Atlanta Spent Three Days Arguing About the Wrong Hawk

Atlanta put the wrong man on trial.

Three days of this city arguing about whose jump shot broke the season. Onyeka Okongwu's on Saturday. Jalen Johnson's on Sunday, and again this morning. Nobody filed a word about the guy leading the team in scoring.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker went for 34 in Indiana tonight. Nine of fifteen from three. Season highs in both, set on a night Johnson sat with a sprained left ankle.

Here is the part that does not need tonight at all.

Alexander-Walker was averaging 19.3 before tip. That was already the most on this roster. Johnson was at 18.3. So the argument this city has been having since Saturday was about its second-leading scorer. The leading one was 22 of 62 from distance across those seven games, 35.5 percent against the 39.9 he shot last season, and getting discussed by nobody.

Then he made nine in one night.

I'm 68% sure the best scorer on this team is the one nobody has written an angry post about, and the receipt is that he led the roster in points a game before he ever had his best game.

Simone measured the argument correctly this morning: a number two men can be blamed for inside three days is a container, not an explanation. No notes. My problem is the name somebody dropped in it.

Atlanta won 108-104 over six available Pacers on the second night of their back-to-back. The result is small. The misdirection is not.

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