Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Fri Mar 04, 2016 7:31 am

(33-28)Image at Image(12-50)

Friday, March 4, 2015, 7:30 PM PDT
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

Referees: Danny Crawford, David Guthrie, Scott Twardoski

Line: OFF


Image

Image


GAME PREVIEW: HAWKS AT LAKERS

By SCOTT GARBARINI, NBA.com

Though not in a position to celebrate moral victories, the Atlanta Hawks still had to be encouraged by how they began an important road trip.

The Hawks stand a better chance of being rewarded in Friday night's matchup with a Los Angeles Lakers team that may have Kobe Bryant among several notable absences.

After recording key wins over fellow Eastern Conference contenders Chicago and Charlotte to build momentum for a season-high five-game trek, Atlanta (33-28) nearly ended Golden State's 42-game regular-season home winning streak in Tuesday's 109-105 overtime loss.

Though the Warriors held out Stephen Curry with a sore ankle, the Hawks continued a strong defensive stretch by limiting the NBA's highest-scoring team to 39.8 percent shooting - the fourth time Golden State has finished below 40 percent this season. Atlanta trailed by only one when the Warriors' Draymond Green hit a desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 40.2 seconds left in overtime.

The Hawks had held the Bulls and Hornets to a combined 34.9 percent and yielded a season low in points in Sunday's 87-76 win over Charlotte. They are allowing 97.6 points per game since Jan. 16 and lead the NBA in defensive rating during that span (96.2 points per 1000 possessions).

"I think there was a lot of, continues to be a lot of good positives on the defensive end of the court," coach Mike Budenholzer said. "They made a couple of tough shots, crazy shots, and offensively we didn't get quite enough to go down for us."

Los Angeles (12-50) is the NBA's worst shooting team at 41.6 percent but has been making progress, averaging 108.1 points and connecting on 38.2 percent of its 3-point tries in seven games since the All-Star break.

Jordan Clarkson is 20 of 47 from 3 while averaging 17.1 points over that stretch, but he may not play after exiting Wednesday's 117-107 loss at Denver with a strained left knee. Lou Williams, the team's third-leading scorer behind Bryant and Clarkson, will miss a second straight game with a strained left hamstring.

Bryant returned from a two-game absence to log 11 minutes in his final appearance in Denver. The retiring superstar, dealing with a nagging shoulder injury, said afterward he only played as a show of gratitude to the fans.

"It was important to get out there and play and show appreciation for all these years," he said. "Had it not been the case, I wouldn't have played."

Bryant's injury has allowed the Lakers to accelerate D'Angelo Russell's development, and the rookie is indeed showing progress by averaging 26.8 points over his last four. After amassing a career-high 39 points to help end Los Angeles' eight-game skid with Tuesday's 107-101 win over Brooklyn, the No. 2 overall pick followed with 21 and six assists against the Nuggets.

"Everybody knows they've got to step up when guys go down," Russell said.

The Lakers haven't displayed improvement on the defensive end, though. They've allowed 116.4 points per game over their last eight, with opponents shooting 44.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Eight different Hawks hit 3-pointers in a 100-87 home win over the Lakers on Dec. 4.

Los Angeles had won eight straight at home in the series prior to the Hawks' 91-86 victory March 15, 2015. Atlanta hasn't won back-to-back road games over the Lakers since 2002.


http://www.nba.com/games/20160304/ATLLAL/gameinfo.html
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Re: Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Fri Mar 04, 2016 10:44 am

The Rev-888 connection tonight! Hopefully Kobe will lace them up, but I think it will be The Russell-Randle Show.
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Re: Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby Lakers4Life » Fri Mar 04, 2016 2:57 pm

KobeMVP888 wrote:The Rev-888 connection tonight! Hopefully Kobe will lace them up, but I think it will be The Russell-Randle Show.


Have fun guys! Represent!
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Re: Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Fri Mar 04, 2016 8:23 pm

3Peat checking in! Here at work but I have ESPN here so I will be watching.
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Re: Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Fri Mar 04, 2016 9:40 pm

Ouch! Down 54-36 at Half. Russell only 3 Points. No Kobe tonight either. I wonder if Ken and Rev are exiting yet? I have a 20 point rule before I exit meaning down by 20 at Half or anytime in the 3rd. It's close down 18. I always stay at least for a Half though LOL.
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Re: Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Fri Mar 04, 2016 10:58 pm

Well guys, that stunk! 106-77 and Russ was 3-16 for only 7 Points. Record is now 12-51.
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Re: Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Fri Mar 04, 2016 11:42 pm

Well . . Ken and I represented for the True Fans tonight but it was tough to watch with no Kobe, no Clarkson and no Lou. The Hawks handled us easily without a very inspired effort on their part. Our shots weren't falling and theirs were, and it's really hard to believe this is a Laker team that knows who it is or where it's going. Huertas had more moments than anybody on an uninspiring evening as this season dwindles to a close.

No matter -- I'm still in it for life.
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Re: Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby Julius Russell » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:32 am

No Kobe and Russell struggled but it's a life long story
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Re: Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby Lakers4Life » Sat Mar 05, 2016 8:13 am

Tough night. D'Angelo having a typical up & down rookie season. Let's see how he responds next game.
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Re: Gm 63: Hawks at Lakers GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Sat Mar 05, 2016 8:41 am

When your three best scorers are out and the other team has guards to give your 20 year old rookie fits, this is going to be the result. The good news is that it was a teachable moment for young D'Angelo and Julius continues to show improvement. Consistency is what the good players strive for and what the great players achieve. So while it was a horrible game, some benefit came from it in my view. Not much, but perhaps a little nugget, no pun intended. It certainly was no revolution though, pun intended.
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