- 2 days ago
The Hawks have done well to rip off 9 straight wins, but it's been the easiest stretch of their season by strength of schedule. Against a fellow Eastern Conference contender in the Orlando Magic, the new-look Hawks have a chance to put the league on notice.
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00:00There is a big game tonight at State Farm Arena. Will the real Hawks please stand up?
00:07Atlanta! What's going on? It's Dukes and Bell on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game.
00:10We start off every day and every hour by saying,
00:13Hey, man! Mike Bell, we're going to find out a lot about our Atlanta Hawks.
00:17Not that the Orlando Magic are the defending champs, but they've been on a hot streak of their own.
00:23They have one of the best players in Paulo Bancaro, and the bottom line for us is we've played a
00:28bunch of bums, okay?
00:29And I'm not taking anything away from the Hawks at this point in the season.
00:33But this nine-game win streak, which has been great, has come at the expense of teams that are either
00:39tanking, I said it, or not any good.
00:42And so now, Mike, you're going to play a legitimate playoff team in Orlando.
00:46You're battling for playoff spots. We're talking about trying to get into the top six.
00:50Tonight, for me, is the biggest game of the season for the Hawks.
00:53And I didn't think I'd be saying that, Mike, at this point in the season. I really didn't.
00:56No, and you look at the kind of game the Magic plays, it's kind of like where we are now.
00:59I mean, they have point guards, but, you know, you think of, like, we're kind of point guard-less, but
01:03they kind of play a positionless game.
01:05You mentioned Bancaro, you know, Franz Wagner. They're not the composer.
01:09Anyway, Bain, you think Orlando is one-dimensional. They're not.
01:13They've got a bunch of guys that can fill it up.
01:15So this is a great contest, but you said it earlier.
01:17You know, you can't have it both ways.
01:18It goes, well, okay, who the Hawks beat?
01:20Well, they beat bad teams, and they beat the teams they're supposed to with this young nucleus, which, as the
01:25guys said, are coming together.
01:26Guys are still basically getting to know, playing each other in the half court.
01:29And we'll see if we get a little sort of mini-playoff atmosphere tonight against the Magic, because this game
01:33really matters for us.
01:34Yeah, and look, they took care of Milwaukee on that Saturday afternoon matinee.
01:39You know, and again, like, at the end of the day, this is what's impressed me.
01:43And I don't know if it's Quentin Snyder, Quentin, no disrespect, or if it's just you've got veteran players now
01:48who know how to get it done.
01:51CJ McCollum, Mike, has come in, and he's been really good, right?
01:54And then Na, which is Nikhil Alexander.
01:57Again, guys, playing experience matters.
01:59He's been on a Timberwolves team that's made runs to the Western Conference Finals over the last few years.
02:04I think all of this added to the talent of JJ and the reemergence of Zachary Rishashay, who's playing a
02:11lot better.
02:11All of a sudden now, you find yourself like, this is a team that's not only meshing, but Mike, I
02:16think you've got some guys that know how to get it done.
02:19Is that a function of Quentin Snyder and his coaching and development?
02:22Or is that just, you know what, you don't get these Aaron crazy plays that Trey was throwing out there
02:27when he was here.
02:28You're getting smart play by a veteran guard in CJ McCollum, who's scoring a lot of points, but also getting
02:33guys involved.
02:34Right, and we've talked about, you know, Ansi Saleh came on the show, and he talked about just that.
02:38He felt that Quentin is developing these guys.
02:40We talked about, okay, Okongo can hit the three.
02:42I don't really like him out there hitting those threes, but that's the way they're letting him play.
02:45But we've talked to Corey Kispert, and he said, you know, Coach gives you the confidence to take those shots.
02:49And they do.
02:50Now I just want to see how we evolve, because now these are, again, the game's getting tougher.
02:56Schedule gets more funky.
02:57Over-under, by the way, for the Hawks this year was 46.5.
03:00And we're 10 wins away from that.
03:02So that was the opening.
03:04I always thought that was a bit optimistic from Vegas, but now we've got a chance to get that and
03:09more.
03:10And as we said, the problem is everybody in the Eastern Conference is keeping on trucking.
03:13So you've still got the Raptors.
03:14We are two games behind them in the loss column, and maybe we can get to six, and then you've
03:19got a shot at the Knicks.
03:20But first things first, let's step up against a really athletic Orlando team that can score.
03:23The other thing about this, guys, is Dukes and Bells, Sports Radio 92.9 The Game, Hawks, Orlando tonight.
03:28You'll listen to it right here on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game, 6.30 pregame, tips at 7.
03:34They've been doing this, for the most part, without Kaminga.
03:36He's played a couple of games.
03:38Even in the last game he played, he had limited minutes.
03:41And we keep saying, all right, what's his team going to look like once he's out there full-time?
03:45I don't know when that's going to happen, Mike.
03:46We have Golden State coming up on the schedule here in a week or so.
03:50I think it's this next weekend.
03:51I'd love to see Kaminga play against his old team, but I don't know.
03:55Again, if he's not healthy and they want to make sure that he's going to be healthy for this stretch
03:59run and this playoff run,
04:00then they're going to hold him out.
04:01But that's the other interesting thing is you made this move, and you thought he was going to be the
04:06reason why you elevated.
04:07He hasn't played a whole lot.
04:08Yeah, and we don't know enough about him to dog him out the way we would dog out other Hawks
04:12players
04:12that have taken lots of games off or missed time, like the obligatory injuries for DeAndre Hunter, this and that.
04:17But yeah, now we're just trying to, you know, again, if you can get through the harder part of the
04:21schedule,
04:21but this is where we need Kaminga to be dialed in and out there on the floor.
04:24You mentioned how we've seen Reese Ache, kind of maybe more comfortable coming off the bench, right?
04:29And maybe that's his sweet spot.
04:30It is.
04:31Yeah, I think so.
04:32Tough for a number one seed, but that's, you know, we all know how that year of draft went.
04:36So you're right.
04:37Kaminga, be the man.
04:38And this is where we can match athleticism with athleticism.
04:40They've got a big front court.
04:41They've got a lot of size, man.
04:42And that's a team that, while we were all kind of even, I felt Detroit and Orlando kind
04:46of took a leap that we didn't take the last two years.
04:48I agree.
04:49404-726-0929.
04:51You guys can let us know what you think.
04:53And are you believing the Hawks?
04:55We'll take some of your phone calls.
04:57Magic City.
04:57Magic City.
04:58Magic City.
04:59Magic City.
05:00Here we go.
05:01Yes.
05:01Yes.
05:01Tonight was supposed to be the Magic City Monday night.
05:05And as Steve Coonan told us Friday on the show, there are some elements of this mic that
05:09retained, they retained, you're still going to get the lemon pepper wings, the eye's still
05:13going to perform, no, they're not selling the Magic City hoodies anymore, but there are
05:18some things that will be a part of this night tonight.
05:20And it's funny, we didn't want to get into it, we tried to get it out of Steve on Friday's
05:23show, but it's like, you know, they also, you're not going to get to wear your hoodie
05:26to the game.
05:27They didn't get the hoodies to you to wear the game, because, you know, Adam Silver, you
05:31know, the one time the guy grew his spine, said, no, no, no, it's too much, it's too
05:35much.
05:35Okay.
05:36So, yeah, you'll get that, I think, around another week.
05:38Did you say Christmas?
05:39Christmas?
05:39March 23rd.
05:40Oh, I thought you said Christmas.
05:41Unless your mailman steals it.
05:42Not that letter carriers would ever do that.
05:43No, look, I said to Steve, like, where's my hoodie, jokingly, but he was like, you guys
05:48will get them.
05:49Oh, ordered one, I think Day-Day did as well, so we had that conversation, but that's the
05:53unfortunate part of it, because I do think if they did send those things out, Mike, it
05:57still would have been a takeover tonight.
05:59You would have had a majority of the people still wearing them, just even if they said, oh, it
06:02wasn't going to happen, but you don't have to worry about that.
06:04You mentioned the size of Orlando, as we spend time talking about the Hawks, and here's
06:08the deal.
06:08Do you believe in what Quinn Snyder's doing?
06:11Do you think the moves that have been made make us a real contender in the East with the
06:16way that this team, guys, we're on the hottest streak of anybody in the NBA right now, okay?
06:20Nine games in a row.
06:22Again, hadn't done that since we won 60 games going back 14-15.
06:25Do you believe in what's going on right now?
06:27That's what I want to know at 404-726-0929.
06:30But, Mike, you mentioned they're a big team.
06:31They ranked seventh in the NBA, 51 points a game in the paint.
06:36Yeah, that's it.
06:37So, I know that we've talked about El Congu, and we've talked, again, I don't know, we've
06:41seen Jock Landale step in.
06:43Now, again, he's going to be going up against better athletes, but, you know, this is a night
06:46where you want to see how's your front court rotation handle some of that heat you're going
06:49to get.
06:49Yeah, I want to see how they play Paulo.
06:51He talks a lot.
06:53Right?
06:53Talks trash.
06:54He's got swagger.
06:55He's got swag.
06:56And I want to see how tough we are tonight.
06:58That's really what I'm watching for.
07:00I'd love to see us win, but you're on a nine-game streak.
07:03Okay, if we were to fall, fine.
07:05We're favored in this game by three and a half points.
07:07But my point is, like, I think you learn a little bit about your team tonight depending
07:11on how this game goes.
07:13There'll be some physicality.
07:14A lot of times, Paulo, Mike, he gets in the lane.
07:16He's just banging people out the way.
07:17He's just like, get out of my way, elbow, step back, boom, I'm getting to the basket.
07:21And we just kind of take that.
07:23So, I want to see Jalen show up tonight.
07:25You've shown up in games that didn't matter as much.
07:28What about ones that do?
07:30That's what I'm going to learn tonight about Jalen.
07:32Are you showing up in this game?
07:33Are you going to give me a triple-double tonight, Jalen Johnson?
07:35That's the question.
07:36Our last game, the last time we lost, it was a problem in the rebounding department.
07:41We got a rebounder by 12 by the Heat.
07:42And obviously, bam, out of Biles, I have something to say about that.
07:44But you're right.
07:45This is an athletic team.
07:46And this is the kind, as we said, how much of this can you go and use your transition game?
07:51Or are you going to see more of the half court?
07:52That's where not having the true point guard, I think, is going to hurt us.
07:55But we'll find out.
07:55We are going to find out.
07:56They are 8-2 in their last 10.
07:58We are 9-1 in our last 10, which is why this game gets so interesting tonight.
08:03We'll also lay out what the Eastern Conference looks like because that's the big picture standings.
08:07And look, when you start talking about head-to-head, right, all things equal.
08:12Mike just talked about the win total and what that may or may not look like.
08:16When we get to the end of the season, and if the Magic has beaten us during the season in
08:19the head-to-head matchups,
08:21we've beaten Philly or the Heat, all that stuff is going to calculate into whether or not we slide into
08:266 or 5, potentially.
08:28And right now, Orlando's sitting at 5, Toronto is at 6, and then you have the Miami Heat in front
08:33of us along with the 76ers.
08:34The good news is we've owned the Sixers.
08:36So, you know, you start talking about those head-to-head matchups.
08:38That's why tonight is also such a big deal.
08:40So, we'll see how we get it together on a night that should have been a lot of fun.
08:43But the NBA said, no, that's just too much fun for one team.
08:46Not really getting our culture.
08:48Again, we've talked a lot about all that.
08:50Meanwhile, Celtics have to really...
08:51Thanks a lot, Puritans.
08:52Yeah.
08:54Kill my fun with your petty morals.
08:56Anyway, yeah, I'd love to see us in that locked-in position, but just keep this momentum.
09:01And, again, don't all of a sudden just not handle your water because you're playing a team that's good.
09:05This is going to require an effort.
09:07You're the home team.
09:07It's come down to last possession.
09:09And, again, Quinn, this is where we've said, okay, let's see some of that Coach Genius stuff you were hired
09:14for.
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