark.

Jeff Teague carried the Hawks on his back against New York. (Photo Credit: Mark Runyan, Basketball Schedule, Flickr)

Their shot wasn’t falling at the start of the second half though and the Hawks would take advantage. Once again Horford and Teague were the dynamic duo for Atlanta. Horford had 23 points off 11-for-14 shooting, in an outstanding offensive night. Although, if any criticism was to be leveled at him, he allowed Andrea Bargnani, a notoriously poor rebounder, to out board him by six on the night. From the point guard spot, Jeff Teague tied Carmelo Anthony for the game-high points tally with 25. On top of this, the former Wake Forest man had eight assists, doing all in his power to keep the Hawks alive.

The Hawks pulled themselves right back into the game, and the lead, off the back of 14 consecutive missed 3-pointers by New York. But the long ball returned for the visitors in the fourth, as Atlanta went cold. The turning point came when with less than three minutes remaining and the shot clock expiring, Bargnani banked in an overthrown 3-pointer to extend the Knick lead to seven. The Knicks would prevail 95-91.

Philadelphia 76ers – Friday Nov.15 (Philips Arena, Atlanta)

The Sixers came to Philips Arena as one of only three teams above .500 in the East and the surprise package of the season, with only the Heat and Pacers for company. With their rookie sensation, point guard Michael Carter Williams missing though, Tony Wroten would be asked to step up into starter’s minutes. Coming off his first career triple-double in his previous game, he was a man by no means short on confidence. With the solid and underrated trio of Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young, the Sixers aren’t as bad a team as many expected and would provide the Hawks with stern opponents.

DeMarre Carroll was red hot from distance against the Sixers. (NBA.com photo)

The Hawks were buoyed for this game with the return of Gustavo Ayon and Lou Williams from injury. Ayon had injured his shoulder in the preseason opener against Miami, while Williams hadn’t played since tearing his ACL against the Brooklyn Nets last January. Ayon was surprisingly given the nod to start, with Millsap moving to the bench. Millsap had struggled in his previous game and, according to head coach Mike Budenholzer, has been battling some minor niggling injuries. Ayon would have six points and four boards in his 16 minutes on the floor, while Lou Williams notched up seven points, including a 3-pointer, in his 16 minutes also.

In a high scoring game both teams managed to post significant quarterly totals. In the end, the Hawks defense in the first and third quarters limiting Philadelphia to only 19 points was a difference maker. The Hawks scored at least 25 in all four quarters as the offense was on song. DeMarre Carroll had a season-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers, to go along with his six rebounds. Undoubtedly, the star of the show was Jeff Teague, though. Teague continued his stellar play, by putting on a show in this game, having the best night of his pro career. Teague had a career high 33 points to go with 10 assists for his sixth double-double of the year so far. Behind Teague’s strong play, Atlanta cruised to victory 113-103

New York Knicks – Saturday Nov.16 (Madison Square Garden, New York)

The Hawks headed to the most iconic venue in basketball in search of revenge for the defeat earlier in the week. Atlanta’s record in the Garden was poor, with the Hawks only winning five of the last 25 meetings between the two in New York and having lost five straight to the Knicks overall. Early in the game, both sides shot the ball terribly making for an unattractive opening quarter.

Mack starred off the bench with 12 and 12. (NBA.com photo)

It was clear though, that to a man, the Hawks wanted the W more. Once the bench came in, New York were outscored, outclassed and out-hustled. Shelvin Mack led by example from the bench, picking up minutes ahead of Dennis Schroeder in the rotation, to put together an outstanding 12 points and 12 assists. Gustavo Ayon added energy and hustle with five boards, three of which came on the offensive glass, and a tidy 10 points, while Mike Scott added 11 points in what’s becoming a regular contribution from him.

All five starters scored in double figures also. Millsap had 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Teague had a team high 16 points off 25 minutes. With the bench in such fine form, Budenholzer let them ride the wave, meaning the starters gained a little rest logging less minutes than usual. With the Knicks hoisting up a variety of poor shots, there was only ever going to be one winner though. Hawks finished on top by 20, 110-90.

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

• Lou Williams return to the Hawks rotation will give everyone around the organization a tremendous boost. although he’ll be playing under minutes restrictions in the near future. The option of an extra ball handler, and a clutch shooter will be invaluable to the Hawks in the coming months.With his scoring added, the bench becomes a more fearsome group to face.
• The importance that Gustavo Ayon may have for the Hawks this season is highlighted by the starter’s minutes given to him by Coach Bud on his return to health. The Hawks lack size, and someone capable of grabbing offensive rebounds and that seems to be exactly what the Mexican will offer.
• Jeff Teague has been catching attention from all corners of the league as a result of his All-Star play in the opening stages of the season. Two double-double’s and a tonne of points meant that no one was more valuable to the Hawks than Teague in the past week.

Air Balls

• Although Horford is playing top class basketball from an offensive and scoring point of view, his rebounds have been a little disappointing in the past week. After averaging just less than 10 a night in the opening six games, Horford only averaged fuve per game this week. This includes only 3.5 per game against a poor rebounder in Bargnani across the two Knicks games.
• Although the Hawks have been dramatically better from the line in the last week, one of their premier free throw shooters is shooting below average. Having shot just less than 90 percent from the stripe last year, Teague is currently at 79 percent. Although not bad for an average shooter, Teague needs to show himself as an almost automatic scorer on a team that struggles with FT’s. Missed free throws can be expensive.
• Schroeder has struggled to keep control of the ball this week, eventually forcing Shelvin Mack to step in, in his place. Budenholzer sat the German for the final game of the week in New York, but in the previous three, he had posted a far from impressive five points and seven turnovers in limited minutes.

Rookie Watch

Dennis Schroeder: In averaging just 10 minutes per game this week, the German has struggled significantly. He has been unable to score or pass accurately with any real regularity, instead turning the ball over. Perhaps his confidence was knocked by his suspension from the previous week, but this was a tough week for Schroeder.

Pero Antic: The Macedonian only played against the Knicks in the home game, providing a solid defensive presence, taking care of basics like rebounding and free throws.

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: 104.3 (7th)
RPG: 41.8 (16th)
APG: 23.3 (8th)
SPG: 5.8 (30th)
BPG: 4.5 (18th)
FG%: 49.0 (4th)
3PT%: 35.4 (15th)
FT%: 79.4 (9th)

Player of the Week

Jeff Teague, posting elite numbers, is the HoopsHabit Hawks Player of the Week. (NBA.com photo)

Jeff Teague has been the best Hawk by a long way over the past week, and there would be a genuine case for him to be considered in the mix for player of the week, league wide.

Weekly Averages: 22 PPG, 7.75 APG, 46.4% FG.

Coming Up Next

Nov.19 Miami Heat (American Airlines Arena, Miami)
Nov.20 Detroit Pistons (Philips Arena, Atlanta)
Nov.22 Detroit Pistons (Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit)
Nov.23 Boston Celtics (Philips Arena, Atlanta)

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