Atlanta Hawks: Fun with numbers
Hoopdata.com has updated its stats through last night’s games and they reveal that the Hawks are the best team in the league.
After two games. Against bad opponents.
OK, it doesn’t mean much. But what’s the harm in my blog people looking at these lovely numbers before reality rears its (potentially disappointing) head?
The Hawks are No. 1 in defensive efficiency and No. 3 in offensive efficiency. They are No. 1 in opponent effective-field goal percentage and No. 3 in defensive rebounding rate.
Atlanta is No. 5 in true-shooting percentage , No. 3 in 3-point shooting percentage and No. 4 in three-point attempts. The Hawks are No. 9 in free-throw rate and No. 3 in free-throw percentage.
Alas, there are some things that not even a miniscule sample size and lackluster opponents can cure. The Hawks rank No. 16 in block rate and 27 percent of their 161 field-goal attempts have been long 2s after 30 percent of their attempts last season came from the most inefficient distance.
Still, block rates don’t mean as much when the Hawks are holding opponents to .8 points per possession and the long 2s are not as damaging when they are shooting just as many 3s and making them at a good clip. Of course, these developments may not continue once the competition stiffens but the Hawks are dominating lesser opponents and that’s the best result possible at the moment.
Plus, isn’t it fun to look at those numbers no matter the context?
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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154 comments Add your comment
BIG DOG
December 30th, 2011
2:00 pm
http://youtu.be/B5-fFNMXiLU
mountain_jim
December 30th, 2011
2:10 pm
To trade 2 starting assets for a rental of Dwight would be stupid, in my opinion. Only do that if he signes the extension as part of the deal, and Atlanta is not currently on his list of who he would sign with.
superiorblogman
December 30th, 2011
2:10 pm
So disappointing to see you stupid MF’ers keep up these fantasy trades no matter what the team does on the floor. We don’t need a superstar, just a C.We could have gotten that with Dalembert, and I am sure we could get Kaman or Okafor. We could a guy like that without giving up Al,Joe, Josh, or Jeff. I am disappointed in you all but I am not going in your jaw I’m just gonna show you how to think.
MattP
December 30th, 2011
2:16 pm
SBM, I agree that’s all we need but how will we get one of those 2 without trading one of our starters?
Rufus1
December 30th, 2011
2:20 pm
No JOSH, no JOE in the trade for D12…. I WILL TAKE IT.
The trade must have been Al(12m), Marvin(8mil) and Kirk(8mil) for D12(18mil) and Turk(11mil)….That trade is worth the risk of him not signing. If Marvin is still playing this way at the trade deadline, D12 may be in a Hawks uniform this year….And the Hawks will win a Title this season.
i_am_soulstar
December 30th, 2011
2:25 pm
MC,
I have to focus such a large amount of my hate on John Hollinger that I don’t have any left to give.
More succinctly put, no hate here dude.
The informative posts and tweets are greatly appreciated.
BIG DOG
December 30th, 2011
2:26 pm
superiorblogman are you retatarted or what, Dwight is top 5 player in the league you dum a$$ not only that he is top 10 most marketable athlete in sports, ASG would have to be stupid not try bring Dwight home. Blogman do you no how much revenue he would bring to the Hawks if traded here ?
Games sold out almost every home game.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
Rufus1
December 30th, 2011
2:36 pm
Knicks fans are FREAKING OUT…..
They just found out, that just having Tyson doesn’t make you a top DEFENSIVE TEAM and a GOOD PG is very important…..And Bibby isn’t GOOD anymore. They will allso find out that BDavis won’t help their defense.
BIG DOG
December 30th, 2011
2:42 pm
Rufus 1, you can win with this team.
Teague, Tmac, Marvin, Josh, Dwight
Pargo, Green, Turk, Vlad, Zaza
You replace Tmac for Joe at guard.
You replace Superman for Horford at center.
BIG DOG IN THE HOUSE
Dept. Of Unintended Irony
December 30th, 2011
2:44 pm
“superiorblogman are you retatarted or what,”
retarted?
enough said
ROFLMFAO
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 30th, 2011
2:46 pm
What?
“Let’s hope the vets on the bench remind the starters that NJ will come in pissed off about that rout at home. They aren’t good….but they do have pride. That and the comments from TMac will also give them a reason to want us.” -wordsmithtom-
______________
What did TMac say?
_________________
Howard to Atlanta may not be a pipe dream if, you really think about it?
Otis Smith is not in the driver’s seat and Dwight is a very sensitive and a very affable personality. He could handle being the “bad guy” ala LBJ and The Decision controversy.
If the ASKG really go hard to get their man? They can have Dwight, maybe not on ASKG terms – but he can be had. If, the Clippers can go get CP3, (our man) then, surely the ASKG can go get Dwight in the same fashion, (that one year signed extension) to make the deal go without a long term extension. I say – Do It! No matter the cost.
This city, this town and these fans? We deserve a super star!
Rufus1
December 30th, 2011
2:50 pm
@DMB
The T-Mac article…
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AlgqKAamsSz5BpW5qpvuqeC8vLYF?slug=aw-wojnarowski_tracy_mcgrady_dwight_howard_nba_122811
Rev in Tampa
December 30th, 2011
2:50 pm
Rufus1, great comment.
Knicks beat the 0-3 Celtics by 2pts, scored only 78 against GSW, and 82 against the LAL.
You would think that Carmelo, Stoudemire, Chandler and decent filler would be able to give a better showing than that. But they have been crowned third in the East by the brains in the national media.
Everyone forgets that NYK played had a losing record for the 27 games that Carmelo played with the team last year.
Hawks don’t play the Knicks until Feb. 22. I can’t wait.
i_am_soulstar
December 30th, 2011
2:54 pm
I’ve been saying this (not on this blog, but to basketball buddies) since the Knicks signed Tyson Chandler that it wasn’t gonna be a team changer. Everybody’s so caught up in his performance from the Finals that no one is recalling his many years with the Hornets and Bobcats as a just-decent center in the league.
The guy’s a good center, but he’s not someone you gut your team for. And they definitely overpaid for him.
It’s still early though, so maybe they’ll prove me wrong, but I think mentioning them as contenders the way some of these writers have been doing is downright outlandish.
And neither Melo or Amare seem to care much for playing defense.
Rev in Tampa
December 30th, 2011
2:54 pm
Correction – Everyone forgets that the NYK * had a losing record for the 27 games that Carmelo played with the team last year.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 30th, 2011
2:54 pm
Press to Play!
If we keep playing this unbelievable defense and Marvin keeps his bread up? That Magic deal may have some teeth.
Once Otis Smith truly understands that Dwight is not staying, he goes into get what’s best for the Magic mode. Who has more proven talent that the Hawks?
Our junk will always be another man’s treasure. Players on other teams always look better than they really are when making trades. Perhaps Marvin and what Hinrich did to Stan Van Gundy made a lasting impression on their exit interviews and management.
On this team, no one player should be deemed untouchable if you can get Dwight for 1 or 2 years. No one.
Wake up fans! We ain’t got no HOF ers over here – change that!
Rev in Tampa
December 30th, 2011
2:56 pm
i_am_soulstar, i agree. But from the offensive numbers the Knicks don’t care much about scoring either. Looks like they just don’t care, period.
Hawks4Eva
December 30th, 2011
2:57 pm
To all those talking about Mike Vick on a Basketball Hawks blogs – I have 3 words for you:
You Are IDIOTS
Rufus1
December 30th, 2011
2:58 pm
BIG DOG
You can’t win a title with that team. You need a player on the wing that commands a DOUBLE TEAM. T-mac isn’t a starter on a TITLE team and neither he(D12) nor Josh wouldn’t re-sign with that group. You also can’t give-up that much TALENT for a RENTAL.
Al is the best player they can get in terms of skill, age, health and contract…He also played for the Gators. If that is all we have to give-up, I think he would re-sign or at least opt-in the additional year, because we would be a TITLE CONTENDER.
cp
December 30th, 2011
3:04 pm
The Knicks offense is just flat out ugly right now. It consists of whoever has the ball to just chuck it. I dont even know if they run any plays. I like Tyson Chandler but dude was made to be some defensive legend due to the Mavs winning the ring. Like i_am_soulstar pointed out, a lot of experts seem to forget his previous years of average play. He was always hurt, in foul trouble, or just not doing much until his contract year. Carmelo can score but dude might be one of the most overrated players in the game right now. Bibby is done. Dude brings absolutely nothing to the table for them. The Knicks have plenty of time to turn it around but I dont think they will be this team everyone made them out to be.
superiorblogman
December 30th, 2011
3:16 pm
Houston and NO both value draft picks because they both are probably going nowhere anytime soon. Marvin, Zaza, Kirk and draft picks in some combination would net you Dalembert, Okafor, or Kaman. I am against Dwight Howard coming here if it means trading Josh,Joe,Al, or Teague. Atlanta is too much of a transient place anyway, I still don’t think they could fill the seats. Most people come here because they are sorry and broke and are just leaches. They need to raise the cost of living around here to get rid of all the sorry leaches from places like Chicago,New York; and LA that just want to come here because of cost of living since they can’t make it where they are from being such big pieces of manure. That is the true answer to restoring pride and getting people to care about the products that this great city offers, not some blown out of proportion so-called superstar like Dwight,CP3, and all the other superstars that you short bus riding bloggers keep crying for as the team puts out great efforts every night. Shame on you star struck little people.
SteveW
December 30th, 2011
3:18 pm
Down goes Wade
Down goes Stoudamire
No, really Wade is day to day with his foot, and Amare with his ankle. But I think this season could be determined more by health, injury, an fitness than normal season, just because of the compressed schedule.
I’m already on record as saying by the middle of March, I think DWade is down with an injury of some severity, just because of his playing style, and he turns 30 in a couple of weeks. His playing style is fantastic, but it is an injury waiting to happen, especially as you get older.
So I think the Hawks have an advantage in many instances, just because our players are in good shape, and their playing styles are not given to injury – esp. now that Josh has lost that weight. He was an injury waiting to happen last season, and he’s since revealed he played last season with sore knees.
I’ve been into health, fitness, and sports for well over 30 years, and I’ve seen it over and over again…
Hmmmm
December 30th, 2011
3:21 pm
Amare had two rebounds last night. That’s all you need to know about the Knicks.
SteveW
December 30th, 2011
3:23 pm
I think the middle to end of March is going to tell the tale on alot of teams. The deep teams will be trucking, and the Coaches that are playing their starters too many minutes now, it will really begin to show up by then. And I know they play 16 less games, but looking over these schedules it’s brutal for everybody, including the Heat, except for their 3 of 4 day sabbatical in the middle of January.
Rod from College Park
December 30th, 2011
3:23 pm
Another interesting thing to see this year will be who will get the ball in clutch situations. Over the last couple of years, that guy has been Jamal. Teams will double Joe, and make someone else make the big shot. We have a number of solid guys on this team, but no one who is clutch like Jamal. This team reminds me so far of Denver out west. A lot of talented guys, but no real leader. In the playoffs, I will state again, that I think you will have to end games with Joe, and TMac on the floor in order to keep defenses honest.
Hmmmm
December 30th, 2011
3:24 pm
Oh and… they’re trying get the ballstopper Carmelo to run point-forward. Might as well make Chandler the go-to- scoring option while you’re at it, D’Antoni.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 30th, 2011
3:25 pm
LA Times!
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/sports/nba/la-times-wages-random-hilarious-war-lakers-andrew-bynum
______________
One word: scathing.
Man wassup in LA? They’re still seething over not getting CP3. Now that darling media that they’ve enjoyed for so
long is turning on them. They are trashing one of the Lakers most tradeable assets to get Dwight there. And Gearon, Jr thinks he has enemies in Jeff Hollinger and the AJC sports writers? LMAO
Here’s my point: If the Nets, (see Lopez foot) nor Lakers can commandeer Dwight this season, then why not us?
If Gearon, Jr and Sund can just do their jobs and go get Dwight, (extended or not) then I will personally post a reprieve for their forgiveness. I will do more than they have done for us fans and, just leave them alone.
SteveW
December 30th, 2011
3:25 pm
If Marvin keeps playing up to this level, Teague keeps developing, and we catch a couple of breaks with health while some injuries hit some other teams, this really could be our year.
I kinda hate to break up our chemistry right now with a trade. But for Howard, well…
SteveW
December 30th, 2011
3:29 pm
Rod – I’ve thought the same thing – you almost have to have JJ and TMac on the floor together to end games. Al, Josh, Teague or Marvin are not reliable enough scoring threats, at least they haven’t been, to close out games. Gotta have at least 2 scorers on the court at the same time in that situation – I agree on that.
And quote all the worthless stats you want at me about TMac recently, the guy if he’s healthy is still a scorer, or at least has the potential to be.
SteveW
December 30th, 2011
3:30 pm
But can TMac defend at the other end of the floor? May take some creative substitutions by LD to make that work.
Slimjr
December 30th, 2011
3:30 pm
“To all those talking about Mike Vick on a Basketball Hawks blogs – I have 3 words for you:
You Are IDIOTS”
@HawksforEva, you are so right.. I’m a bad boy from taking the bait from that dumb a$$ who initially brought up MV7! And for this transgression my big a$$ deserve a large spanking if you are willing to provide at no cost……LOL!
jlewis
December 30th, 2011
3:30 pm
I may be an idiot, but why do people on this blog want to go get guys the Hawks are consistently beating. Dwight Howard is also a role player, he rebounds, you cant consistently go to him in the post, the year they went to the finals, he wasnt the main cog, look it up. Also, for those that want to get rid of JJ, look at defense also, this blogs next great player, Jordan Crawford, 1 point, when Nick Young was getting off, JJ shut him down. Without a good team around you, there are no superstars in the league, they are established only by the NBA to sell more merchandise.
Mike
December 30th, 2011
3:34 pm
@superiorblogman
Wow, “Rage” o-matic, but here is the thing that you dont know, Hawks isnt a bad team but do they sell out the arena on non-High Profile games? No. We are still looking for a face for this team, not since Nique we had that, it been almost longer almost 20-25 since that happen and it is not just the superstar label that the Hawks is looking for but an face of this team, Joe Johnson cant be it, Al Horford is trying but I dont think he cant be it too, even Josh Smith has a chance to be but he keeps on shotting out of it.
superiorblogman, I understand what you coming from but at this moment, let me ask you a serious question, do you think this team can get to the ECF this year by beat one of “elite” teams in the East besides this year is the last year for Sund’s and Drew’s contacts. Try to understand, they play for job security. Stalling in the second round isnt going to be enough. If Dwight can push the Hawks over that hump, that will be a good decision to trade for him besides the core will be broken up.
Slimjr
December 30th, 2011
3:35 pm
D12 is built for an incredible Championship run for the 1st time. DO IT YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AYE CAPTAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Besides we dont need 3 captains. All NBA has got ta go 1st!
Mike
December 30th, 2011
3:37 pm
20-25 years
Astro Joe
December 30th, 2011
3:40 pm
The whole idea to get max value in a trade is to make the trade when the player’s value is up. So having Teague and Marvin play better is good both for their tenure on the Hawks and for use as potential trade chips.
KZ
December 30th, 2011
3:43 pm
Joe + Josh or Al for Dwight is not a good trade. Throw in Hedo. He gets a bad wrap but can still play, plus he’s 6″10
Astro Joe
December 30th, 2011
3:45 pm
I also don’t get the fascination with Howard. He would bring more fans to the arena but the team would not likely do any better than the standard second rond exit. He can’t touch the ball in a close, late situation and the Hawks (of all teams) proved that a group of avrage players with D12 can’t do much in the playoffs. Unless we get to keep two of the three captains, I can’t see gutting the team for a dominant defender but somewhat limited offensive player.
I’d rather have the knucklehead in LA at far less trade expense.
Section 303
December 30th, 2011
3:45 pm
Happy New Year to everyone of you. Hope the year is great one!
So far, I really like this team. They are playing hard. Granted, they have only played two bad teams and are only 2-0. But, the additions to the roster have been good.
I like Pargo way more than I thought I would. And, I think Willie Green will get better and better. T-Mac has been solid, but I’m still worried about him being asked to do too much and logging too many minutes. Marvin is playing better than I have ever seen him play.
Looking forward to the game tonight. Will be going solo tonight. So, if anyone wants my extra, let me know.
Section 303
December 30th, 2011
3:51 pm
Also, I hope the Howard trade never happens. For one, I don’t like Dwight Howard (though, I’m sure I could be talked into him). Second, it just means we’re heading into major rebuilding mode. Howard will not sign an extension here and when that happens, the Hawks will dump the remaining players and we will be an awful team for years. I don’t want to go back to that.
I am not against making a major deal. We all know there is a ceiling to on how far this group can go. But, make a deal that builds on the team, not a deal that ends the team. Bringing Howard here might be fun for 22 games and then the playoffs. When he leaves, we go back to the 1999-2007 years. No thanks.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 30th, 2011
3:56 pm
Shout Out!
Rufus1
doc
Too much good stuff guys. I’m so happy my Hawks are finally playing again. MC’s fun numbers are very gratifying for two games.
Hey the stats people don’t care who you beat, they just tally up the numbers and let us put our rose colored glasses “spin” on the what the interpretations are.
We all got opinions right?
Aye Sund! Go get your man. Your job depends on it. Coach Drew is doing phenomenal so far as well. Keep up the good work coach!
_____________
ASKG? No comment.
KZ
December 30th, 2011
4:06 pm
Trading Joe + Al/Smoove will not improve this franchise. If you trade Joe, you are left with T-Mac (can’t play over 20 mpg) and Willie Green at SG.
Rev in Tampa
December 30th, 2011
4:08 pm
“Another interesting thing to see this year will be who will get the ball in clutch situations. Over the last couple of years, that guy has been Jamal. Teams will double Joe, and make someone else make the big shot.”
Give the ball to Pargo. He will take the shot.
KZ
December 30th, 2011
4:10 pm
Trade for Dwight if we can get Redick or Hedo as part of the package. Don’t just trade 2 of our top 3 for Dwight.
SteveW
December 30th, 2011
4:12 pm
Been looking over cap space and depth for some teams. I’ll go out on a limb and say OKC, barring injury, beats Miami for the Title this season. Just too deep at every position, and too young not too be fresher than the Heat.
Also, the Hawks are finally set up to use part of their mid-level next season. Just under 61 mill committed to 6 players, 62 mill too 7 players if we keep our 1st round pick. Sign 5 players at the vet. min, brings you to about 66.3 mill. Assuming the Luxury tax line is around 70.5 mill again, we could spend around 5 mill + and still be under the tax with 13 players.
Hope we do that.
The real challenge will be re-signing Josh and ZaZa as unrestricted FA’s for the next season if we go that far without a trade or something.
Mike
December 30th, 2011
4:13 pm
@Section 303
But at the same time, we cant stay as a second-round fodder every year, Good enough to get the playoff but not enough to get the ECF/NBA Finals. Hawks have been there for 3 straight years and other teams that did that was C’s and Lakers and they have won the championship during that time.
Right now, I got doubts too about this trade but do you think we can best Miami Trio? How about D-Rose and Bulls, How about Knicks with Melo and Amare, then what about C’s, because if want the championship we will have to beat two of three teams and the other team could be upstart 76ers, Pacers or Bucks.
Tradin for Howard is tricky and very risk but here is the thing, both Drew and Sund contacts is up after this year, ASG is still looking to sell team and other stuff. I believe that trade like this, could be the push that the Hawks need to get to the next round.
Rufus1
December 30th, 2011
4:14 pm
Astro Joe
I co-sign on the fact that we can’t give-up 2 of our captains for D12. A 2nd round exit with a STAR, is still a 2nd round EXIT.
If the COST for D12 is Joe + Al or Al or Josh for Bynum, I will take the Al or Josh for Bynum trade…
GET A STAR DOESN’T MEAN YOU WIN IF YOU GIVE-UP TOO MUCH…ASK THE KNICKS OR NETS.
drmaryb.[*_*].
December 30th, 2011
4:16 pm
Stay Strong!
“If Marvin keeps playing up to this level, Teague keeps developing, and we catch a couple of breaks with health while some injuries hit some other teams, this really could be our year.
I kinda hate to break up our chemistry right now with a trade. But for Howard, well…” -SteveW-
____________
Hey SteveW! Wassup boy? Don’t buckle my man, stay strong in the knees, squeeze your buttocks – and make that trade man! Send everybody man! We ain’t got no ntouchable laying ’round here. None!!!
Of course your GM has to do a good job for his franchise. They all do.
But, didn’t LA get Pau Gasol for a bag of NBA socks? So, why not us? Why can’t we do that?
Big Man rules and we only got one contending big man in the entire east coast. That’s why you make that trade – Be THAT team! By any means necessary.
Like John Shurholz said, “A successful stock broker never falls in love with his stocks.” Anything and everything can be traded. When gambling, you win some and you lose some. But, you will NEVER win if you don’t take the risk. It’s risky business. That’s why some owners are like Mark Cuban and the other owners doesn’t really matter.
We got ASKG (so so so sad).
SteveW
December 30th, 2011
4:17 pm
I wonder what Josh and ZaZa will get on the open market? I would guess Josh gets at least 10 mill per year for 4 or 5 years. ZaZa, brick hands and all may get 6 or 7 mill. per year, just because teams are desperate for a big man.
Still glad that Brad Miller for ZaZa trade fell thru at the last minute last season. We would be a much weaker team without ZaZa.
Runner-
December 30th, 2011
4:24 pm
These 2 teams can’t be THAT bad that these numbers are skewed a whole bunch… the shooting is good which is probably the most accurate thing out of all the stats. Defensive efficiency is definitely skewed, but hey, it’s better than last season when the Hawks would always let these worse teams come back late in the game.