By E. Marcel Pourtout, Editor
When you look at the Nov. 5 contest between the Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs, two things jump out at you. First, the final score with the Hawks only losing by two points on the road to the defending champions who were well rested, playing its entire rotation and not sitting out players. That’s a good sign for Atlanta.
The second stat is the free throw attempts. Atlanta converted on eight of 11 attempts while San Antonio made 27 of 38 attempts. Driving on assignments today, the local sports hosts here in Atlanta pointed out to this discrepancy as the reason the Hawks lost.
That’s an inaccurate statement.
First, Atlanta attempted 92 shot attempts, including 25 three-pointers. The Hawks are a jump shooting team that takes many perimeter shots. Watching the flow of the game personally, Atlanta settled for long shots that have a less-likely outcome of receiving a foul call from the referees.
The Spurs attempted may jumpers as well but drove the ball more consistently inside with Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Tim Duncan attempted 12 free throws alone. Atlanta’s inside players, mainly Al Horford, Paul Millsap and at times DeMarre Carroll combined for ONE free throw attempt.
The bigger concern coming out of the contest for Hawks’ followers is the rebounding issues that will continue to plague the squad throughout this season. The Spurs grabbed 50 rebounds compared to the Hawks only getting 37. Danny Green getting seven rebounds from the shooting guard spot shouldn’t happen.
Atlanta faces Charlotte on the road Nov. 7 and host New York the next night. Those two games will give a clearer indication if the Hawks will be a playoff contender this season.
Other thoughts:
-Cleveland will be fine. Over analysis was expected when Lebron James returned to Cleveland. Its a major move in the entire landscape of the NBA and all eyes were going to be on the Cavs. Starting off 1-3 isn’t a major issue. Two statistics must improve for Cleveland to be a championship contender, let alone win its own division.
Having an NBA-worst 16 assists a game isn’t going to cut it. Assists aren’t a complete indicator of how a team moves and passes the ball, especially when you don’t get credit for converted free throws or missed shots. However, I’m looking at the Cleveland offense and Kyrie Irving has handled the ball too much without much results. He’s looked for his own shot as a point guard with Kevin Love and James waiting on the perimeter to receive a pass that’s not coming.
Its a major adjustment for Irving and Love to a lesser degree playing off the ball and we’re seeing that now. Cleveland will have to incorporate more of its players into the offense.
Allowing 101.5 points a game isn’t helping the cause as well. In the starting lineup, only James would be considered an above-average defender and even that’s slightly diminished over time. There are ways to hide weak defenders if the team works as a unit which is impossible to expect after four contests.
Even saying all of that, when you have the best player in the world and two top-25 players on your squad, there are worse places to start. The Cavs will be fine.
-The Warriors are a NBA title contender. I love watching Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson put up points from a visually aesthetically pleasing but that not enough to win a championship. Even last season, Golden State had an average offense despite having scorers throughout the lineup.
This year, the Warriors have averaged nearly 110 points a game with a more aggressive offense, especially on the fast break, under new coach Steve Kerr.
What’s been more impressive is allowing only 93 points a contest. That number will inflate over time because of the number of possessions Golden State opponents get, however its a good start. I love the guard rotation with Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa coming off the bench. That will save Curry and Thompson’s legs throughout the season.
The Harrison Barnes/Andre Iguodala dynamic at small forward looks to be working itself out.
Furthermore, if they can get consistent play from a healthy Andrew Bogut, special times may be ahead for the Warriors.
-This is the worst Lakers team I’ve ever seen. I was born in 1981 so since I’ve comprehended the NBA, the Lakers have always been at the worst a playoff team. I know that they missed the postseason in the early 1990’s but Los Angeles wasn’t this bad.
Defensively, I thought it would be rough but allowing over 116 points a game is embarrassing. Kobe Bryant may average close to 30 points a game but if the Lakers reach that number in wins, it would be the shocker of the season.
-Chicago will represent the East in the NBA Finals. We’ll break down the Bulls in the next post but they’ve been the top team in the East by a significant margin through the first two weeks of the season.
-Don’t trust Memphis. I know the Grizzlies are undefeated through Nov. 6 but their struggles on offense concern me. There are only so many 90-87 wins you can churn out. I didn’t have Memphis in the playoffs in my preseason predictions so I’ll amend that for now and say that it will make the postseason. Beyond that, its tough to see a long run for the Grizz.
The Sports Inquirer 
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