[Radii]

April 7, 2013

Atlanta (36-41) at Charlotte(36-41)

CHA:ATL
89:96 OVR
81:99 OFF
92:92 DEF

We beat Atlanta by 7 at their place in a game I played out earlier in the year. They've upgraded from Al Horford to Al Jefferson at center, otherwise they look the same. The last time we played Padgett put up 41.

Atlanta Scouting


PG Neil Grady - 78 OVR - 10.5 ppg/4.1 apg - Grady had a huge jump after starting as a rookie. He improved 5 points OVR from the last time we saw him. B+ hands/B- inside/B+ outside, and he can defend a good deal too.

SG Joe Johnson - 91 OVR - 23.9 ppg/6.6 apg - Johnson's scoring is down slightly but he's still a superstar at age 31. A- hands/A- defense/A- inside/A outside... no weakness.

SF Marvin Williams - 77 OVR - 12.6 ppg/6.3 rpg - Williams shooting is way down this year, he's under 40% from the field. Average defense, average rebounding, B inside/A- outside.

PF Josh Smith - 84 OVR - 15.9 ppg/7.9 rpg - Improved 2 points OVR from last year, B- rebounder, B- post D, B inside, he can play and guard outside too.

C Al Jefferson - 90 OVR - 16.3 ppg/9.4 rpg - A+ rebounder, A+ inside, B- post D, we're obviously worried about Atlanta with Johnson and Jefferson in the lineup.

Backup guard Jess Nelson is rated 72 OVR and scores 7 points/game. Backup big man Zaza Pachulia is rated 69 OVR and scores 4.5 a game.

First Quarter

Atlanta 30
Charlotte 26

Atlanta leads pretty much the entire quarter. Joe Johnson and OJ Mayo have a pretty good battle, but Johnson definitely is ahead. Johnson has 12 points/3 boards/2 assists after 1. Mayo has 11 points. Felton 7, Wallace 4, Padgett 4. No one else on Atlanta has more than 4 yet.


Second Quarter

Atlanta 56
Charlotte 47

We just struggled a ton this quarter, with about 4 minutes left we actually were down 48-34 and went on a quick run to cut it back below 10. Joe Johnson still only has 12, backup guard Nelson has 8, Smith 8, williams, Jefferson and Grady 6 each. Atlanta is shooting 53% for the game. Mayo leads us with 16, Padgett and Felton both had good quarters and have 12 and 10 respectively. We're just shooting 44%.


Third Quarter

Atlanta 90
Charlotte 79

Defense? No, none of that here. Jesus, Atlanta is going to hit 125 today. Mayo and Padgett continue to lead Charlotte, each of them have 26. Felton has 12 points/9 assists. Wallace has been a non-factor. Joe Johnson continues to dominate and has 21 points and 4 assists. Four other Hawks are in double figures, Smith, Williams, Nelson and Grady. grady has 10 points/10 assists for a double double. This is yet another game where the shooting is just a little too good, 56% for Atlanta, 51% for us. I have to decide if I want to try to tweak those numbers or not.

We had the lead down to 6 at one point, 70-64, Atlanta went on a 11-3 run though and led 81-67 for their biggest lead of the game so far.

Fourth Quarter

8:45 to go - We score the first four fo the quarter and force Nelson to take a terrible shot, instead of getting teh ball with a chance to cut the lead to 5 or less, Atlanta gets the board, kicks it to Johnson for a 3 and they put the lead back up to 10. Its 97-85 right now, and things are looking a bit dim.

6:50 to go - A couple bad possessions, we had it down to 9 again but Atlanta has run off 6 in a row and leads by 15. I get a timeout and get all starters in, Padgett was resting.

5:40 to go - We score a pretty quick 6 straight, Mayo with two and Wallace with four, though he missed a free throw on a 3 point play. Felton just got a steal and hit Wallace for a breakaway jam. Its 103-94.

4:30 to go - Grady has hit a couple tough jumpers lately. Its now 107-97, our ball. I get Sparks in for the tiring chandler and call a timeout to rest everyone else up a bit.

2:40 to go - Its 109-101 Atlanta. We seem to be blowing chance after chance to cut it any closer than 7 or 8. Wallace misses an open jumper, we have a defensive lapse, etc. There's still time but we're desparate.

1:05 to go - We get it under 8 but not until we have TWO straight drives to the hoop blocked in impressive fashion. Felton and Mayo both get by their men and I am convinced I have a layup if not a thunderous dunk, and Jefferson comes out of nowhere and stuffs it. We play some D though and get a few stops in a row. Its now 111-105.

0:52 to go - Sparks fouls Jefferson, I'd hoped for a clean block but nope. Jefferson hits both, its 113-105.

Padgett hits a tough shot, but Williams matches it on the Hawks end. We can't score on our end and the game is going to end without us being able to mount a serious comeback.

Atlanta 115
Charlotte 107


Mayo: 33 points
Padgett: 32 points/6 boards/3 blocks
Wallace: 17 points/8 boards
Felton: 12 points/12 assists
Sparks: 6 points/4 boards
Chandler: 5 points/6 boards


For the high scoring Hawks, Johnson leads the way with 26. Grady has 18 points/10 assists, Williams 17 points/9 boards, Smith 16, Jefferson 14 points/11 boards/2 blocks. Atlanta has 7 blocks total on the game.


That doesn't completely seal our playoff fate, but down 1 game with 4 left, and I'm pretty sure Atlanta has secured the tiebreaker, we need lots of help.