Hawks VS Celtics (Game 6)

Hawks Win Series 4-2

The Hawks closed out the series last night. They played great and look like they are looking forward to their match up vs the Cavs. Let's just take a look at what the Hawks did this game that they must carry over to next series.

This Hawks team played great defense. They had amazing defensive rotations and were very, very sound defensively. They had the Celtics shooting just 36.2% from the field. They were contesting tons of shots, not allowing any easy points from the Celtics. This defense was so great. I can see them really pressuring LeBron next series when he tries to drive and they might let him take outside shots as well. The Hawks seem like they can handle the Cavs defensively, but what about offensively?

The Hawks were great offensively. 6 players had at least 10 points. Horford was back on track as he had 15 points. Millsap had 17. The team shot 51.4% from 3. They were getting off great shots as well. They shot very well in the paint, in fact, they had 48 points in the paint. They are going to need to cut down the turnovers because they had 18 of them on the night. If the Hawks are going to win next round, Horford and Millsap are going to have to take over in the post. Millsap needs to just destroy Love. I think that the Cavs would be smart to start Mozgov on Horford for a better defensive matchup. If the Hawks can make shots like they did last night, they will be in the position to win against them.

I really enjoyed watching this series. It was nice that they had a couple of games that were close and 1 even went into overtime. The Hawks now most prepare for their next series, because they have a tough road ahead of them. If anyone can do it, it's the Hawks!

Fantasy Fridays: Centers

It is the last of the positions that we have covered that you need for a great overall fantasy team. They are the main rebounders, blockers, and low post scorers. In order for your team to be successful, you need centers. So why not get the best of the centers? Here are the top ten.

10. Dwight Howard: Yes, it is Superman himself. Averaging 15.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.3 Blocks per game, and 1.2 APG, Dwight Howard had a pretty good season stats wise. But last season, we learned that Superman wasn't as invincible as we thought. Despite averaging pretty good numbers last season, Dwight Howard played only 41 games. That's half the season. Yeah, pretty bad, am I right? So if you do grab Dwight, buyer beware, he could be out for half the season.

9. Al Horford: The Hawks had a great season partially because of him. And he is one heck of a fantasy player. I really think anybody who gets him will profit. While he averaged 15.2 PPG, 1.3 Blocks, 7.2 rebounds, and 0.9 steals, his assisting numbers were what caught my eye. Last season he averaged 3.2 APG! You will definitely find numbers that you won't get from any other centers with Al Horford.

8. Brook Lopez: He demonstrated last year that he has the ability to stay healthy as he played in 72 games. And last year, he had some great numbers as he averaged, 17.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.8 Blocks, and 0.6 steals. While you do have the risk for him to be injured, Brook Lopez can be really productive, especially now that Deron Williams is gone. Are you willing to take the risk is what you have to ask yourself.

7. Al Jefferson: Big Al had an okay season last year, but it was a big disappointment from the season he had before. In the 2013-14 season, Al averaged 21.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 Blocks. I mean, that is wonderful numbers there Al. But last season, everything dropped except for his blocks. His points went down to 16.6 PPG, and his rebounds went down to 8.4 RPG. Al might just have a rebound season however. He very well could. If he does, it will be rewarding.

6. Nikola Vucevic: This man had a breakout season, last season as he averaged 19.3 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2 APG, and shot 52% from the field. He is not the best defensively but he will get you rebounds and score. He is going to most likely a sleeper so watch him closely and get him if he is a steal.

5. Marc Gasol: As great of a player Marc is, he is not the best when it comes to fantasy. However, Marc is still at the beginning of his career, and can improve offensively, he is a great defender. Last season he averaged 1.9 blocks and 0.9 steals. One thing that many people miss when they look at Marc's stats is his assisting number. Last season, he averaged 3.8 APG, along with 17.4 PPG, and 7.8 RPG. He is a good fantasy player, don't sleep on him.

4.  Hassan Whiteside: One of the best fantasy pickups that has ever happened from the waivers, happened last season. That was when Hassan had 12 blocks, 14 Points, and 13 Rebounds on Nation television. And Hassan will most likely see a big increase in playing time and I do expect him to become an all-star this next season. I do expect a lot of blocks, rebounds, and points from Hassan this season.

3. Greg Monroe: I honestly think that Greg Monroe will have his best season yet. After having a double-double season last year, Greg Monroe is at the best point of his life, and I expect him to average about 20 PPG, and 12 RPG. Not to mention, he might not be a great blocker, but Monroe can definitely steal the ball as he averaged 1.1 steals last year. Greg Monroe will be a great player to have on your fantasy team.

2. DeAndre Jordan: He lead the league in rebounds (15) and field goal percentage (71%). Not to mention he averaged 1 steal per game and 2.3 blocks. He only scores 12.1 PPG but scoring should be the reason why you got him. DeAndre Jordan is a player unlike any other. Get him if you can.

1. DeMarcus Cousins: He averaged 24.1 PPG last season along with 12.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.5 Steals, and 1.7 blocks. He may average 4.3 turnovers and 4.1 fouls, but how can you argue with these stats. You really can't. He may have some downsides, but he is a beast on both offense and defense and is a great rebounder. Take DeMarc.

Well, there you have it, all five position worth of the top 10 fantasy players at their positions. If you want the other positions, click here. Well, hope you do well with your fantasy team. Until next week... Aaron Jaros. 

Hawks VS Wizards (game 5)

Final Score: Hawks win 82-81



Hawks lead series 3-2

Horford Traveled. That's the first thing I yelled when I saw that play. I waited for the call. It never came. I left the room so mad, not because the Hawks won, but because the NBA rules and the refs let the team win the game illegally. You can't replay this and fix it and all 3 refs missed the travel. However, the Wizards made some mistakes themselves, let's take a look.

The Wizards need to do better with help defense. they don't help and then the wrong people help and then others don't cover the people they should have been covering. It was just a mess. I looked at every defensive play that the Hawks scored on and over half of them had problems with help defense. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. They really need to fix this problem. Next, Gortat doesn't read what the defense is doing. If he is double teamed he puts up a shot and if he has a lane, he doesn't take it. They did a good job of finding the open guy on the weak side though. They also have situations where they need to do better on screens. There was poor communication and that needs to be addressed. They sometimes need to switch and sometimes need to get back on their man. The defense for the Wizards was just horrible.

The Hawks played good overall. They did have streaks where they missed shots and committed a lot of turnovers at once. They had 23 turnovers total. They also need to get back on their man and stop double teaming people. They really need to cut down on that. Jeff Teague looked lost on defense a lot of times. He just looked like he didn't know what was happening, he would walk away from his man. Someone else would guard him and he would just stand there and not find someone. He was really lazy and it just wasn't Teague. I don't know if he was tired or whatever, but he needs to play better defense. Mike Muscala played great defense and did a great job setting screens. He slipped a couple of the screens which got him great open looks. He also did a great job of using pump fakes and pass fakes. The Hawks need to win 1 of their next 2 games. Can they do it? Well, they have some mistakes to fix first.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 4)

Final Score: 106-101



Series tied 2-2

This was a crucial game. A must win for the Hawks. They needed to win or else, elimination could have been right around the corner. How did they win, and what do they need to do next game. Let's take a look.

Jeff Teague hit a very clutch 3 pointer. Teague just had a great game. You could tell, he didn't want to lose. He hit shots, but he also found his teammates open in the lane and on the perimeter. Dennis Schroder did a great job of attacking the rim. I was very impressed with that. This Hawks team needs to play better perimeter defense as they are allowing too much on the inside and from 3. The Hawks had a total of 30 assists and it wasn't just one person contributing to that. 3 people had at least 6 assists. One thing that they should do is try to get Kyle Korver involved in the offense more. He has been horrible this series and they need to get him going. The thing I loved the most was how they got Horford involved in the offense. Horford had a total of 70 touches and he got off 18 shots.

The Wizards are suffering without John Wall. They miss the passing effect he has had on the game. If someone was open, he would get them the ball. Without him, it's tough. Ramon Sessions doesn't have nearly the offensive or defensive game that Wall has. Players have stepped up though. Will Bynum has played great and he had 10 points off the bench in the last game. Bradley Beal played a great game but he couldn't carry his team. He 34 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and a big block on Schroder. He needs others to make shots though. Without John Wall, that's hard to do. Can they win without John Wall? Tell me what you think.

Hawks VS Nets (game 5)

Final Score: Hawks win 107-97



Hawks lead series 3-2

The Hawks got their game together. And Deron Williams lost his again. I guess it was just a one game kinda deal. The Hawks could put it away next game. Let's breakdown what they have to do.

The Hawks have done okay in this series but they picked it up in this game to the great old Hawks like the time they won all those game in the regular season. I really want to give credit to Jeff Teague who had 9 of his 20 points and 3 of his 8 assist in the 4th quarter. He was such an important in the fourth. Horford just needs to keep doing what he's doing. He had a double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds with 2 blocks and 2 steals to go along with that. One thing that bothered me was Paul Millsap's play. He only had 10 points in the game. It wasn't much of a concern though. He just couldn't hit shots. In fact, he passed the ball, set screens and really helped out his team. He just couldn't hit shots. Hopefully he can do better next game and the Hawks can put this series away.

The Nets played okay. They played great in the fourth but the Hawks always had an answer on the offensive end. Alan Anderson had a great game coming off the bench. He ended the game with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Deron Williams had 5 points in the game. Not to mention, the team was horrible with him on the court. Deron Williams had a low offensive rating of 97.8 and a horrible defensive rating of 117 when he was on the court. They played best when Jarrett Jack was on the floor. People that say it's because Deron Williams is playing with his ankle hurt, I don't buy that one bit. Deron Williams ran a total of 2.26 Miles while running an average of 4.14 MPH. So don't tell me that he's hurt. The team did great from three point range and I would look for them to shoot more threes. Other than that, there isn't much they can do.

Hawks VS Nets (game 2)

Final Score: Hawks win 96-91



Hawks lead series 2-0

"Deron Williams for the tie! No Good! He Missed the Wide Open Jumper!" This was the most disappointing game for Deron Williams yet and the Hawks took the win. I will break down this win here. Let's start with the Nets.

The Nets kept it close the whole game. Jarrett Jack had a great overall game as he played a big part in that game. And guess what! Teletovic is back. He only played about 4 minutes, but still, it's nice to see him on the floor. Deron Williams really has to step up in this series though. He only had 2 points and missed a game tying shot. Also, point guards Jarrett Jack and Deron Williams had a combined 7 turnovers. You can't have that happen, especially against a great transition team like the Hawks. Thaddeus Young only had 2 points as well. The Nets need some more players to step up in this series if they are to get a win.

The Hawks had another great team win. Carroll Had an off game but the rest of the team stepped it up. One thing that they need to bring up though, is their Field Goal %. They shot under 40% from the field. Al Horford had a great game and a near triple-double. He 14 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks. Great game. If they keep this up, I expect them to sweep this series if they can bring their Field goal % up.