Guest column: Roth on Buford for Executive of Year

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By Andy Roth

Following the San Antonio Spurs’ first-round elimination in the playoffs last season, most NBA observers, including myself, thought their days as championship contenders were behind them.

But Gregg Popovich’s team is firmly entrenched atop the Southwest Division with a 7 1/2 game lead over the Dallas Mavericks, and their 36-14 record is the fourth-best in the league.

San Antonio has accomplished all this despite the fact that former All-Star Manu Ginobili has missed 29 games, and was the team’s leading scorer when he went down on January 2 with a broken bone in his left hand that kept him sidelined until mid-February.

The Spurs have been one of the most successful franchises for more than a decade now, and a lot of the credit goes to a guy I call their secret weapon — general manager R.C. Buford, who has been with the team in various capacities since 1994, but seems to fly under the national radar.

Amazingly, he has never won the Executive of the Year Award.

R.C. should stand for the “right choice”, since he seems to always do just that when it comes to evaluating talent, in particular when it comes to the NBA draft — but also this year at the trade deadline.

Ginobili was the next-to-last pick (57th overall) in the 1999 draft. Tony Parker was taken with the 28th pick in the first round in 2001, while Tiago Splitter was selected at the very same spot in 2007. George Hill was the 26th selection in the first round in 2008 and DeJuan Blair was taken with the seventh pick (37th overall) in the second round in 2009.

Last year’s find by Buford wasn’t even via the draft. Guard Gary Neal, who went undrafted in 2007 and played one season in Spain and two in Italy, was signed by the Spurs after an impressive showing in the Las Vegas summer league.

When Ginobili went down, Parker obviously had concerns about losing such a talented and valuable player.”It’s going to be tough for us because he was playing at an All-Star level,” said Parker at the time of Ginobili’s injury.  “And now we’re going to have to have everybody pick it up.”

One of the guys that picked it up when he got the opportunity has been rookie Kawhi Leonard.

Buford targeted Leonard in the draft, and thought enough of him to deal their young, backup point guard George Hill to the Pacers in exchange for his draft rights. The Spurs apparently didn’t want to tip their hand and show their interest in Leonard prior to the draft, so they didn’t even have him in for a private workout.

It didn’t take long for Leonard to impress a very tough critic in Popovich, especially on the defensive end, as he invoked the name of a famous former Spurs player following Leonard’s first career start on Jauary 11.

“It’s huge for us to have a guy on the team that can do similar things to what Bruce [Bowen] did in the past,” Popovich said. “This young man’s got a lot to learn, but he’s very willing, very versatile, and I think he’s got the ability to be one heck of a player.”

The 6-7 Leonard, who can guard multiple positions, is aided in that effort by his tremendous length (his wing span is 7 feet, 3/8 inches) and freakishly large hands which measure 9 3/8 inches from wrist to middle fingertip.

I’m sure Leonard’s play contributed to the trade-deadline deal that sent starting small forward Richard Jefferson, along with a conditional first-round pick, to the Warriors for Stephen Jackson.

Buford already knows what Jackson can deliver, as he was part of the Spurs’ 2003 championship team. The deal also saves some valuable cap space and money in the future as Jackson has one more year left on his contract at just over $10 million,while Jefferson has two years remaining at just over $21 million.

With Jackson and Leonard at the “3″, the Spurs can make the likes of Kevin Durant work as hard as humanly possible if the teams meet in the Western Conference playoffs.

Following Jefferson’s departure, Leonard moved into the starting lineup with some very impressive results — and I’m not just talking about his stat line (10 games, 11.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 52% FG%). The number that counts the most is in the win column. The Spurs are 9-1 and are currently riding an 8-game winning streak since the trade.

As for the Spurs’ GM, his wheeling and dealing didn’t stop at the trade deadline. Buford signed forward Boris Diaw after he was bought out by the Bobcats, and signed point guard Patrick Mills, who was playing in China during the lockout and was a backup in Portland last season.

Diaw had fallen out of favor with head coach Paul Silas in Charlotte and wanted to play for a contending team.

There’s no doubt he was less than impressive this season with the Bobcats, but there’s basically little risk on the part of the Spurs, and in return, they get a player with plenty of playoff experience (39 games, 13.9 ppg).

The signing of Mills filled the void left by the sudden loss of T.J. Ford, who abruptly retired last month following another scare to his surgically repaired spine.

On the surface, Mills replacing Ford doesn’t seem like a very big deal, but there is a huge difference between the two players.

Ford was a marginal NBA player, while Mills is just 23-years old with plenty of upside. Scouting reports on Mills prior to the draft in 2009 noted his tremendous quickness and explosive first step. Our own Chris Sheridan told a story recently about his first look at Mills.

Thanks to Buford, the Spurs arguably have the deepest and best bench in the league. The fact that the Spurs are extremely serious title contenders when many prematurely wrote them off should earn Buford the long-deserved NBA Executive of the Year Award.

Andy Roth is currently a contributing NBA editor for The Sports Network. He covered the Knicks for NBC Radio and AP Radio for eleven years and was an NBA Columnist for Celtics Pride Magazine for two years. He’s covered many of the major sporting events, including the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, U.S. Open Tennis and Golf. 

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Hubbard: Keep this quiet; Spurs can win the title

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If there were rankings for the NBA’s overlooked and underestimated, the San Antonio Spurs would be No. 1. They are the contender people love to forget. That’s not to say they aren’t respected. Four titles since 1999 and the potent management duo of Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford translates to a substantial bottom line.

But the last few years, it seems that when championship aspirants are rated, any mention of the Spurs is followed with “yeah, well …  but …  they are too old and as boring as their uniforms, which could have been made in the ’50s and look just as good on black and white TVs as they do in color.”

That sort of attitude is fine with the Spurs, who play in one of the NBA’s smallest markets and, most of the time, make subtle changes that impress the purists and full-timers but not the masses.

Even before the trading deadline, the Spurs were positioned to compete for the NBA title. But when they managed to acquire the irascible Stephen Jackson for Richard Jefferson – a soaring talent who often crashed and burned in San Antonio – the Spurs suddenly became … favorites in the West?

Certainly the defending champion Mavericks took notice.

“That’s what they needed,” said Jason Terry, who played a year at the University of Arizona with Jefferson. “They wanted to get Jefferson out of there and if you can get Stephen Jackson for Richard Jefferson I would have done it, too. And (Jefferson is) a Wildcat. But that’s just a no-brainer.”

How far do the Spurs glide under the radar? Consider the negative generalization about them – their collective age.

And then look at an area that Popovich manages better than any NBA coach – minutes played.

Is anyone aware that the Spur who has averaged the third most minutes on the team is 20 years old? With Jefferson’s departure, only Tony Parker and Tim Duncan have averaged more minutes a game than rookie Kawhi Leonard’s 23.9.

Right behind Leonard is 24-year-old Danny Green, who has averaged 23.2 minutes. And three other players 27 and younger have averaged at least 20 minutes a game on a team with the fourth-best record in the NBA behind the Bulls, Thunder and Heat.

In all, Popovich has nine players averaging at least 20 minutes. Jefferson was the 10th and Jackson will likely replace most if not all of Jefferson’s minutes.

Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili still play major minutes, of course. And those three are the only Spurs who average in double figures.

But Popovich has long managed the season as merely a tuneup with no emphasis on where the Spurs are seeded. He coaches every game as if he is preparing for the championship series, and that has caused consternation among those who do not share his vision.

When the Spurs were in a stretch of three games in four nights in three cities – which was near the end of a nine-game road trip that stretched over the All-Star break – Popovich held a healthy Duncan and Parker out of a game in Portland.

Popovich was hit with a heavy dose of sanctimony after the Spurs were not competitive in a 137-97 loss. Wasn’t Popovich in essence dumping the game? Where was the commissioner’s office? What about the ticket-buying fans who were paying enormous prices to watch the Spurs jayvee team?

Popovich shrugged and compared it to a savings account.

“I can’t run our guys into the ground when it’s time for them to rest based on the schedule and the time they’ve been playing,” he said. “That’s what’s going to happen if you want to put some money in the bank for later.”

Popovich has coached that way for years, concentrating on the way the Spurs are playing – not their record. And he has been quizzed about his approach so many times that he makes light of the issue when it inevitably comes up.

Before the Spurs lost in Dallas Saturday night, Popovich was asked how important seeding was.

“Unbelievably important!” he said, raising his voice, flapping his arms and laughing.

And then he stated something that, for him, is obvious.

“Who knows?” he said. “We won (61) games last year. Remember we lost right away. One would think that maybe it doesn’t matter.”

The Spurs had the top seed entering the playoffs last season but an elbow injury to Ginobili limited his effectiveness in the first round and an opportunistic Memphis team won the series despite being the eighth seed.

“What it means is you do your best and whatever you are, you are and you go play,” Popovich said. “And you win or you lose and you go to dinner. That’s just what you do.”

The Spurs have built the second-best record in the West despite Ginobili missing 28 games with a hand injury and a muscle strain. He did not play in Friday at Oklahoma City, and Popovich has said he will not play Ginobili on back-to-back nights for the remainder of the season.

Despite Ginobili’s absence, the Spurs still won on the road against the team with the best record in the West. The reason? How about 15 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks from Duncan. The man may turn 36 next month and doesn’t put up those numbers every night.

But when needed, he can still provide.

Despite the Spurs’ success, Popovich said they still have work to do.

“We’re still kind of like in flux in a way,” he said. “We’re still trying to get Manu into the lineup in a meaningful way and we haven’t done it. We’re still (trying to find a) backup point guard and doing that with Gary Neal and Manu and Danny Green.

“Now we’re going to try and get Jack involved somehow or other. I’d rather have a rhythm right now to what we’re doing. We don’t really have that. We’re trying to get there, but circumstances just won’t allow it, so hopefully we can get it done before playoffs.”

Popovich said the Spurs are not playing as well on defense as they have in the past, even though they are second in points allowed with 93.3 per game.

The offense has been first-rate. The Spurs rank fourth in the NBA with 100.8 points per game. They are also first in 3-point percentage at .401.

And now, in Jackson, they’ve added toughness. The man who played a major role in the 2004 brawl between the Pacers and Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills has never backed down from a fight, which makes him very popular with teammates.

“He’s got an edge to him,” Popovich said. “I like his edge; I like his toughness, his grit; his willingness to play in big situations. All those sorts of things are what I like.”

“I’m all about my team,” Jackson said. “Whatever it takes to protect my teammates, to be with my teammates,  I’m going to ride it to the end. That’ all I know.”

Jackson was a key member of the Spurs’ 2003 championship team, averaging 12.8 points and 33.8 minutes during the playoffs.  And now, as he nears his 34th birthday next month, he may be the final ingredient needed for the Spurs to win a fifth title.

But keep that between us.

Jan Hubbard has written about basketball since 1976 and worked in the NBA league office for eight years in between media stints. Follow him on Twitter at @whyhub.

 

 

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T.J. Ford leaving Spurs, career might be over

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San Antonio Spurs guard T.J. Ford, who had an injury scare last week, is leaving basketball and may not return.

The Spurs announced Monday that Ford, one of their backup point guards, is taking an indefinite leave of absence from basketball activities this season. He suffered a stinger in Wednesday’s home win over New York, when he was hit in the back by Knicks guard Baron Davis and accidentally kicked in the head by teammate Tiago Splitter.

Ford remained on the floor for several minutes before being helped off.

Folks feared the worst when Ford went down because he has a long history of back and neck injuries. During the 2003-204 season while playing for Milwaukee, Ford was fouled by Minnesota’s Mark Madsen and suffered a spinal cord contusion.

The injury forced Ford to miss the entire 2004-05 season before being cleared to return by doctors.

“While this was a tough decision to make, it is what is best for me and my family at this time,” Ford said in a statement. “I have been blessed to play alongside wonderful teammates for great coaches and organizations from high school, to college, to the NBA. Regardless of what the future holds, I will carry the experiences, the friendships and the memories with me forever.”

That sounds an awful lot like Ford saying good-bye. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s statement had a similar tone.

“I congratulate him on all that he has achieved as a player and fully support the difficult decision he was forced to make,” Popovich said. “T.J. has a bright future ahead of him and will always be a member of the Spurs family.”

Ford was averaging 3.6 points and 3.2 assists in 14 games this season. Most of his playing time came early, when Gary Neal was recovering from an appendectomy.

In eight seasons with Milwaukee, Toronto, Indiana and San Antonio, Ford averaged 11.2 points and 5.8 assists in 429 games.

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Fantasy Spin: Sunday Feb. 19

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Ouch! I’d been touting Manu Ginobili as a buy-low trade target, anticipating that his minutes and production would improve as his left hand got stronger. Now he’s strained his oblique. There’s no official diagnosis yet, or an accurate prediction of how much time he’ll miss, but this is bad news for the Spurs, Manu and his fantasy owners. Hope you didn’t cut Danny Green or Gary Neal, whose value won’t be fading after all. Neal had 17 points yesterday, going 5 of 8 from downtown in 27 minutes off the bench. San Antonio did beat the Clippers in overtime for their tenth straight win, thanks to another great effort by Tony Parker. For L.A., Randy Foye got hot, which meant fewer minutes for Mo Williams. That timeshare had been trending the other way; Foye was 5-for-26 in his previous three games.

Saturday Night’s Alright

The Bulls were ambushed at home by a fired-up New Jersey team. Kris Humphries was a man possessed, with 18 rebounds and his second straight 24-point effort. Hump has made 31 of his last 43 shots. Deron Williams was brilliant, using his size advantage over C. J. Watson to score 29. Chicago just couldn’t get going; Joakim Noah was scoreless and Ronnie Brewer very quiet. Mike James, who played well off the bench, will become an afterthought once Derrick Rose is back. For the Nets, rookie MarShon Brooks played 41 minutes, Anthony Morrow a mere 14, as their fantasy values keep heading in opposite directions.

Monta Ellis had 33 and Stephen Curry 36 as the Warriors gave the Grizzlies quite a battle. Golden State could really use a center. Memphis again relied on six players, all in double figures. Marreese Speights (16 & 12) continues to play with more focus and energy; he could be a useful reserve — in reality and fantasy — even after Zach Randolph returns.

Something isn’t quite right with the Hawks. Jeff Teague went a miserable 1-for-10 from the floor, though he did play 29 minutes, and Kirk Hinrich was scoreless on 0-4 shooting in his 20 minutes off the bench. Willie Green has become the sixth man, though all he does is score, while Tracy McGrady is complaining about his lack of playing time. Portland blew them out by 20, as Raymond Felton had a much better game (14 PTS, 8 AST) and LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the lineup with a solid 19 PTS and 10 REB. As expected, Nicolas Batum continues to start. Last night he led all scorers with 22, adding 8 REB. Wesley Matthews isn’t exactly “buried” on the bench, getting 28+ minutes and scoring 13 points. Don’t despair if you own him.

Today’s Games

The Knicks have already beaten Dallas as the Jeremy Lin show continued, with 28 points and 14 assists. J.R. Smith brought the Garden crowd to its feet with 15 points off the bench. Suddenly, Mike D’Antoni has a lot of weapons — Carmelo Anthony and even Baron Davis may return tomorrow.

It’s an unusually busy Sunday in the NBA. The Magic and Heat are playing as I type, with eight more games this evening.

Brook Lopez will start for the Nets as they host the Bucks, but is not expected to play tomorrow at MSG, just to avoid a back-to-back after being away for so long. He should be a full-time starter again by Wednesday. For Milwaukee, Drew Gooden remains hurt and Ersan Ilyasova is a good pickup.

Sacramento goes to Cleveland, where Alonzo Gee is getting extra run while Daniel Gibson and Anthony Parker remain sidelined, and the big men (Semih Erden and Tristan Thompson) are hard to predict. For the Kings, it looks like DeMarcus Cousins is OK, after being scratched, then reinstated, on Friday. If Isaiah Thomas starts again, he’ll be a hot pickup.

The Sixers, undermanned in the middle,  will find the 1-2 punch of Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic hard to handle.

I don’t think Charlotte can win two straight road games, especially with Danny Granger back in the Pacers’ lineup. The Bobcats do have D.J. Augustin back, moving Kemba Walker to a sixth-man role. Bismack Biyombo, only 19 years old, is learning on the job, but had 13 REB and 7 BLK in Toronto, a hint of things to come.

The Celtics visit Detroit, with Kevin Garnett nursing a sore hip, Brandon Bass out and Jermaine O’Neal averaging just 3.3 PPG in February. For the Pistons, Rodney Stuckey is coming off a season-high 36 points, while Brandon Knight and Ben Gordon seem to take turns getting hot.

Houston will not have an easy time against the Utah big men. Backup C Jordan Hill sprained a knee, so Patrick Patterson may be a sneaky spot play in deep fantasy leagues.

The Lakers won the first of a home-and-home on Friday, and it will be difficult again for the Suns, even in Phoenix, to cope with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, let alone Kobe Bryant.

Russell Westbrook hopes to play through a sprained ankle as OKC hosts Denver; check other sources for a last-minute update. The Nuggets will be much better when Nene returns, allowing Al Harrington to return to the second unit. There’s a report that Timofey Mozgov re-tweaked his ankle in his brief return on Friday, so Kosta Koufos may get extra minutes tonight.

The Dreaded Short Week

Back on Tuesday, I previewed Week 16 in head-to-Head leagues, where the abbreviated schedule (due to the All-Star break) makes every NBA game count more than usual. Today is the day to cut any borderline Bobcats or Raptors, because they play only once, while picking up Knicks, Nuggets, or anyone who plays three times. For example, Nazr Mohammed, in deep leagues, especially with Kendrick Perkins not 100%. If you own Leandro Barbosa and Corey Brewer is available, that’s a no-brainer in H2H. Remember, your W-L record in this upcoming “crapshoot” week will impact the final standings. Try to get an edge in GP where you can.

Thanks to Chris Sheridan for this opportunity. It’s been a lot of fun so far. Check in tomorrow morning, or follow me on Twitter.

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Clippers blunder leads to Spurs’ 10th straight win; Nets stun Bulls with early rout

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The team not enough people are paying much attention to is creeping up the standings.

Unable to get past the second round of the playoffs for the past three seasons, not many gave the aging San Antonio Spurs much of a championship-contending thought when the shortened season began. They were regarded as aging, middle-of-the-pack type team in the Western Conference.

It’s time for second thoughts.

Playing the sixth consecutive game on their annual rodeo road trip, the Spurs found a way to squeak out a thriller victory against the Clippers in overtime, 103-100.  The Spurs have now won a league best 10 consecutive games, and at this rate they may very well break their own team record for the longest single-season road winning streak, eight games, achieved in 2003.

A little luck went a long way in keeping the Spurs’ streak alive. Chris Paul, who should have been the hero of the game after scoring 19 of his 21 points in the final period and overtime, turned the ball over at the most unlikeliest moment of time, ultimately costing the Clippers the game.

From Broderick Turner of Los Angeles Times: In the quiet Clippers locker room, Chris Paul sat with a towel on his lap and ice bags on both knees, re-living a moment that he couldn’t forget, talking about his game-changing turnover late in the fourth quarter that led to a three-pointer by Gary Neal that tied the score. Paul’s voice was steady as he talked about a play that he said cost the Clippers the game, a play that he repeatedly said was “my fault,” a play that pushed his team toward a 103-100 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday at Staples Center. ”This one stings probably more than any other one,” said a dejected Paul … The Clippers called a timeout. Ryan Gomes inbounded the ball to Paul, who was running full speed in the frontcourt. As Paul received the pass, his momentum took him toward the backcourt. He took one step trying to avoid going over the half-court line. Paul then threw the ball right to Neal, who took one step (toward) the three-point line … before drilling a three-pointer to tie the score at 95-95 with 5.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.”

Neal, despite a gaffe of his own by failing to catch a pass from Tony Parker with 9.5 seconds left in regulation, scored 17 points but missed two free throws that would have given the Spurs a four-point lead at the end of overtime. That gave the Clippers one last chance, but Paul’s 3-point attempt was off-target.

Tony Parker continues to be one of the most overlooked point guards in the league.  He provided another overall dominant performance by scoring at least 30 points with 10 assists for the second consecutive game. He continues to solidify his role as not only the best player on his team, but a legitimate MVP candidate.

From Tim Griffin of San Antonio Express-News:  ”Considering the way that Parker has helped the Spurs during significant injuries to Manu Ginobili and back-up point guard T.J. Ford, there’s no doubt he’s been the team’s most valuable player this season. In fact, some observers have said he’s been among the league’s most valuable players so far this season. ESPN.com’s Maurice Brooks listed Parker as the No. 7 player on his weekly MVP poll last week. And that selection came before the last two games. In Saturday’s game, Parker completely outplayed Paul, who produced 21 points and six assists, but clanked through a 6-for-19 shooting night. Paul was harrassed by Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard during extended periods of the game. The West’s starting point guard by the fans’ selection was limited to two points through three quarters before erupting late in the game and in overtime. The best example of Parker’s domination over Paul could be seen in the plus-minus scores after the game. The Spurs scored 15 more points than the Clippers when Parker was on the court. And the Clippers scored 20 points less than the Spurs when Paul was playing. The recent blitz has shown that Parker is playing like the league’s best point guard. And another big game on Saturday was the primary reason the Spurs extended their 10-game winning streak.”

The win was costly for the Spurs, however, as they lost two key players in Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter due to injuries.

From Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express-News: “It took cruel news to put a lid on the euphoria that should have followed San Antonio’s 103-100 overtime victory. Moments after Gary Neal turned a dumbfounding turnover by Clippers All-Star Chris Paul into a game-tying 3-pointer that sent the game to an OT session he capped with the game-winning shot, the Spurs’ medical staff gave coach Gregg Popovich an injury report he hated. Just four games into his return from a broken left hand, All-Star guard Manu Ginobili suffered a rib injury that likely will sideline him for another extended period. If that weren’t enough, second-year center Tiago Splitter’s breakout season will likely be put on hold because of a strained right calf. “I think we just lost (Manu) again and Tiago,” Popovich said. “It’s going to be a while. Preliminary (report) looks like a muscle under the rib (for Ginobili), and Tiago is a high calf something-or-other. It looks like we won the battle, and it makes it tough to win the war, but it was a great game today.”

Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 22 points and 20 rebounds. Paul added 21 points and six assists, but after watching Paul struggle early, Vinny Del Negro turned to other options in the third quarter by bringing in seldom used Eric Bledsoe to help contain Parker and featured Randy Foye on offense. The plan worked as Foye, scoring a season high 21 points, caught fire to help erase a 15 point deficit in the third while Bledsoe helped disrupt Parker’s flow. In the end, however, it was Del Negro’s questionable decision to let Gomes, who hadn’t played since the second quarter, to inbound the pass on the final play that led to the turnover and the eventual loss of the game.

Elsewhere, the Bulls finally lost a game to a bad team.

From K.C. Johnson of Chicago Tribune:  ”At least Tom Thibodeau can stop answering questions about whether or not he should sit Derrick Rose based on the alleged quality of the opponent. That’s about the only positive to take from Saturday’s surprise, the Nets’ 97-85 beatdown of the Rose-less Bulls. The loss snapped the Bulls’ streak of 18 straight victories over sub-.500 opponents and dropped them behind the Heat for the league’s best record. ”We just played like (crap),” Carlos Boozer said. Thibodeau loves preaching about readiness to play. And the fact he used 11 players in the first quarter alone — including, in an atypical rotational move, rookie Jimmy Butler first off the bench — tells you all you need to know about this one. Well, that and the fact the Nets jumped to a 22-3 lead, snapped an eight-game losing streak and the Bulls’ vaunted defense allowed Deron Williams to shred them for 29 points and eight assists and Kris Humphries to post 24 points with 18 rebounds.”

The Nets snapped their streak of eight straight losses as MarShon Brooks added 19 points. More better days could be on the horizon for the Nets:  Brook Lopez will suit up to start against the Bucks on Sunday, his first playing time this season.

Elsewhere…

  • In a nail-biting game, the Grizzlies beat the Warriors 104-103 on a game winning tip-in by Tony Allen. For the second consecutive night, Rudy Gay took a game winning shot and missed only to be bailed out by a teammate to put back his miss. The Grizzlies won their fourth consecutive game to move up to the sixth spot in the West. The Warriors lost their third straight and are quickly unraveling under Mark Jackson despite big games from Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis who combined for 69 points and 12 assists.
  • The Blazers routed the Hawks 97-77 to end a five-game skid at home. LaMarcus Aldridge returned from a sprained ankle with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but the story of the night was Raymond Felton who finally came through with 14 points and eight assists after struggling so badly that his starting job was in danger. The Hawks didn’t give much of a fight despite a near triple-double from Josh Smith with 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

 

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