The Tilt
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Atlanta Already Gave Trae Young His Ovation
Trae Young has already had his State Farm Arena homecoming - a tribute video, a standing ovation, No. 11 jerseys in the stands - and he could not play in any of it. Friday is the first time this city has to watch him actually play there.
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Half the Trae Young Trade Has Been a Coach's Decision
Atlanta sent a franchise point guard to Washington in January and got two players back, and one of them has been a coach's decision in half of Atlanta's games. The math on the other one is where this gets uncomfortable.
Atlanta Spent Three Days Arguing About the Wrong Hawk
Atlanta spent three days arguing about whose jump shot broke the season. The man leading the team in scoring was never in the conversation, and tonight he put up 34.
Hawks Haiku of the Day
The bench all in black,
four of five starters were not.
Fifteen was the gap.
— Ray Piedmont · Hawks
Atlanta Scored Twenty-Six in the Paint and Still Won
The shot Atlanta spent three days arguing about had the best night it has had all season, and the win was still four points. The number that collapsed was the one nobody was arguing about.
Two Hawks Are Shooting the Same Eight of Thirty-One
Saturday the city blamed Onyeka Okongwu's jumper for a 3-4 start. Sunday it blamed Jalen Johnson's, and both men are shooting the identical 8 of 31 from three across the identical seven games.
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Seventy-Four Games Already Answered This
Thursday night Onyeka Okongwu made four three-pointers and the write-up I read led on his rebounds instead. Saturday he missed all five inside the worst shooting night Atlanta have had this season, and the shooting became the only thing anybody could see.
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Atlanta Led for Four Percent of It
I spent two pieces arguing that Atlanta's ball pressure was real, and Monday night in Houston it finally showed up. It did not make the trip home. What beat Atlanta on Wednesday was happening in the two places pressure has never been able to reach.
Atlanta Have Won Twice and Nobody Here Has Seen It
Atlanta are 2-2 and both of those wins happened in other people's buildings, including the forty-seven-point one. The only basketball this city has paid to watch in person this season ended in a loss.
Tilted Metrics
Hawks
Two-Game Win Streak
TILT ATL
60 IN TWO
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has scored 60 points across Atlanta's two straight wins, hitting 15 of 29 from three in them.
Nov 2 at Indiana and Nov 4 at Washington
Hawks
Home Record
TILT ATL
1-2 AT HOME
Four of Atlanta's five wins have come on the road, and only three of its nine games have been at State Farm Arena.
Nine games played, Oct 21 - Nov 4
Hawks
Cup Group Play
TILT ATL
2 IN 3 DAYS
Atlanta beat Washington 120-105 in D.C. on Wednesday and hosts the same team Friday in NBA Cup group play.
Nov 4 road win, Nov 6 home Cup game
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