Court Vision: Hawks rest starters, keep things close in loss to Wizards
Here are six reasonably quick takes on the Hawks' 108-99 loss to the Washington Wizards, a surprisingly entertaining and fluid game ... considering both clubs had little to play for during the final week of the regular season:
1. The first quarter was a blur for the Hawks, in a bad way.
After Mike Muscala buried a three-pointer to open the scoring, the Wizards rebounded with a frenetic 31-11 run -- including five made triples during that span.
At first blush, it had the makings of a 48-minute debacle for an Atlanta team that had already achieved its seasonal goals of claiming the Southeast Division title, the No. 1 playoff seed in the East and the hallowed 60-win mark (thus breaking the franchise's own record for victories -- 57).
But eventually, Atlanta (60-20) found its footing and made things competitive for the final three quarters -- which wasn't easy, given the eminently restful state of the shorthanded Hawks.
2. Let's be honest: Watching a late-season clash between clubs that have already clinched playoff berths may be no different than a random preseason game.
Not a single member of the Hawks' traditional starting five -- Kyle Korver, Al Horford, Paul Millsap (mild shoulder injury), Jeff Teague, DeMarre Carroll -- took the court Sunday.
And even in victory, the Wizards (46-34) have already lost a potential tiebreaker with the Bulls (48-32) for the No. 4 seed ... meaning, as the No. 5, they won't have home-court advantage against Chicago in the Eastern quarterfinals.
Which brings us to this ...
3. Should the Hawks feel guility for benching their entire starting quintet on the same night, since premium seats for Wizards games don't come cheap?
The short answer is no.
The slightly longer answer would be ... uh, no.
Bottom line: If you're buying Wizards tickets for the 80th game of the season, you should have full anticipation of two circumstances before heading into the arena:
a) Given the strength of the Wizards' roster, and last year's playoff success (advancing to the Eastern semifinals), Washington fans should want their hometown club to have a playoff slot wrapped up -- as a means of getting extra rest before the postseason hysteria launches next weekend.
b) If the Wizards were engaged in a meaningful outing for Game No. 80 ... it would hopefully be for the division title.
As such, forward-thinking NBA fans should embrace the following mantra for teams already looking ahead to the playoff grind:
Get in, get out ... no one gets hurt.
Pretty simple, huh?
4. It was cool to see four low-key Hawks score in double figures against the Wizards (Mike Scott, John Jenkins, Dennis Schroder, Shelvin Mack), showing off Atlanta's quality depth in emergency situations.
But coaches typically don't go deeper into the bench once the postseason bell rings; and unless we're talking about the Knicks and Magic from the other night (15 combined points for one quarter -- REALLY?), most NBA reserves have the ability to score and stuff stat sheets when given substantial minutes.
5. Forget about Kent Bazemore's numbers for the night (7 points/6 rebounds in 28 minutes).
His supreme athleticism on the John Wall blocked shot (help-side maneuver) and soon-thereafter power dunk on the break makes him a viable X-factor for the postseason.
In fact, with Thabo Sefolosha likely done for the season (broken fibula), Bazemore might have earned a battlefield promotion to the highly specialized role of "expert wing defender" -- in case the Hawks run into DeMar DeRozan (Raptors), Bradley Beal (Wizards), Jimmy Butler (Bulls), Jeff Green (Celtics), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) or even LeBron James (now with the Cavaliers) in the coming weeks.
6. For my money, Atlanta matches up better against Brooklyn (currently holding the 8th slot), compared to Boston (7th slot), Indiana (9th slot) and Miami (10th slot), which could be eliminated from playoff contention by night's end.
The Nets are the only team currently holding a playoff slot -- in either conference -- with a negative scoring differential for the season.
As a result, their middling defense would hardly confound the free-flowing, efficient and unselfish Hawks offense, in a half-court setting.
Plus, Brooklyn went 0-4 against Atlanta during the regular season ... a one-sided trend that typically extrapolates to the postseason, as well.
Unless we're talking about LeBron and Co. from last season -- when the Heat endured the public shame of a regular-season sweep to the Nets ... and then bounced Brooklyn in five games during the playoffs.
