Atlanta Hawks: Offense steps up in win over Mavs (updated)
Vivlamore reporting from Philips Arena.
The Hawks took their new up-tempo offense out for another test drive Saturday.
It started fast and ran well.
The Hawks jumped on the Mavericks early, scoring the first eight points, en route to a 110-94 victory at Philips Arena.
Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver opened with 3-pointers and the Mavericks missed their first five shots. The Hawks (3-3) shot 48.7 percent from the field in the first half (19 of 39). By the end of the first 24 minutes, all 10 Hawks who played scored at least three points. The Hawks also got 3-pointers from five different players in building a 58-43 halftime lead. They led by as many as 19 points.
“That’s a good way to start it off,” Josh Smith said. “We have so many weapons on the perimeter and guys who can knock down jump shots. It makes it easier on us. That was a good way to start off. I think it picked our energy level up on the defensive end because we made it easier on the offense. There are going to be nights like that.”
Hawks rookie Mike Scott impressed with a game-high 17 points, including an emphatic dunk off a miss at the end of the third quarter. He had nine first-half points, converting all three field-goal and free-throw attempts.
Ivan Johnson and Lou Williams added 13 points for the Hawks. Devin Harris (11 points), Smith (10 points, 13 rebounds), Anthony Morrow (10 points) and Damion James (10 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers.
“Just playing with confidence,” Scott said of his success. “I still had some defensive breakdowns I have to watch over. My teammates got me the ball and I finished.”
Jae Crowder led the Mavericks (2-3) with 15 points.
The Hawks finished by shooting 45.7 percent from the field (37 of 81). They had 50 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive end, and 24 assists.
Hawks coach Larry Drew wanted to see his team build off their second-half effort against the Hornets Thursday. They did that and more.
“When you watch us play one of the things you clearly see is how well we move the ball,” Drew said. “When we have the ball jumping from one side to the other, particularly when teams are doubling in the post, we have shown we are a very unselfish team moving the basketball. We’ve got guys who can make shots. Early in the game, when those guys are making shots, that’s a good sign. I’ll continue to harp on the defense but … when we are making shots and executing offensively we’re pretty good.”
The Mavericks, playing without Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman, shot just 36.1 percent from the field in the first half (13 of 36), including 14.3 percent (1 of 7) from 3-point range. They finished the game shooting 37 percent (30 of 81).
With one exhibition game remaining, Friday in Detroit, Drew is hoping to get a regular lineup established. That effort was slowed by point guard Jeff Teague (ankle), shooting guard John Jenkins (hand) and center Zaza Pachulia (ankle) held out with injuries. Also, center Al Horford left the game in the second quarter with a sore right calf and did not return.
The Hawks started their sixth different starting lineup of the exhibition season with Tolliver starting at small forward with a backcourt of Harris and Korver joining Smith and Horford.
“It always helps hitting shots,” Tolliver said. “Getting going early, hitting shots early, it helps the defense. Obviously, if you are making shots they don’t have transition and it helps you get back and set up the defense.”
The Mavericks made a second-half run, closing to within 10 points in the third quarter, as Drew implored his team to step up their defensive effort. They did. The lead was back up to 20 points with a Johnson jumper on the Hawks first possession of the fourth quarter.
“I talk a lot about defense but in some instances a good defense is a solid offense,” Drew said. “I think it’s important that we as a team understand what our strengths and our weaknesses are. What’s a good shot, what’s a bad shot. We move the ball and get it to our shooters.”
Notes: Teague (sprained left ankle), Pachulia (sprained left ankle) and Jenkins (left hand contusion) did not play. Drew said there was no timetable for Teague’s return, calling the point guard day-to-day. Teague said he thought he might be out “a couple of days.” Teague and Pachulia were injured against the Hornets Thursday. Pachulia continued to play in the game but Drew held him out Saturday for precautionary reasons. … The Hawks’ practice Sunday will be open to the public. The workout begins at 3:30 p.m. at Philips Arena.
- Chris Vivlamore
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66 comments Add your comment
steven a smith
October 21st, 2012
1:18 pm
Last Night Horford played 14 min= 2 rebounds
Perto played 7 min= 2 rebounds
Ken Strickland
October 21st, 2012
1:24 pm
HAWKFAN-Any player sent to the D-League is still counted on the roster, and Ferry has already said Scott will be on the roster. If Scott, a 2nd rd pick, is guaranteed a roster spot, you can bet Jenkins, a 1st rd pick, will definitely be guaranteed a roster spot.
Just like Morrow and Korver mirrow each other, other than Morrow being more athletic and a better defender, Scott and Tolliver also seem to mirrow each other. The difference is we can expect Scott to get better offensively and defensively with more experience and mins.
Several have made comments about us being too guard heavy. I don’t see a 4 guard rotation of Teague, Harris, Williams and Morrow being guard heavy, especially with us adopting a pressing uptempo OFF and DEF style. If Korver makes the team, I don’t see him playing much guard with Morrow and his long range shooting ability already at the position.
I’m with BIG RAY, it’s going to be very difficult to determine which player, other than JAnderson, will be cut if we maintain a 14 man roster.
terrell
October 21st, 2012
1:31 pm
Why are you guys still talking about Jamal Crawford?????? What has this guy won?
Ken Strickland
October 21st, 2012
2:14 pm
TERRELL-Some individuals become fans of certain players more so than the team. When that player is no longer with the team, they suffer a sense of loss that seems to linger on for yrs. We have individuals who are still upset about us not drafting CP3 or DWill, and some have issues with us not resigning Flip Murray.
KBenson hasn’t played a single regular season min with us, yet some are still having problems accepting he was cut. We’ve even had individuals who have treatened to stop supporting the Hawks if a certain player is traded or cut.
jhan
October 21st, 2012
2:25 pm
Maybe the blog can get a trade exception for SAS!
Emmanuel Ighodaro
October 21st, 2012
2:54 pm
look, cut anderson and buy out petro’s contract and keep everyone else
terrell
October 21st, 2012
3:07 pm
Ken, I wonder why I havent heard anyone crying over Marvin’s departure yet? Im sure when he has one of his unusual good games, I’ll hear something. lol
Big Ray
October 21st, 2012
3:09 pm
Slimjr ,
B Ray even if the jumpers aren’t falling, we have 3 gifted dribble penetrating guards who will constantly draw fouls and shoot a high percentage at the line throughout the contest, thereby stressing the oppositions defense. I’m more concerned about Josh not funking up the flow with his bricks from 22…..Sheesh
What happened to Mid-Range Shawty?
You do make a good point. We do have a few guys who can get into the paint…which helps our bigger guys, who can score up close on dump-offs if our guards have the defense collapse on them.
My main issue is LD is showing he’s every bit as sucked into the idea of “jumper heaven” as the players are, and that ain’t helping. We need a real HC so bad it ain’t even funny. He may as well have just said “I won’t bother these guys about defense as long as the jumpers are falling.”
As for Josh, you know what the deal is, LOL. He seems to think that any shot inside the three point line is a “midrange” shot.
The crazy fact is that…if I remember correctly…he shoots a better percentage from actual 3 point range than he does 18-22 feet from the basket….somebody check me on that though, I might be wrong.
Big Ray
October 21st, 2012
3:11 pm
steven a. smith ,
Had to laugh at your comparison between Petro and Horford. Shall we stick with one game, or compare careers? How about when the real games begin? LOL…come on man, live up to your namesake…
Big Ray
October 21st, 2012
3:20 pm
Ken Strickland ,
I hear you, and I actually think we will carry 15 guys, but I could be wrong. It might be 14. Hard to say because Ferry does not think the way that Sund did.
But…and I should have explained this earlier…I’m not just thinking about what each player brings to the table, or how he duplicates another player’s skill set and what not. You also have to think about these guys as assets.
I have no idea what Ferry will or won’t do prior to the trade deadline, much less what he’ll do next summer. However, there are moves that teams/GMs will make at the deadline that look like really mundane/unexciting moves. However, they are moves that need to be made to help fit bigger plans in the future (like during the summer).
Well, if you cut guys who have value…then that makes those moves harder to do, if not impossible. Just look at who we have – in an isolated situation, Korver doesn’t have as much value on the same team as Morrow. But who do you think has more value in a trade…Korver or Mike Scott? Scott is a 2nd round pick who might not even get to play in the regular season unless it’s garbage time. An unknown commodity that wasn’t worthy of a 1st round pick, is what will be said of him until he can prove otherwise.
Korver is a known commodity, and most teams are not unhappy to have a designated sniper. So if it came down to it, what value would a guy like Mike Scott have over Kyle Korver? Potential-wise, we have no idea…we’ve only seen Scott in preseason and not generally against other teams’ starters. Again…people know what Korver can do.
If you HAVE to make a cut, you cut the guy you get the least overall use out of. Korver is decent trade bait…Jenkins is at least a 1st round pick who happens to be a shooter.
I’d love for it just to be Petro that gets cut….but eating a salary of that size is less likely. Buddy Grizzard suggests putting him on the inactive list.
High-sider
October 21st, 2012
3:28 pm
If “Lame Duck” is, in fact, a lame duck, then should “Ol’ Danny Boy” [GM Ferry] “pull the plug” on him [LD] early or should he [Ferry] allow his [LD] contract to expire and [in the words of Mike Tyson] “fade into Bolivian”?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tLrIkPK8kg
Ken Strickland
October 21st, 2012
3:46 pm
I really like the way our final exhibition gm is scheduled, since we don’t play again until Friday. It gives us an entire wk to go over what we did and didn’t do well in our last 2 wins, and a final gm to see how well we’ve prepared. I wonder if the final cut(s) will be made before or after Fridays gm.
This yrs team won’t be as tall, because of the 2 barely productive 7footers(Dampier/Collins) and 1 dimensional 6′10″(VRad) player we lost. I believe the vastly improved speed, quickness, athleticism, youth and stamina we’ve added will more than compensate for the loss of a few inches and lbs.
Although this yr we’ll lack the chemistry and cohesiveness of last yrs team starting out, this yrs team is much better, and here’s why:
1-DJames is an improvement at SF over MWilliams in every area except shooting and scoring potential, is a better rebounder than JJ, and appears to be just as effective at defending and passing. While JJ’s size, height and strength definitely gave us an advantage at SG, that wasn’t the case with him at SF.
2-LWilliams coming off the bench is a vast improvement over WGreen or Pargo. He’s a better PG than Pargo, a better SG than Green, and a better scorer than either.
3-Harris will be a far, far more effective SG and PG than KHinrich.
4-Horford is a vast improvement in every area over Zaza at center.
5-JPetro’s recent stats show he’s a better rebounder and scorer than Dampier or Collins. His greater athleticism should allow him to be a better help defender as well.
6-Scott and Tolliver are younger, more versatile and athletic than VRad or TMac. The additions of Harris and Williams negates the need for TMac’s playmaking ability.
7-No one can ever say Morrow, Jenkins and Korver aren’t upgrades over Stackhouse.
8-We’re now playing an uptempo style of OFF that favors the talents of our entire roster, rather than last yrs walk it up, halfcourt, ISO dominant OFF that favored no more than 1 or 2 players.
9-We will have more depth, speed, quickness, athleticism, youth, versatility, stamina, shooting and penetrating ability than last yr by far.
The only thing that will be missing will be chemistry and familiarity at the start of the season, with 2 new starters and only 5 returning players.
High-sider
October 21st, 2012
4:00 pm
Big Ray,
“…The crazy fact is that…if I remember correctly…he shoots a better percentage from actual 3 point range than he does 18-22 feet from the basket….somebody check me on that though, I might be wrong.” – Big Ray @3:09pm, 10/21/2012
I don’t think the link below is quite the statistical breakdown your looking for, however, it does provide a total breakdown of “Brick-range Shawty’s” shot distribution for the 2011-2012 regular season. The paradox I see is the difference in FG% from 10ft – 15ft (0.314) and 16ft – 3pt [arc] (0.363).
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smithjo03/shooting/2012/
High-sider
October 21st, 2012
4:10 pm
@terrell
terrell
October 21st, 2012
1:31 pm
Why are you guys still talking about Jamal Crawford?????? What has this guy won?
——————————————————————————
A. 2011-2012 NBA Regular Season FT% Leader/Winner [0.927]
B. 2009-2010 NBA SMOY [Sixth Man of the Year] Award
C. 1998 3-A State High School Basketball Championship [Rainier Beach High School, Seattle, WA]
Now that’s some ANAL-MINDED MORON, NERD ALERT stuff for ya.
Ken Strickland
October 21st, 2012
4:23 pm
BIG RAY, your mention of not knowing what Ferry will do next yr made me wonder. Earlier I commented that even with the addition of All NBA center ABynum, I felt Philly won’t be a good as some may think due to what they gave up. They gave up their best defenders, 3 best scorers, as well as 2 of their leading rebounders and assist leaders.
I don’t know if Bynum can compensate for all of those losses. If they struggle because of what they’ve lost, Bynum could end up being very frustrated and disappointed. If so, he might want out of Philly, especially if those Philly fans start getting on him. That might leave a big opening for Ferry to get the the NBAs 2nd highest rated center, especially if we have a solid season.
We might end up having to do a sign and trade to get him, which would make JSmith the likely candidate, since Josh will be a FA. Bynum would give us the interior DEF, rebounding, and scoring Josh provides, but without all of the illadvised jumpshots. I’d love a frontline of Bynum, Horford and James.
Hawkfan
October 21st, 2012
4:48 pm
Steven A, weren’t you supposed to take your meds around noon. “intelligent” bloggers don’t exist that’s why we blog