Are the Atlanta Hawks good?

Are the Atlanta Hawks good? They beat the Celtics convincingly in Boston on Monday, and sit seven games above .500. The Hawks are on pace for 46 wins, which is fewer than the 48 earned a year ago and many fewer than the 60 Atlanta shockingly won in 2015. But 46 wins is still pretty good.

Are we too disenchanted with this era of Atlanta Hawks basketball to care, even though this era of Atlanta Hawks has been completely remixed? Kyle Korver is gone. Al Horford is gone. Jeff Teague is gone. DeMarre Carroll is long gone. Is it just Mike Budenholzer and Paul Millsap we no longer trust to compete in the playoffs, even though they’ve won three playoff series in that the past two years (more than any East team other than Cleveland)? Is it that the Hawks in any incarnation are 0-8 against Cleveland in the playoffs in the past two years? Is it that the Hawks are no longer novel or even interesting?

I don’t know. Even though I barely mentioned them in my playoff picture primer, I’m starting to think the Hawks are good. Defense matters, and Atlanta is quite excellent at stopping opponents. The Hawks may not have enough offense to win another playoff series, but stranger things have happened.

TOR 92, NYK 91
GSW 119, PHI 108
MIL 95, CLE 102
ATL 114, BOS 98
MIA 89, DAL 96
IND 117, HOU 108
MIN 102, SAC 88

Speaking of the Atlanta Hawks, Dwight Howard was ejected in the third quarter for hanging on the rim. It was his second technical. The NBA said after the game that Howard shouldn’t have been ejected. It didn’t end up mattering as Atlanta won, but what if Boston would have come back? Officiating errors that change not just one play but the entire contours of a game are really bad.

This Celtics fan thought she was getting Dwight’s jersey after he was ejected. “LMAO,” Howard thought to himself as he pulled the okeydoke.

Kyle Lowry hurt his wrist and will sit a few weeks. This had better not derail Toronto’s playoff run.

The case for Gordon Hayward as the NBA’s most underrated dunker.

Here’s your buy-out candidates primer.

Kevin Durant apparently fits right into Silicon Valley.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Joel Embiid is going to play very little or not at all the remainder of the season. Which makes the Rookie of the Year race quite problematic. Not that that is the important thing here.

Matt Moore on whether the Celtics are being too patient.

There are regular arguments on the internet as to whether Kyrie Irving is great or merely good. As a fan of watching defenders get spun the hell out, I think he is great. Exhibit A: John Henson.

A pratfall steal by Patrick Patterson. And a game-winner in Madison Square Garden for DeMar DeRozan.

Speaking of MSG, those wackadoo Knicks decided to waive Brandon Jennings and stick Joakim Noah under the knife. Go Knicks.

This robot is a lottery pick if she develops a jumper.

Michael Lee notes that if either Russell Westbrook or James Harden (or LeBron, Kawhi, or Dion, for that matter) win MVP, it’ll be the first time in a decade the award goes to someone who didn’t participate in the previous Team USA tournament in the season after such a tournament.

Shaq’s mom told her son to stop beefing with JaVale McGee. JaVale’s mom wants Shaq fired. By the way, Shaq is a 44-year-old man and JaVale is a 29-year-old man.

Stockton Malone Shorts is the real name of a real high-level amateur player in Utah.