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Last night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets felt more like “rebuilding” than “tanking.” The Wizards played a flawed game loaded with mistakes and miscues, and were competitive throughout, carrying a small lead into the fourth quarter and forcing fourth quarter heroics from Jamal Murray and Tim Hardaway Jr. to ultimately lose.

Facing a team devoid of centers (Nikola Jokic and former Wizards great Jonas Valanciunas were both out with injuries), Washington dominated inside — +10 on the boards, 27-4 advantage on second chance points, and outscoring Denver 66-50 in the paint.

They lost because of an array of defensive breakdowns, and some elite shotmaking from Murray.

A few notes I took during the game:

• Denver won the opening tip and seconds later, Jalen Pickett walked into a wide open three. What happened? The Wizards didn’t match up properly. Two defenders were on Peyton Watson, and Tre Johnson (who was the closest defender) watched instead of sprinting into a closeout.
• In the first half, Wizards defenders repeatedly sagged into the lane off Murray. While the team’s defensive priority is protecting the paint, there is no way — none — that leaving Murray undefended in the corner was part of the defensive game plan. They stopped helping off him in the second half.
• Washington’s transition defense was poor for a few reasons. First, not sprinting back. Second, not matching up in ways that make sense. Third, ball watching and failing to notice opposing players positioning themselves for shots.
  • One Nuggets fast break got a transition corner three from Hardaway. Jamir Watkins got back but ball watched — failing to notice Hardaway running behind him to the corner. Watkins first noticed Hardaway when the ball swung to the man above the break, who Watkins picked up. When the pass went to the corner, Watkins sprinted to close out but was too late. Meanwhile, Marvin Bagley III and Justin Champagnie jogged back to the defensive end and never got involved in the play.
  • In the second quarter, Champagnie missed a three. While he watched the ball in flight, Bruce Brown (who’d closed out) ran to the offensive end. Bagley, Bub Carrington, and Tre Johnson all jogged back, but all three stopped out top and none of them noticed Brown behind them.
  • In the third quarter, Khris Middleton stopped playing to complain about a foul non-call. Meanwhile, his man got a wide open corner three in transition, which he (fortunately for Washington) missed.
• The Wizards defensive scheme uses some of the “pre-helping” concepts pioneered by the Oklahoma City Thunder and being used by more teams around the league. Basically, the weakside “low man” comes halfway into the lane to be in position to help if there’s a drive. It’s generally a good method of complicating penetration and reducing the number and quality of opponent at-rim attempts. The drawback can be giving up open threes.
  • One play made me laugh: Middleton was low man. He pre-helped on a Murray drive against Alex Sarr, who’d picked him up on a switch. Middleton came all the way across the lane and was (theoretically) in position to cut Murray off. Unfortunately, Middleton’s lack of mobility meant that Murray still got all the way to the rim — he made a nice pass to Spencer Jones, who’d made a cut behind the help…which Carrington (who had weakside zone responsibility) missed because he was ball watching.

I know the preceding is a recitation of woes, but this game wasn’t bad. They were competitive in ways they should have been based on who was missing from the opponent’s lineup. They made mistakes early on and corrected them during the game. The scheme they’re trying to execute is good. What I noticed as problems are pretty normal for young players and are correctable with experience and acceptance of coaching.

Thoughts & Observations

• Champagnie does a nice job of cutting to the rim when his man moves into a help position or turns his head.
• Strong offensive game from George — an efficient 29 points to go with 5 rebounds and 7 assists. He was credited with three blocks, though I do not think he played well defensively — he’s guilty of ball watching, leaving his man to help when it’s not necessary, and not matching up properly.
• Murray was the first guard in several weeks (at least) to figure out a counter to Sarr’s chase down blocks when driving the switch. Instead of a more normal extension into a layup, Murray jumped straight up as he laid the ball in. Sarr crashed into him and it became a three-point play.
• Sarr did as well as any big man could be expected when switched onto Murray. He prevented penetration a couple timed, forced Murray into difficult shots at others, and even poked the ball loose once.
• Bagley had another strong game off the bench. I’m curious to see Sarr and Bagley play together.
• With Bilal Coulibaly out, the Wizards had no strong point of attack defender.
• Abysmal game from Tre Johnson, who hit just 1-10 from the floor and missed all four of his three-point attempts. I didn’t love his shot selection, which was heavy on runners and floaters, which tend to be low value shots. The one he made was runner.
• Aaron Gordon was two points from a triple-double. Filling in a center, he tallied 11 assists, including one pass that was Jokic-light — he caught the ball in the post and instantly spun and hit a shooter in the opposite corner — literally behind his head. There was no way he could see the man before he went into the pass. I call it “Jokic-light” because Jokic would have made the same pass but no-look.
• Peyton Watson has been on a scoring binge with Jokic out. He has an impressive package of skills and the ability to make shots. His offensive efficiency would have gotten a solid boost if he’d shot better than 4-8 from the free throw line.

Four Factors

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

Stats & Metrics

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is 115.1. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 114, the league — on average — would produced 22.8 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -2.8.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

LONDON (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant started against the Orlando Magic on Sunday and was on a minutes restriction after a six-game absence because of a right calf injury.

“We’ll try to maximize his minutes and try to do it in a smart way," Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said at a pregame news conference at London's O2 Arena.

Morant missed the first of the two-game NBA Europe series when the Magic beat the Grizzlies 118-111 in the league’s first regular-season game in Germany.

Iisalo said the medical update he received about the two-time All Star was positive a day after Morant practiced with the team.

“We’ve discussed this several times this season, when you miss a bunch of games, it’s not so easy to (go) right away into big minutes," Iisalo said of his expectations for Morant.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

After a ‌tight ‌victory against Minnesota, Houston aims to snag another one against New Orleans. This year, the Rockets sit at 0-1 against the Pelicans, following a 133-128 defeat in overtime. From there, New Orleans picked up just four wins.

So far, the Rockets have shown flashes of real power mixed with some shaky stretches, pulling off wins in high-speed matchups, yet dropping others they should have claimed. In the latest outing, Kevin Durant dropped 39 points to beat the Timberwolves, highlighting his knack for those huge scoring bursts. When Houston locks in, their fast breaks and board work stand out; they often cash in on extra shots and own the glass.

New Orleans, though, packs a serious scoring punch when everybody’s fit, even amid all their troubles this campaign. Still, injuries and uneven play kept them from accumulating wins, and lately, betting lines favored the Pacers over them, pointing to deeper issues across the board.

Houston has to cut down on turnovers and draw solid efforts not only from Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun, but also from guys like Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, and Jabari Smith Jr too.

Tip Off

6:00 CT

How To Watch
Space City Home Network

Injury Report
Rockets
Fred VanVleet: Out (Acl),
Dorian Finney-Smith: Day-To-Day (Ankle),
Tari Eason: Day-To-Day (Ankle)

New Orleans

Herb Jones (right ankle sprain) – Out
Dejounte Murray (right Achilles rupture) – Out

Let’s do it again. The Chicago Bulls almost pulled off an improbable comeback, but the Brooklyn Nets escaped with a 112-109 win on Friday night. The W snapped their five game losing streak.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. WFAN on radio. Gotham Sports on streaming. Amazingly, this game will tip off after 7 PM. More on that in a bit.

Injuries

No Ziaire Williams, Michael Porter Jr, Drake Powell, or Haywood Highsmith.

Zach Collins and Noa Essengue are out. Patrick Williams is questionable. Josh Giddey has been upgraded to doubtful as he recovers from a left hamstring strain.

The game

Brooklyn won games one and two. They’ll wrap up the season series in February.

Noah Clowney continues to impress. The kid collected a double-double as his 23 points and 11 rebounds paced the Nets frontcourt. The more he plays well, the more he becomes an integral part of the Nets future when they return to playoff contention. Keep at it and the results will be there.

The Bulls found their three point shooting at the right time on Friday night. They went 6-12 from deep as they made their furious comeback. They’re tenth in threes attempted and 14th in efficiency, which is pretty respectable. For the Nets, they’ve got to make sure they make things tough on the Bulls and limit any quality looks they can generate.

Nolan Traore got the bulk of the point guard minutes over Egor Dëmin, and it shows the importance of having two decent young guards on the roster. When one doesn’t have it, you can turn to the other one and see if he can bring home. Either way, it serves as a valuable learning lesson for both of them and should help as they continue their careers.

Without Porter Jr in the lineup, look for Cam Thomas to be one of the team leaders in field goal attempts. If all else fails, Thomas can get shots up at the rim. And with him being unlikely to play on Monday due to the back-to-back, he’ll have even more incentive to hunt for his shot tonight.

Player to watch: Nikola Vucevic

When Vucevic has it going, he’s hard to slow down. Vuc has a great touch, is solid in the post, and can stretch the floor. There’s a reason why he’s always given the Nets hell over the years and Chicago will make sure he gets the ball as much as possible this evening.

Nic Claxton will keep on keeping on. Clax grabbed a season high 14 rebounds on Friday as he helped the Nets to a +6 advantage on the boards against the Bulls. Securing possessions matters a ton in close games and if we have another one that goes down to the wire, Claxton’s work on the glass will go a long way in pushing the Nets to a win.

From the Vault

I feel very safe saying that just about everybody at the United Center will have their attention on the LA Rams vs. Chicago Bears at Solider Field this evening. It’s the first time the Bears have been in the divisional round in 15 years. With that in mind, let’s take a trip back in time.

More reading: Blog a Bull, The Bigs, SB Nation NBA, New York Post, New York Daily News, Clutch Points, Nets Wire, Steve’s Newsletter, City of Nets

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
• Chicago Bulls Game Notes – Chicago Bulls
• Brooklyn visits Chicago on 4-game road slide – AP

One word to describe this current era of the New York Knicks has been stability. Over the past three years, the club has won at least 47 games and been victorious in at least one round in the postseason.

This season, the Knicks are on pace for a similar outcome, as they are in third place with a 25-17 record after 42 games. But despite the similar record, something seems off. After losing 106-99 to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night, the Knicks have dropped eight of their last 10 games. Only two games separate them from the seventh seed in the East and a play-in appearance.

New York’s last two months have been unlike the last few years, unstable. Before this recent swoon, the Knicks had won 15 of 18 games, including the NBA Cup Championship game against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Knicks have a lot of room to grow after the first half of the season. But as the year rapidly progresses, it will be much more difficult to escape the funk the team is currently in.

Defense has been the number one concern in New York’s first half of the year. This season, New York is ranked 19th in defensive efficiency. The largest issues have been overhelping on the perimeter and allowing easy drives into the paint, which is leading to a steady stream of easy three-point looks from the opposition.

Built around star Jalen Brunson, New York’s offense was deadly to start the year. The Knicks are still ranked third in offensive efficiency overall this season, but the offense has also slowed down recently. Since the start of the new year, the Knicks are just 21st in offensive efficiency. They are 23rd in three-point shooting at 34.7 percent.

Injuries have been a factor in New York’s first half of the year. Brunson has sprained his right ankle twice this season. OG Anunoby missed a handful of games with a left hamstring strain. Josh Hart has been in and out of the lineup with a sprained right ankle. Mitchell Robinson, Miles McBride and Landry Shamet have all also missed significant time.

New coaching scheme

Coach Mike Brown has made some adjustments in his first season in New York. Brunson has the ball in his hands a lot less. The team is attempting more threes compared to last year. Brown has given some of the younger players on the bench spot minutes.

These decisions have mostly paid off. Brunson is having another All-Star season, New York’s offense has been one of the best in the NBA for most of the year, and unlikely contributors like Tyler Kolek have made highlight moments early on this season.

But Brown has not been without fault. As mentioned before, New York’s defense has been poor. And it’s only getting worse. The Knicks rank 29th in defensive efficiency in January. Brown also hasn’t been able to unlock Karl-Anthony Towns. The Knicks’ star center is having his worst shooting season of his career, and his scoring numbers have dropped significantly from last season.

Towns has seemed uncomfortable in a slightly adjusted role under Brown. He’s posting up less and doesn’t touch the ball as much as last season.

Eyeing the future

New York’s coaching switch from Tom Thibodeau to Brown this summer was an indication of a belief in the roster for the foreseeable future. But what if the team is unable to advance further with Brown than it did with Thibodeau? It could lead the team to re-evaluate if the roster is good enough.

The Eastern Conference is wide open. The Knicks might never have a better shot of making the NBA Finals than this season. But being a Finals favorite comes with extra pressure.

Looming over this season is Towns’ contract. The five-time All-Star center is locked into his deal for next season, but he holds a $61 million player option for the 2027-28 season. Towns’ future isn’t the only one to monitor. Robinson is also likely to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. McBride could become a free agent in the summer of 2027.

With the Knicks approaching the feared second apron, keeping this core together will be pricey going forward. An early playoff flameout could shift how the front office feels about the roster.

Despite the doom and gloom, there is still a path for the Knicks to get to the NBA Finals. The offense has been effective, and that will give the team a chance. But the defense and better play from Towns will be needed for the club to build an airtight case as a true contender.

The Los Angeles Lakers are feeling the squeeze of the schedule when the Toronto Raptors come to town Sunday.

Los Angeles is playing the second game of back-to-back outings and its fifth game in seven days. That wear and tear is showing on a roster already missing key players.

The recent return of small forward Rui Hachimura helps, and my Raptors vs. Lakers predictions expect him to pick up the pace — especially from beyond the arc — in this tight turnaround versus Toronto.

Here are my best NBA picks for January 18.

Raptors vs Lakers prediction

Raptors vs Lakers best bet: Rui Hachimura Over 1.5 threes (+160)

Rui Hachimura has been limited in minutes since returning from a calf injury on January 13, coming off the bench as he works his way back into form. 

Given the state of the Los Angeles Lakers’ rotation heading into Sunday, Hachimura has a significant chance of more playing time and re-insertion back into the starting lineup after coming off the bench the past three games.

In that span, Hachimura is a collective 3 for 10 from beyond the arc with limited touches on offense. Before going down with the calf strain, he was one of the Lakers’ premier perimeter threats and was averaging more than 30 minutes a game.

“He’s our best catch-and-shoot guy,” L.A. coach JJ Redick told the media of Hachimura. “He’s one of the best guys in the league."

Los Angeles is already missing standout guard Austin Reaves and could be without guards Luka Doncic, Marcus Smart, and center DeAndre Ayton tonight -all listed as doubtful. 

On the season, Hachimura is averaging just shy of 13 points per game, with a team-leading 43.3% rate from beyond the arc for 1.7 triples per contest.

Player projections for Sunday night are a bit tempered for Hachimura, taking into account his limited minutes this month. Those forecasts sit between 1.2 and 1.4 makes from distance, but I believe there’s an edge for the Over 1.5 given how I think L.A. runs in the second of back-to-back outings.

Raptors vs Lakers same-game parlay

The Toronto Raptors have been excellent at bouncing back from losses this season. The Raptors have won six of their last seven after a defeat, going back to December 23.

Hachimura has been on a minutes limit in his first three games back from injury. Los Angeles may be forced to play him more with the rotation running thin tonight.

Scottie Barnes bangs on the boards with a depleted L.A. lineup, potentially missing their only true big man.

Raptors vs Lakers SGP

• Raptors moneyline
• Rui Hachimura Over 1.5 threes
• Scottie Barnes Over 7.5 rebounds

Our "from downtown" SGP: Dino-Might!

Los Angeles is hurting and tired, playing their fifth game in seven days.

Hachimura will get more touches with the L.A. backcourt depleted.

Barners is projected for more than nine rebounds tonight.

Immanuel Quickley is forecasted for more than 18 points against a thin L.A. backcourt.

Raptors vs Lakers SGP

• Raptors moneyline
• Rui Hachimura Over 1.5 threes
• Scottie Barnes Over 7.5 rebounds
• Immanuel Quickley Over 16.5 points

Raptors vs Lakers odds

• Spread: Raptors -1.5 | Lakers +1.5
• Moneyline: Raptors -125 | Lakers +105
• Over/Under: Over 223.5 | Under 223.5

Raptors vs Lakers betting trend to know

The Over is 5-2 when the Lakers play on zero rest this season. Find more NBA betting trends for Raptors vs. Lakers.

How to watch Raptors vs Lakers

Raptors vs Lakers latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

The New Orleans Pelicans look to make it two straight wins over the Houston Rockets when they meet in an NBA Southwest Division matchup at the Toyota Center.

Tonight’s matchup features plenty of talented offensive players, and my Pelicans vs. Rockets predictions expect a high-scoring affair. 

Read on for my NBA picks for Saturday, January 18. 

Pelicans vs Rockets prediction

Pelicans vs Rockets best bet: Over 229.5 (-110)

The Houston Rockets finally snapped their shooting slump by hitting 42.9% from three against Minnesota, a sharp rebound after a brutal 24.6% stretch from downtown.

Houston’s newfound offensive confidence should carry over tonight against a New Orleans Pelicans defense that struggles to contain the perimeter and protect the paint consistently.

New Orleans’ issues aren’t on the offensive end. When healthy, the Pelicans play fast and loose, pushing tempo and creating scoring opportunities on both sides of the ball. 

That pace, combined with Houston’s improving shot quality, points toward a high-scoring environment in Space City.

Pelicans vs Rockets same-game parlay

Kevin Durant and Trey Murphy III are going to enjoy playing in tonight's projected fast-paced game environment.

Durant has scored 26 or more points in six of his previous seven, while Murphy III has cleared 21 points in seven consecutive games.

Pelicans vs Rockets SGP

• Over 230.5
• Kevin Durant Over 25.5 points
• Trey Murphy III Over 20.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Splish splash

Jordan Poole has knocked down at least two triples in five straight games while Durant averages five dimes across his previous 10 contests. 

Pelicans vs Rockets SGP

• Over 230.5
• Kevin Durant Over 25.5 points
• Trey Murphy III Over 20.5 points
• Kevin Durant Over 4.5 assists
• Jordan Poole Over 1.5 threes

Pelicans vs Rockets odds

• Spread: Pelicans +12.5 | Rockets -12.5
• Moneyline: Pelicans +491 | Rockets -752
• Over/Under: Over 230.5 | Under 230.5

Pelicans vs Rockets betting trend to know

The New Orleans Pelicans have hit the Game Total Over in 22 of their last 35 away games (+7.70 Units / 20% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Pelicans vs. Rockets.

How to watch Pelicans vs Rockets

Pelicans vs Rockets latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

The Atlanta Hawks returned home to State Farm Arena on Saturday night but did not return to winning ways as they suffered a 132-106 defeat to the Boston Celtics in their first meeting of four this season. Jaylen Brown ignited for 41 points, while Sam Hauser added 30 points. For the Hawks, Onyeka Okongwu scored a team-high 21 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 18 points.

The Hawks entered the contest without primary defender Dyson Daniels — missing the game due to a right ankle sprain — while Zaccharie Risacher (left knee, bone contusion) and Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendinitis) continue to remain sidelined. In Daniels’ place, CJ McCollum got the nod for his first start in front of the Atlanta-faithful.

The first quarter was defined by an 18-point effort by Jaylen Brown, shooting 7-of-13 in the first quarter (only Luka Doncic has attempted more field goals in a first quarter this season with 14). That said, the Hawks — while briefly falling behind by double-digits — only trailed by seven points at the end of the first quarter, with Okongwu and Alexander-Walker both scoring eight points in the opening frame.

Then came, similar to the recent Lakers game, what turned out to be the decisive second quarter. The Celtics outscored the Hawks 52-28, running the lead not just back to double digits, nor stopping at 20 points, but ran all the way to 31 points heading into the locker room.

While another strong, 11-point quarter from Brown didn’t help the Hawks’ situation (taking Brown’s first half tally to 29 points), Sam Hauser hitting six threes and scoring 18 points in the second quarter alone was more damaging in the quarter. Anfernee Simons scored 11 points off the bench in the second quarter and did a great job of helping the Celtics extend and build their lead while Brown was on the bench — possibly the most impressive element of the Celtics’ run in the second quarter. While the Celtics shot 76% in the second quarter and hit 11 threes (14 in total in the first half), the Hawks shot 36% in the quarter and 37% for the entire game.

Let’s take a look at the many breakdowns that contributed to give the Celtics their game-defining 52-point quarter.

Hauser’s shooting last night was fantastic (even though he got greedy at the end of the game trying to chase a Celtics record, finishing with the highest number of threes attempted by any player in the NBA so far this season with 21) but the Hawks made his life so much easier than it needed to be. It started with Hauser easily shedding Mo Gueye and rising into an open three:

Hawks head coach Quin Snyder was not pleased following this shot, and it’s not hard to understand why — limiting Hauser’s effectiveness from three would be among the top items of any scouting report playing the Celtics. Getting an open three-point shot like this would absolutely be on the Hawks’ margin of error that they cannot afford, and for Gueye to allow this one was only the start.

Gueye would be at fault again for the next three the Celtics hit. On a screen for Simons by Derrick White, Gueye tries to get back to Simons. Corey Kispert is locked onto the switch on the screen and communicates to Gueye that he doesn’t need to get back to Simons and to go with White. It takes far too long for Gueye to get this sorted, and by the time he does Simons has swung the ball to White, Alexander-Walker has to step up, leaving Baylor Scheierman in the corner for an open three:

While the Hawks would probably be OK with Scheierman shooting a three instead of White or Simons, the process is the problem and a breakdown that could have easily been avoided.

After a missed layup by Alexander-Walker (a decent drive, just leaving the ball offline), the Celtics come in transition and the Hawks get themselves matched up just fine — it’s the screen from Hauser and Neemias Queta that causes the issue. The screen from Queta puts Luke Kennard behind Hauser, and Okongwu is apt to the threat of Hauser from three and steps up to prevent any chance of Hauser springing into the three, but at the cost of Queta rolling to the basket. Gueye makes a better read of the play this time, and steps up to White, whose quick pass inside to Queta leads to the make on the Queta flip:

This is liveable if you’re the Hawks: you’ve prevented the Hauser three, met White on the perimeter, and you take your chances with a shot like that from Queta (even from close range). The right reads were made, and Queta made the shot; fair enough — it was well run by the Celtics. It did restore Boston’s double-digit lead, and prompting the Atlanta timeout.

Three free throws from Kispert after the timeout looked to be followed by a stop, as the lob to Queta is offline, and the loose ball falls to Gueye. However, he fails to protect the ball on the rebound, and Queta strips him and dunks:

Gueye’s rough stretch continued immediately, as Kispert does well to find the cutting Gueye, whose reverse layup is missed and ends up on the floor (the reaction from Snyder is worth noting), and as Scheierman explores his options, the Celtics have a man advantage as Gueye tracks back but by the time he does it’s too late. White has received the ball and hit the three-pointer to cap off a very tough sequence for the Hawks:

A missed shot by Jalen Johnson (who didn’t have the jumper on his side last night) followed by a step-back jumper from Simons put the Celtics up 14 points, and Johnson would again find his impact limited as he’s pressured by Hauser, and Scheierman doubles from behind to poke the ball away from Johnson to force the turnover. Simons then pulls up and drains the three over Kispert and the Celtics take a 17-point lead and force another Atlanta timeout:

After those Kispert free throws, the Celtic lead was seven points. Just over a minute later it had ballooned to 17 points — all without Jaylen Brown on the court. Considering Brown’s dominance in the first quarter, this felt like a massively missed opportunity for the Hawks, and now they were really in trouble.

Vit Krejci’s three out of the timeout is cancelled out by another pull-up three from Simons, and the Hawks just aren’t getting the scoring they need from Jalen Johnson, who found opportunities inside the paint limited and his drives limited by some excellent Celtic defense (whose perimeter defense was excellent). On this play, Johnson tries to take it into the chest of White, but with Luka Garza behind White waiting, Johnson tries to flip up a shot instead and it falls short:

Hauser returns for his second three, shooting over McCollum after the screen, and all of a sudden, the Celtics have a 20-point lead. The Hawks hit back with back-to-back threes to cut the lead to 14 points.

CJ McCollum had a very rough first half, shooting 2-of-10 from the field, and got caught with a turnover out of bounds before air-balling a three, off of which he gets his hand in for a strip on Brown…only to see the Celtics recover possession, and now the Hawks are everywhere defensively. Johnson is now guarding nobody, Krejci has to step up and leave his man, Asa Newell doesn’t get the shout that Hauser is now open in the short-corner, and Johnson’s attempts to get over to him are in vain, as Hauser hits another open three:

For his next three, Hauser in the corner guarded by Johnson, who has one eye on the ball and the paint, and it feels as though he’s daydreaming as he’s following Hauser, and is ultimately a step slow as Hauser steps up to the Queta screen, and this Okongwu doesn’t/isn’t able to step up to meet Hauser on the screen and the three is made:

Now, it’s Brown’s time to get going again. After free throws on the Okongwu foul — followed by an Okongwu three — Brown targets his matchup with Krejci and is just too strong for him, taking the ball to the rim and finishing with ease:

I don’t blame Krejci for anything there; Brown is just too strong in this spot. It’s really, really poor from Johnson to offer no help for Krejci when he’s right there in a position to do so. It’s not as though Johnson is looking at anyone else — and his man in transition here is Queta, who is not going to be stretching the floor.

Brown’s strength versus Krejci is reinforced moments later — following a missed McCollum floater and Okongwu three — as he gets to the rim, Krejci tries to hold him back as he goes up, and Brown powers and adjusts to finish, plus the foul:

Again, the action returns to Sam Hauser. Johnson begins the possession guarding Hauser, but when the slip from Queta comes, Johnson switches to the rolling Queta. Okongwu tracks back to Queta but this has all left Hauser open, and he hits another open three:

Krejci gets bumped initially here, and that’s likely why Okongwu stays with White as Queta rolls. Johnson makes the right read to switch — it starts with Okongwu, who doesn’t know until he turns to see Johnson with Queta and it’s too late to get to Hauser.

A miss from McCollum and a mid-range jumper from Brown extends the lead to 31 points to compound a miserable first half for the Atlanta Hawks.

“They were too comfortable” said CJ McCollum of the second quarter. “We’ve got to be more physical at the point of contact…”

The Hawks were recently faced with a similar deficit against the Lakers, and while they were able to make a comeback, of sorts, to cut the lead to 11, there was no such comeback to be had on Saturday. The Celtics quickly extended their lead coming out of the locker room, ran the lead to as high as 43, and consistently kept the lead between 35 and 40 points for the majority of the second half. The lowest the Boston lead dipped in the second half was at the very end, long into garbage time, at its final resting place of 26 points (which is generous for the Hawks as a final margin of defeat).

Postgame, Quin Snyder was left a lot to reflect on when asked about the factors that contribute to the Hawks’ efforts last night. These ranged from the number of games played recently, a lack of urgency and execution, and of course Boston’s 52-point quarter.

“I think there’s a number of factors,” said Snyder. “We’re coming back from a pretty good stretch of games. We talked about it before the game (about) finding some juice. We didn’t have that. When we talk about that, it manifests itself in competitiveness or urgency, whether it be up at the point of the screen, in execution, or someone makes a three, or not running hard enough where we get spacing and can get to the rim. We didn’t run at all offensively. At the beginning of the game we didn’t have good possession, we took contested, mid-range shots without moving the ball. That’s not who we are, that’s not how we play. I think our commitment to some of those things offensively was lacking, especially early. We’ve started finding a little of that. Part of it for us right now is we’re integrating a couple of new guys on the fly. That’s something we need to be aware of. Usually when you do that there are stretches that are like this where you can see those things. Either players collectively don’t quite understand what we’re doing, it’s not habitual, and that interaction, we’ve got to find that on the fly.

“As that’s going on, we can’t give up a 52-point quarter. That may be all I should say. Our competitive focus on the defensive end during that stretch in particular is not where it needs to go. That results in all kinds of breakdowns, executions and they made us pay for that. I think it’s important for us to understand that this is a process, to the extent that we’re really focused on the things that we know when we do make us successful, that happens quicker. You see it happen during the course of the game at various times. It just has to happen more. That wasn’t the case tonight obviously…”

Snyder went on to explain the various difficulties and challenges the Celtics present on the court. We saw some of these unfold in the second quarter: from losing shooters because others had to step up and rotate, dunks from Queta from the threat of the roll man, Brown getting to the rim, Snyder expounded on all of these elements the Celtics bring to the table.

“If there’s three things in a given possession: if they’re running pick-and-roll and you’re not far up, Simons hits a three,” explained Snyder. “If you’re trapping and you don’t trap, Jaylen Brown goes by you and puts you in the rim. If you’re trapping and doing the right thing and there’s a roller going and you don’t rotate, it’s a dunk. If you bung-bung-bung, take away that, don’t rotate to the corner, it’s a three. We had all that in all those situations. The thing that has to happen is when they run a certain play consecutive times, that’s where your level has to go up. We have to deny the ball to take them out of the play. We didn’t have that grit that we needed. Whatever coverages and all those things — nothing is going to work if we don’t have that urgency and focus … we have a small margin. We’re not going to be perfect, but we have to try to be.”

When referencing plays that were ran consecutive times with success, it’s hard not to think of all those threes Hauser made and the rinse-and-repeat nature of them. They were really poorly defended at times, and it’s plays like this I believe Snyder is referring to.

Not having Dyson Daniels available to help guard Brown was difficult for the Hawks. Brown scored 41 points in three quarters, and while his usage and shot volume is high (shooting 14-of-30 from the field), he was still efficient and proficient at getting to the line (11-of-12).

“We weren’t being physical,” said Okongwu when asked about Jaylen Brown. “We were messing up our coverages…”

It’s difficult to say that anyone played well in this spot for the Hawks. Through three quarters — before extended garbage time — only Okongwu shot higher than 50% from the field. Jalen Johnson really struggled in this game, 4-of-14 from the field for 11 points. Johnson had difficulties breaking the Celtics’ defense down off the dribble, and with the Celtics scoring so often the rebounds and transition opportunities Johnson thrives on were limited.

More than anything at the moment, Johnson looked tired and leggy — his jumpers were quite short last night, usually indicative of a player fighting fatigue. McCollum, similarly, shot 4-of-14 from the field, while Alexander-Walker (6-of-16) did not fare much better. The less said about Mo Gueye’s game — particularly his second quarter — the better. Meanwhile, Corey Kispert had a solid 16 points in what was the only positive performance off the bench.

Vit Krecji’s recent struggles have continued: 1-of-6 shooting for Vit in 18 minutes, limited by foul trouble. I’ll hold my hands up: I thought Krejci would fare better than Risacher in the starting lineup. …I was wrong! Krejci has also, somehow, ended up playing the same 18 to 22-minute rotation as Risacher did previously since going to the starting lineup…which was usually less minutes than when Krejci was coming off the bench.

I don’t understand Snyder’s rotation at times. We saw more minutes for Keaton Wallace in the first half in a lineup that fell completely flat, and for some inexplicable reason in a 40-point blowout, Johnson and Okongwu both played half of the fourth quarter, while Alexander-Walker played over four minutes… It is a 40-point blowout and it’s pretty clear the Hawks are tired. Baffling from Snyder there.

I don’t want to take too much away from the Celtics’ performance — they were excellent from start to finish. The Hawks obviously played their part in Sam Hauser igniting just leaving him open/losing track of him, but Hauser hit shots, hit more difficult shots, and completely torched Atlanta.

Brown was excellent and picked his spots really well in the second quarter to drive home the great work that Hauser, Derrick White, and Simons had done while he was on the bench. The Celtics worked hard and moved well defensively; it was difficult for the Hawks to get inside and break down the defense. Boston’s bigs really did a good job of shifting — Queta and Luka Garza I thought was really good in this department too. Jordan Walsh was strong defensively, and Hugo Gonzalez (a player I really liked ahead of the draft for a team exactly like Boston) provided a great spark off the bench.

From the Hawks’ side of things, I’d burn the tape from this game if I knew I’d have to inevitably sit through and analyze this game, because it was a very rough watch in the second quarter. Some of it can be attributed to a lack of practice and opportunity to get the new guys better integrated (this was asked and discussed postgame with Snyder, McCollum, and Kispert), and coming off of a road trip, sure, the first game back can be difficult. But these are not adequate enough excuses to be down 30 points in the first half, concede a 52-point quarter, and fall 40 points behind, and the players would be the first to admit that.

Snyder does see the positives and is taking a more optimistic view of the situation, but reinforces the ‘habitual’ principles that are not always being followed.

“I don’t want to get into ‘the sky is falling,’” said Snyder. “We played well against Golden State and won. We played a Laker team that played one of their best games, we were right there against Portland and had a horrible stretch and lost the game. Tonight, we were bad. This adversity is something we’ve got to use. Formulaically, that’s the good thing. There are things that we know if we do, we’ll be better. That means running, that means playing with the pass, that means getting in the paint and having our eyes out. All those things that when we’re playing well and we’re efficient, offensively, that’s what we’re doing. And the same thing defensively. Those are thing that we all agree on are absolutes that we have to do consistently to be good. We’ve got to commit to that because some of them aren’t habitual right now.”

The Hawks (20-24) are back in action on Monday afternoon for their annual MLK Day game, facing a Milwaukee Bucks team (17-24) who are gunning for the final play-in spot that the Hawks currently possess.

Until next time!