Post Up: Hawks Fly High

by Holly MacKenzie/@stackmack

The Nets got the record. 0-18. Worst start in NBA history. And, man, did they get there in a fitting way. The Mavericks dismantled the Nets in the second quarter, blowing the game open as they shot 17-19 from the floor in the quarter. They were 81 percent from the floor in the first half. They scored just 12 points in the fourth quarter and still won by 16. They were led by former Net, Jason Kidd who had a great line of 16 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and five steals.

Hang in there, Nets. We’re with you.  At least, I am.

The Raptors gave up 33 points. 42 points. 39 points and 32 points in four quarters to the Hawks. I wasn’t expecting a W, but my goodness, I was expecting more. After losing to the Wizards at home, I was expecting some soul-searching and digging deep down to pull out a spirited effort. The only spirit in ATL was the mascot. The Hawks had nine players reach double-figures. The last time that happened was December. Of 1987.

CoCo, I’m sorry for not believing in your team like I should. Bibby, Horford, Smith x2, Johnson, Williams, Crawford, Teague, Pachulia. I see you.

Another gross game was the Suns/Cavs as Phoenix appeared to be tired from playing in NYC the night before (although, I can’t figure out why, since they didn’t show up for the entire game against the Knicks, so they should have been fairly rested), and scored just 14 points in the first quarter, trailing by 19 at the end of the first quarter. From there, it was all Cleveland as the Cavs had seven players in double-figures and won big despite LeBron finishing with just 12 points (and eight rebounds and 10 assists).

The Knicks lost to Orlando, but the real news in that one was the benching of Nate Robinson. I’m not sure what’s going on between Rob and D’Antoni, but it’s not good. D’Antoni addressed the benching by saying, “We want to win and if he’s conducive to winning then he’ll obviously be back in the lineup. If not he’s not.” Yikes.

While all of the blowouts were going on, Milwaukee and Washington gave us a battle, with the Wizards winning their second straight, on the second night of a back-to-back, 104-102 as Earl Boykins again came to the rescue late, draining two free throws with one second remaining to win the game for his new team after Brandon Jennings hit a three to tie the game at 102 with 10.5 seconds to go. Loved hearing Nick Young call Boykins, “mini mouse,” loved Arenas scoring 22 points to go with nine assists and really loved Young finishing with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

I still think Young’s going to turn into a really, really good NBA player.

I also think Scott Skiles has got to be one wild guy to play for. Did you see the technicals in the first quarter? He flew onto the court after that ref. Can’t imagine how heated he can get in practice when things are not going how he’d like.

Memphis and Minnesota also gave fight, with Memphis coming out on top, 97-95 after Ramon Sessions got to the line, missed the first free throw and had to intentionally miss the second, with the TWolves unable to grab the board. Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph scored 20 points apiece for the Grizzlies while Ryan Gomes was tops with 20 for the Timberwolves. Seeing Sessions in the fourth, felt like the most I’ve seen of him all season. This means I need to watch more Minnesota games. I really haven’t seen enough of Jonny Flynn this season. He finished with 12 points and nine assists in the loss.

Russell Westbrook with a career-high 15 assists as the Thunder took down Philly 117-106. Kevin Durant had 33 on the night and the Sixers wait for Iverson. Also, shout out to Nick Collison for his 18 points off of the bench on 8-for-9 shooting.

26 points. five rebounds. six assists. Tyreke Evans. His shot kills but, but my goodness he’s fun to watch, isn’t he? I haven’t seen enough of the Kings this season either and I’m committing myself to watching more Timberwolves and more Kings. Flynn and Evans deserve it. The Kings are 9-8. Who thought that was coming? I certainly did not. #Kingsipromisetowatch

Oh yeah, how weird was it watching Dwight in those retro Magic unis?

Or how great it was watching Mickael Pietrus drain three after three against the Knicks?

Didn’t like the Chicago fans booing Ben Gordon. At all.

Perhaps my favorite moment of the night was seeing Jrue Holiday pull up and drain a pair of three-pointers. They didn’t contribute to the win (Philly lost), but they were fun. The loss was Philly’s eighth straight. dun.dun.dun. Here comes Allen I!