Going inside the Atlanta Hawks' 107-77 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night at Philips Arena:
1. Hawks aren't struggling with the elite teams
There's still a good chance the Hawks enter 2015 with a single-digit loss total (21-8), and with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the same Milwaukee Bucks that ran them off the floor on Friday night still on this year's schedule it's difficult to figure which team is the biggest threat for Loss No. 9.
Milwaukee snapped Atlanta's impressive five-game winning streak with their dominating performance, without No. 2 pick Jabari Parker no less. The win does push the Bucks above .500, but they're still not on the same level with the teams the Hawks have been beating during their run of 14 wins in 15 attempts. The Hawks were coming off a string of wins over Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles ... if Milwaukee jumps any of those teams in the standings this season it'll be a surprise. In fact, the Hawks' past two losses have come to teams with a combined 24-31 record at the time of the game (Bucks, Magic). Throwing in the losses to the Lakers and Hornets, and the Hawks have had more relative trouble with teams that are .500 or worse than title favorites.
"We couldn't find any rhythm against (the Bucks)," Kyle Korver said.
For this game in particular, it was simply an off night. Coach Mike Budenholzer's offense was off in the worst way, and Milwaukee's simply was not.
The Bucks shot 50.6 percent from the floor, including better than 42 percent 3-point range, and knocked down 19 of their 22 free throws. The Hawks were much, much worse.
"I think you've got to give Milwaukee a lot of credit, they played really well tonight. They did a lot of things: shot the ball well, different guys," Budenholzer said. "We've got to do things defensively to make it a lot harder for them. We obviously didn't have a good night for us offensively, and just overall a lot of areas where we can improve and get better."
These losses happen. In an 82-game schedule, teams on the wrong end of the standings upend better teams all the time. (Also, even without Parker, the Bucks looks bound for the playoffs in a weak Eastern Conference.) The Hawks will have an opportunity to bounce back at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Saturday, and if their still-strong trend of 14 wins in 16 games is any hint, they will.
2. Jared Dudley enjoyed a perfect shooting night
The Bucks shot the lights out in the month of December, but eight-year forward Jared Dudley enjoyed the rare perfect evening on the shot chart. The Boston College product has traditionally shot better against the Hawks than almost every other NBA opponent, but hoisting up double-digit shot attempts and not missing a single time is quite a feat.
Dudley finished the game with 24 points, shooting a flawless 10 for 10 from the floor, including four 3-pointers. He didn't attempt a free throw, but did add four rebounds and four steals off the bench.
"Defensively we weren't on the same page," Korver said. "Physically, I felt like we were there. I thought mentally maybe we were still on Christmas break a little bit."
These nights are pretty rare, too. Over the past five seasons, only eight other players have attempted 10 or more field goals and made every one of them in a single game.
Only Brooklyn's Jarrett Jack has done so for the 2014-15 campaign, matching Dudley's 10 for 10 performance for 23 points against the Golden State Warriors in November.
3. Hawks' offense suffers through arguably least efficient night of the season
Built around ball movement and a best-shot-available mentality, the Hawks offense ranks eighth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. It's a staple that, game after game, they bank on. For 21 games this season, it's paid off.
When it's not clicking, it can be a strange sight.
The Hawks committed a season-high 22 turnovers on Friday night, and offset that undesirable total with just 20 assists. It was the first time this season that Atlanta logged more turnovers than assists -- and just the fourth instance in Budenholzer's tenure. The second-year head coach didn't surprise anyone with his answer on what went wrong on offense.
"Turnovers and when we did get a shot we didn't shoot it well," Budenholzer said. "I think that's a credit to their defense, particularly the turnovers, but I think the poor shooting percentage too I thought their defense and their activity was good. We're gonna have to take care of the ball better."
15: The Bucks logged 15 steals on Friday night, tied for the second-most thefts against the Atlanta Hawks over the past two seasons. Five different players logged double-digit steals.
7: Hawks forward Paul Millsap posted his seventh double-double of the season with a 22 point-11 rebound effort.
"We weren't very sharp, but we get to play them again tomorrow. That's the beauty of the NBA." -- Kyle Korver
