POSTCAST: Atlanta Hawks Bench Not Enough For Chicago Bulls Balanced Attack

POSTCAST: Atlanta Hawks Bench Not Enough For Chicago Bulls Balanced Attack

You are locked on Hawks postcast part of locked on Atlanta on the locked on podcast Network your team every day welcome into our Atlanta Hawks basketball postcast I am your host tanra batist and of course joining alongside me tonight is Deshawn Tate we welcome you in for the best Hogs

Talk it’s local Insight you can’t get anywhere but right here at locked on LinkedIn jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster they are sponsor tonight post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon NBA that’s linkedin.com loock onnv to post your job for free terms and

Conditions apply and of course the lockon Hawks postcast is part of the lock on podcast Network your team every day now Deshawn the Hawks were back home looking to even up this season series versus the Bulls tonight but they kind of went dry from distance in the second

Quarter never really bounced back and of course we’ll talk about what happened in the and one then we’ll look a little bit of aead to Wednesday’s game at the Hornets of course that’s the final game before the All-Star break but first got to get our takes on tonight’s 136 126

Loss to the Bulls and Tate you said this was a classic example of the tortoise and the hair yeah no doubt just when you think that you’ve got the you know the ttis all figured out and I’m much faster and I’m much you know more athletic and

I can get up and down great job in terms of fast breaks for Fast Break points on tonight got a chance to see those numbers look a lot better um 21 to seven Edge but it felt like that may have been probably the only Edge because we didn’t

Get a chance to see the front Court which we knew was um you know going to be a little bit more shallow on tonight going up against you know uh you know ni V vvi obviously Andre drumond who killed them the last game the day after Christmas for like 25 rebounds or

Whatever um but it just felt like Chicago was just never out of the game like they were just the game was never Out Of Reach for them and they were just as consistent as can be they never got away from doing what they had been doing

Since the first quarter um you know and and this was also a game that I’m not going to say playoff implications per se but if the playoffs were today we’re talking about two seeds that are right there at the bottom um as well um it was

It was uh it it was interesting but I think that this is one of the games that the Hawks can take notes from you know because you know we always talk about how the Styles make fights and different things like that I think this is a team

That Atlanta hadn’t seen you know anyone with this type of style where it is slow and it’s methodical it reminds me of the playoffs where you know all the transition points there isn’t that as much anymore you know the the game slows down possession by possession more halfcourt offenses and Leta Demar D

Rozan go off you know mid-range King that that was the other interesting part I was going to say the mid the the two ties in this game being you know Deonte Murray as good as he is from mid-range and obviously the mid-range King and Demar D roen and then even the two guys

That are up for six Man of the Year between buy banovic uh and Kobe white North Carolina there you go tanra so I mean listen I I thought that um I thought it was a lesson learned on tonight when one team gets punched in the mouth at home or what have you and

No matter what that record looks like um you know I think the Hawks learned a valuable lesson that they can learn from yeah and and I would agree with you in that it was one of those games where first off it was the depth in the front

Court as well so and we’ll talk about the back court Blues we saw tonight but I think the depth in the front court with no 15 kind of was more evident maybe than it has been in the last couple of games because Ana oku’s definitely had a solid game and granted

He did hurt his toe so when you look at his final stat line and you see 11 points and 12 rebounds it doesn’t quite tell the whole story but it does tell you that maybe you saw something missing there because Bruno Fernando kind of gave you flashes the last couple of

Games but you kind of knew that wasn’t going to be sustainable yes and you saw that tonight with four points and seven rebounds yeah like that’s not sustainable and I think that was a problem because like we said yeah the back court absolutely torched this Hog’s back court this bull’s back court did

But really when you kind of look in the numbers as well and you say but where was the big that was going to stop nicoa vuich where was the big that was going to stop Andre Drummond or where was the big that was really GNA stop uh that

Front Court uh when you look at Demar D rozen in the kind of night he had 29 Points tied with t sunu for the game high and you start wondering okay where was sadique Bay jayen joh like where was that the you know at the 34 to give him

Some type of grief and kind of keep him respectable and I don’t know that that element was really there uh it seemed like the Hawks were especially as that game plotted on like you said seemed like they were more consumed with catching up by scoring which we understand that’s their natural

Inclination it’s the score but it just felt like the Hawks were way too committed to we’re going to wait until our shots start to fall and that’s going to bring us back into the game as opposed to no they’re over here being real methodical and being really efficient with their shots and they’re

Going to go deep into the shot clock such that we won’t even have as much time on the clock to be able to take our shots so you look at that and you’re kind of seeing like you said points in the paint are respectable but more more

Fast break points excuse me were the most uh respectable but then I look and kind of drilled down into the numbers and it’s like well you kind of let them have their way in some areas where you know better because your shots weren’t exactly falling maybe from the field but

From three-point land where you would definely wasn’t yeah where and that’s where you would have expected to get back in the game once things started to kind of taper off especially in that second quarter and again we’ll kind of come back to that shortly but especially

When things started to taper off in that fourth quarter and you allow this team to really really start ratcheting it up then what did you do to counter that on defense it just seemed like DeMar rosen de Rosen was getting the spacing that he wanted he was able to get the shots that

He wanted he was really controlling that’s where the control and the tempo of the game really started absolutely it was yeah and there was really no answer that the Hawks I don’t even want to say that they didn’t have form but it just didn’t seem like anyone was there for it

Didn’t seem like anyone was really saying okay I’m raising my hand second half you know you might have had your way the first half but you’re not going to have your way scoring on us and we’re not going to allow you to put others in scoring position to do the same well I

Feel like a big part of this game if I’m just being honest was so defensive minded you know not only did um Chicago do a good job offensively particularly from the field and what have you um but also playing defense I thought they had play very elite defense um and

Especially to be a team that you don’t have Alex Caruso um their starting point guard I don’t think that you know I I was thinking like how much are they going to miss that but when you start talking about some of the other guys on the team AO dumu and some others

You kind of factor in like that is their culture to a degree um and then you you know start looking at the Hawks inability to defend on top of that I mean this was a a Chicago team that if not tonight than any other night um you

Know they look like the most disciplined team in the league you know Elite ball movement it was just a bad match up they were Relentless they were fearless and they just weren’t looking at their weaknesses or weren’t looking at their errors as errors they just kind of

Capitalized where they you know felt the need to yes and that was one of the things I saw with them as well they seemed very very confident anytime they had a possession that did not result in points they seemed to just get back on defense and get ready for their next

Possession whereas the Hawks seemed like they were kind of rushing through sometimes or just kind of expecting a possession to go a certain way and then you know just really didn’t kind of have an answer for why it didn’t go that way and that’s interesting because in years

Past with virtually the same rosters these two teams usually go back and forth up and down they usually split us a season series so this is kind of interesting to me and we’ll talk about it a little bit more in the and one but to me it was very interesting that now

You find Chicago to have a two lead in the season series which also puts them two games ahead in the race for I guess that playin space within the Eastern Conference so it’ll be interested interesting to see because I feel like now the Hawks kind of put themselves

With their backs against the wall when we’re looking at the bigger picture I think they really missed an opportunity here but we’ll talk more about this Hawks Bulls game and what went wrong tonight in the and one when we get back and this episode of our locked on Hawks

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Feature that helps you write your job descriptions to make the process even easier and quicker to find top talent so desan this was one of those interesting games where in the first quarter and even early into the second quarter this looked like okay easy breezy the Hawks are going to get their

Seventh win in the last nine games we’re going to start talking about the fact that State Farm Arena is looking like it gives homec court advantage again Hawks went on a 10 run they went up eight at the end of the first quarter they even went into the second quarter with 11

Assists no turnovers so that means you are moving the ball well and you are also protecting it well except that then the Hawks allow the Bulls to go on a 17 to4 run the last five minutes of the second quarter and it really seems like they never recovered from that what

Happened yeah I mean it was just like I said the inability to play defense this is a Chicago team that you know wait wait wait wait can I ask you a question though absolutely was that inability or was that lack of Desire probably a combination of both

Okay keep it so so bad that it looked like an inability like they just were not capable of doing so and this isn’t a Chicago team that’s known for his offense we talked about how good they look defensively this is a Chicago team that yeah exactly ranks one of the worst

In the NBA um and I you know I don’t think that it helped the fact that you know when you start talking about the the ability for Chicago to score they had four players tonight that had 20 points or more yes that’s almost like unheard of now I know that the Hawks

Defense is bad and ranks amongst one of the lowest in the NBA but like something has to be corrected with that somehow because you can’t expect High you know High Hopes it’ll be nothing but just you know wishful thinking that this team can really Excel um you know and and to a

Height of which is desirable for Mo Hawks fans with playing defense the way that they did on tonight and that’s the way that they’ve kind of been playing defense yeah there’s going to be some some moments there’s going to be some spurts where they’re going to play

Defense really good uh and in some games but for the most part it’s like they haven’t been able to stop a nose bleed and that’s something that just really can’t be tolerated no matter how many points you put on the board and and obviously most people say oh well you

Win the game because you get more points than the other team yeah but you got to be able to stop that other team we talked before you know many many weeks ago about well Indiana put up 150 one game then 150 another game and then over 10 and something another it’s just way

Too many instances of they’re not you know being defense um we thought that they were going to be outmatched you know in in the front Court in which it appeared that they definitely were talking about the Atlanta Hawks somehow they outrebounded the Chicago Bulls not really sure how that happened but

Probably because they had so many guys like IO dumu and a few others who just could not miss a shot that’s probably how that ended up happening indeed and I think it was one of those things where again when you look into that particular stat for rebounds offensive rebounds 15

To7 that’s really where you won that because your shots weren’t falling especially from the three-point line so obviously you’re G to get more Second Chance opportunities thus you beat them on the boards by six but if we’re being honest about it they really beat you on

The boards I don’t care what that number shows because ultimately speaking they were doing those rebounds where they counted and I could count at least three of those rebounds in the last two to three minutes where you were just heaving up shots desperately or the Bulls were falling off a little bit but

It was too little too late to give that type of intensity at that point in the game and that’s why I wanted to clarify the question of was it that you can’t play or you don’t play because you certainly caused two turnovers in those last couple of minutes that actually got

You to within six which I mean that’s nothing for a team to you know bogey to spot up and hit a three Trey to spot up and hit a three and all of a sudden his game is going to overtime or you win it

By one so to me it was more of like did you just not have interest I mean did you just assume that eventually the three the three ball that went completely quiet in the second quarter will come back in the second half that’s how I kind of felt like they played the

Game like that was they were leaning on or depending on the three ball to come back to him or to come back to everybody than bugong bogdanovich and it just really never did but when you look at another area that now I think for me it

Was a bit shocking this is the first time I can think of in recent memory where I felt like the opponent’s back court really really ran through the hog’s back court I mean I I just it was confusing for me because like you said Cody white basically in relief dunu kind

Of expected that he usually has a solid game against them but we’re talking about a combined 49 points 14 assists and six rebounds for white and tunu and then you look at the stat line for Trey and deante and it’s 36 points definitely an assist were good 23 assists and eight

Rebounds but for me again that was kind of troubling because I was like okay why do they have that much trouble stopping dumu and white and did we see Deshawn any reverting back to some of those old habits of lack of communication and not playing togetherness that started in the

Back court that kind of then lent itself to the front Court I don’t think so I don’t think we saw I don’t think we saw yeah I don’t think we saw some of that I think that um I think it was just things that you know that Chicago was doing

That the Hawks hadn’t either a hadn’t seen a before B hadn’t seen in a long time yeah or whatever the case may be um maybe long time yeah yeah and and I I think that it’s more so of that for me and I mean when you start factoring in

By far not an excuse but you know obviously not having Clint and Bruno being limited and I understand that that you know as much as that can go you know in a on a positive spin for you during the games that you win um it’s the same

You know same thing that happens when you you know obviously lose a basketball game but you just didn’t have one of those phenomenal Nights by anybody I mean for what you got from DeAndre Hunter considering um his time and things like that you know that’s one thing buyanov obviously

I think the bench points helped out a whole lot more that kept you in the game uh that that’s what ultimately kept you in the game um so without that it’s crazy to think that you know this team would have even really had a chance against a Bulls team that’s really not

All that good but I’ll tell you what they’re definitely well coached and they’re just super disciplined this was the Hawks team that just really didn’t appear hear all that discipline tonight for me for some reason I would agree I would agree and speaking of the contributions that you got from the

Bench of course DeAndre Hunter has been coming off the bench due to right knee injury management so the Hawks are saying that he’s not necessarily on a minutes restriction I think it’s more of a minutes monitoring so that they don’t have a cut off number for him but

Tonight he did play 28 minutes got 20 woo 23 points in those 28 minutes six to 14 from the field four of seven from three along with six rebounds and I’ll just be honest it really made me think about whether or not he might actually

Be a better weapon for the Hawks Off the Bench versus the starting role yeah I’ve I’ve I’ve I’ve been saying it tanra I’ve been kind of beating that drum for a while now and again a lot of that kind of goes back to something that I said you know many

Episodes ago where I don’t think that DeAndre Hunter had ever been in a challenging position position to where he may lose his spot um regardless of the end result tonight there’s an old saying that goes if it ain’t broke don’t fix it this doesn’t seem you know broken

To me it makes perfect sense you start this guy and you sit that guy and the guy that needs to be starting is number 41 sadik Bay because I know what I’m getting every single night yes when he’s healthy or when he’s not whatever ever

The case may be I know what to expect and not that my expectations are ridiculously high but sometimes you just need a little bit more of that spark off of the bench in which I think that’s something that DeAndre Hunter gives this team yeah and I think sadik has shown a

Consistency and a commitment to two-way play yeah tonight it was only 11 points and five rebounds which was a little bit of a logo for him from what we’ve seen the last couple of games but ultimately speaking I was still pleased with it because at least like you said know I’m

Going to get quality results from him each and every night at both ends of the court or if he sees that his shots not falling he’s not going to sit there and kind of try to force it he’s going to go wherever the need is and wherever he

Thinks that he can actually contribute and that’s how he makes a difference so I really kind of find myself liking him in that starting role I think the bigger question for Quinn Snyder may be and I was talking to somebody about this earlier today and it’s sort of like I

Call it the effect you know sort of like Phil Jackson had with certain players knowing how to push certain buttons when they were in position yeah when they were in positions that maybe were uncomfortable for them but he could get them to perform and deliver that’s right

I think Quinn has that zen-like quality I can see that I can see that where he could kind of help DeAndre Hunter to understand that here’s why we switch sadique into the starting role and here’s why you’re coming off the bench you’re still going to play deep minutes

But here’s what I’m seeing now the question becomes where whether or not DeAndre Hunter would be able to transition or kind of reset his mind because I think bug and bonovich is an amazing example of a former starter who was then moved to the bench and now has

Become the heart and soul of the second unit the leader of the second unit and all maybe arguably the top six man in the entirety of the NBA we’ll see because you’re right you did bring it up uh recently for the last couple games that confidence aspect there

Well that’s the mentality yeah that’s why I said I don’t know if he has the mental the way bie did because Bogie’s like I don’t care where I come from right I’m GNA shoot this ball that’s right and if you want me to come from the bench and shoot this ball most of

The time I’m doing it if you want to insert me or have to insert me into the starting role I’ll do that too but I’m confident enough and I don’t I won’t overthink it and wonder if that’s an indictment on me I’ll look at it as that’s just where the team is that’s

Where we have to be and it shows in the game that’s true it shows exactly speaking of where the team has to be the Hawks have to be up 85 North on Wednesday hopefully doing something to end on a high note before the All-Star break we’ll talk about it when we get

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On Wednesday they’ll take on the Hornets let me ask you this first of all normally we would just go through keys of the game right but I want to say because we really thought this was going to be a win for the Hawks maybe kind of

In it back and asking you this did you see at least somewhere whether it was obviously not the team collectively so there’s that but did you see anything individually that you like tonight where it encourages you for what things can look like when they come back from the Break

Um outside of the bench play that what they got you know in terms of contribution from DeAndre Hunter who has clearly been looking really good coming off of the pine uh and obviously you know vdovic um some of the others maybe not as much if I’m just being honest and I I

I hope that um not only do I hope that I’m wrong about that um but they they owe some get back for whatever reason I think last year we were talking about them playing the uh playing Charlotte they lost three out of the four meetings to Charlotte this year I think they

Played them early at the beginning of the Season lost to him in that particular game as well so I don’t know what the is issue is we just sat up here talking about against the Bulls the Styles making fights and everything else they got to have an answer for Miles

Bridges that doesn’t mean you you know you’re going to walk in there and they’re going to lay down for you just because they’re seven and 21 record at home they’re also on a two game win streak exactly yeah and you don’t hear that very often about the Charlotte

Hornets so you know I I think that um I think that you know they’ve I think that as long as the Hawks treat this situation not like it’s just a another game yeah um and not reading the name on the front of the jerseys being the Charlotte Hornets I think that they’ll

Come away and be victorious but it’s going to take a little bit more than just assuming so and talking and saying it um that’s going to be able to you know get them to win right and Conference wins matter at this point it doesn’t matter who you get the win

Against or what their record is the most important thing is you have to get the conf conference win and you know this was one of those games where uh Jaylen Johnson was actually coming off the bench he was the second highest scorer for the Hawks so I think that bodess

Well now that he’s been inserted into the starting lineup and had a nice near double double game when they lost to the Hornets so I think that’s one you know critical key there that could make the difference uh I think two they didn’t get the greatest game from the bench

Like the unit just other than Jaylen Johnson nobody else from the unit showed up so I think if you could do your part bench unit and you could actually show up I think that’s a good look and that should at least put them in position to

Get a win and I think also having Jaylen Johnson inserted into the starting lineup should help we hope that Ona won’t have any problems because the word is that Clint won’t come back until after the All-Star break so we definitely need everything to be okay with Ana kongu because we don’t want to

Have this conversation uh that we’re having tonight we don’t want to have this again Wednesday night and I think to that point with Jaylen Johnson coming back back he’s going to have his hands full he’s going to have his hands full potentially with um helping out somehow

Some way in making sure that the front court for the Hawks shows up a bit better but honestly I think it also boils down to this we know that um at the end of the day the Hawks back court we’ll just call it an off day because we

Did agree that we didn’t it felt like yeah we didn’t see anything show that yeah we didn’t see anything that shows that they were reverting back to how they played 10 games ago I think we still saw shades of that and I think they’ll do a reset and they’ll be just

Fine on true Wednesday indeed so we appreciate you guys for stopping by the lock on Hawks postcast as always and remember to like And subscribe to our YouTube channel for more on the Hawks of course check out our guy Brad Roland on locked on Hawks and we will see you guys postcast Wednesday

Night

A total of 4 players scored 20+ points en route to a double-digit win for the Chicago Bulls over the hosting Atlanta Hawks. Although a typical scoring night for DeMar DeRozan and career scoring night for Ayo Dosunmu, Atlanta’s bench outscored Chicago and outrebounded the Bulls despite yet another absence from Clint Capela.

Why was Chicago’s style so hard to match up against?

Did the Hawks’ backcourt take a step back?

How desperate do the Atlanta Hawks need a win (Wednesday @Charlotte) going into the All-Star break?

Should Saddiq Bey become the team’s permanent starter in the place off Deandre Hunter?

#atlantahawks #chicagobulls #truetoatlanta #nba #easternconference #liftaswefly

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