NBA Scores 2015: Hawks make it 6 in a row with win over Grizzlies
Atlanta and the Josh Smith-less Pistons win again, plus everything else we learned in the NBA on Wednesday night.
This latest victory was the Hawks' sixth in a row. They've now won 11 of their last 12 games and 22 of their last 25. At 27-8. They have the best record in the Eastern Conference and second best record in the NBA. They have road wins against the Blazers, Cavaliers (with LeBron James), Clippers, Mavericks, Rockets and Wizards and have beaten the Bulls and now Grizzlies at home. And while the balanced, Spurs-like offense that former San Antonio assistant coach Mike Budenholzer has installed gets much of the attention, it's actually been the defense which has propelled Atlanta to the top of the NBA standings.
Wednesday night that stout defense was on display. The Hawks held the Grizzlies to 44 percent shooting and forced 21 turnovers. Neither Marc Gasol (6-of-12, 16 points) or Mike Conley (7-of-15, 17 points) were given room to operate. The Hawks pressured the ball, leading to 17 steals, and were smart and on point with their defensive rotations.
That was especially so with Kyle Korver. Known more for his three-point stroke, and for good reason (he hit 4-of-9 from behind the arc and had 14 points on Wednesday), Korver has also developed into an intelligent and valuable defensive player. Below are two examples why.
The first is from midway through the first quarter. Korver, and the Hawks, know exactly where the shooting-challenged Tony Allen is (on the baseline), and have no problem leaving him open in order to help build a wall to guard an upcoming Grizzlies pick-and-roll. (You can watch the entire play here.)
And then there’s this play which took place with 1:34 left in the game and with the Hawks hanging on to an 86-84 lead.
First, check out how Korver leaves his man, Nick Calathes, midway through the shot clock to double and front Gasol -- and also how the rest of the Hawks cover up for this decision so that no open space can be found.
And here’s Kover doubling again, only this time more aggressively. With the shot clock running down, Korver knows Gasol has to shoot the ball. Gasol is forced into a tough jumper, which he misses.
(Images via SportSouth)
A few second later Jeff Teague, who finished with a game-high 25 points, hit his third three-pointer of the night, putting the Hawks ahead for good and sealing the win.
Suffocating opponents and taking away their primary options is nothing new for Atlanta. The Hawks are holding teams to 100.2 points per 100 possessions, the fifth best mark in the league. In this 25-game stretch that number has dropped to 98. Paring a defense like this with a balanced and efficient offense -- five Hawks scored in double figures on Wednesday -- is a championship recipe.
That, of course, doesn’t mean the Hawks are guaranteed to have the No. 1 seed, though they are in the driver’s seat. What it does mean, though, is that we should all stop acting surprised every time they beat a good team.
3 other things we learned
The Josh Smith-less Pistons are playing like one of the best teams in the NBA. This might not even really be a joke anymore. Detroit won in Dallas on Wednesday, 108-95. The win was their second road one in 48 hours -- the Pistons beat the Spurs in San Antonio on Tuesday night -- and their seventh straight overall. As you're well aware by now, all seven of these have come since Stan Van Gundy decided his team would be better off paying Josh Smith not to play. Could this all be a coincidence? Every additional Pistons win proves otherwise. Detroit, at 12-23, is just 6.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for fifth in the East. The funny and interesting part about all of this is ...
... Josh Smith is still a talented player. Smith had 16 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes of action in the Rockets’ 105-93 win over the Cavaliers on Wednesday. He had 21 points in 26 minutes the previous game against the Bulls. Smith, obviously, is a flawed player, but he’s also a talented one and he’s still just 29 years-old. If Smith can be the player who helped lead Atlanta to the playoffs year after year instead of the one Van Gundy waived, he could end up making a difference in the stacked Western Conference.
The Thunder are not at full speed yet. This is now very obvious after the Thunder's blowout loss to the Kings. The Thunder are 2-2 since Kevin Durant returned from an ankle injury. At 17-19, they're four games behind the eighth place Phoenix Suns. We'd all be shocked if Oklahoma City doesn't eventually pass the Suns and maybe a few other teams, but until they do, it's OK to be a bit concerned -- especially if Dion Waiters has nights like he did in his Thunder debut, where he went 1-of-9. The one saving grace for the Thunder is that this appears to the season where seeds don't matter. All eight Western Conference teams that end up making the playoffs are going to be really good, and getting out of that conference is going to be hell for every team, no matter where they're seeded going into things.
Play of the Night
The Hornets have won 13 games this year. Three of those wins have come courtesy of Kemba Walker game-winners. If only he was this good all the time and not just on isolations with less than ten seconds left.
11 fun things
Marcus Morris was not happy with something that Jeff Hornacek did or said, and let him know about it. Marcus should try to convince Hornacek that it was actually Markieff doing the yelling.
Scores
Rockets 105, Cavaliers 93 (The Dream Shake recap | Fear the Sword recap)
Bucks 97, Sixers 77 (Brew Hoop recap | Liberty Ballers recap)
Wizards 101, Knicks 91 (Bullets Forever recap | Posting and Toasting recap)
Hornets 98, Pelicans 94 (At the Hive recap | The Bird Writes recap)
Celtics 89, Nets 81 (Celtics Blog recap | Nets Daily recap)
Hawks 98, Grizzlies 86 (Peach Tree Hoops recap | Grizzly Bear Blues recap)
Jazz 97, Bulls 77 (SLC Dunk recap | Blog a Bull recap)
Pistons 108, Mavericks 95 (Detroit Bad Boys recap | Mav's Moneyball recap)
Suns 113, Timberwolves 111 (Bright Side of the Sun recap | Canis Hoopus recap)
Kings 104, Thunder 83 (Sactown Royalty recap | Welcome to Loud City recap)
Clippers 114, Lakers 89 (Clips Nation recap | Silver Screen and Roll recap)
Warriors 117, Pacers 102 (Golden State of Mind recap | Indy Cornrows recap)
