The Trade Deadline came and went rather quietly, for the Hawks at least.

After much speculation from media outlets that the Hawks were willing to move just about everybody, the trade deadline came and went with little movement. Luke Babbitt was sent back to Miami for Okaro White who was immediately waived. Sheldon Mac was also acquired and waived for a 2nd round pick that will never convey.

More notably however, Marco Bellinelli agreed to terms on a buyout as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Marco is also reported (Shams Charania) to be signing with the Philadelphia 76’ers.

Marco Belinelli is finalizing a buyout agreement with the Atlanta Hawks, league sources tell ESPN. Several contenders are interested. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2018

Marco Belinelli plans to sign the Philadelphia 76ers once he clears waivers, league sources say. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 11, 2018

The Hawks would have rather dealt him but no deals presented themselves that didn’t require a bad contract to be taken on. As Travis Schlenk mentioned, there is no need to do deals that would compromise our future flexibility. But contrary to what the common fan would think, Atlanta actually is much better with Bellnelli off the court. And also as shown by NBA Math’s TPA Chart, he ranks horribly defensively.

After their 98-100 loss to the Orlando Magic, the Atlanta Hawks are now 17-38. Here’s how all #TrueToAtlanta players have fared in TPA throughout the 2017-18 season: pic.twitter.com/0VSIpRq3cL — NBA Math (@NBA_Math) February 9, 2018

Friday Morning, yet another Hawk found himself under arrest. G/F DeAndre’ Bembry who has had a miserable year on the court was arrested for Speeding (128 in a 55) as well as Reckless Driving. The sheer insanity of the speed led to some jokes on Twitter.

In all seriousness, thankfully nobody was hurt and DeAndre’ will probably face no other legal or league punishment besides a hefty Traffic Court fine.

On the hardwood, the Hawks had a 2-2 week in which they played relatively well other than a poor 2nd half against the Cavs.

2/6/18 Vs Memphis W 108-82

Hawks destroy Grizzlies in laugher. Memphis looked completely inept in every facet of the game in this one. Atlanta raced out to a 16 Point Halftime lead and never looked back. The injury ridden Grizzlies were not able to establish any sort of rhythm on offense. They shot only 18% from three and turned the ball over a whopping 25 times. On the other hand, despite only hitting 8 three’s the Hawks kept the ball moving with 29 Assists and only 13 Turnovers. Dennis Schroder led the way with 22 Points and 5 Assists, while John Collins added 15 and 10. Mario Chalmers was the Grizzlies’ leading scorer with 13 Points. Attendance 11,866.

2/8/18 @ Orlando L 100-98

Late turnover dooms Hawks in back and forth affair. The Magic prevailed late in another battle of cellar dwellers. Dewayne Dedmon’s bad pass with about a minute to go ultimately was the difference. Both teams struggled to find any rhythm in the first half but both offenses came on strong in the 2nd. Schroder and Prince each scored 19 Points. Collins collected 12 Rebounds off the bench. Evan Fournier paced the Magic with 22.

2/9/18 Vs Cleveland L 123-107

Korver’s Three Point Explosion guides Cavs to easy victory in Atlanta. Despite a hard fought first half, Atlanta was no match for the shorthanded Cavs. Kyle Korver brought back memories of the 2014-2015 season with his 7 Three Pointers. He finished the night with 30 Points while Lebron James posted a Triple Double with 26 Points 12 Rebounds and 19 Assists. Lebon and company got contributions from many players most fans may not have been previously familiar with. Dennis Schroder looked like he could be headed toward a Career High after dropping 19 in the first half but finished with only 25. Prince scored 15 but was 0-9 from Three while Dorsey had a Career High 14. Attendance: 16,438 (over capacity sell-out).

2/11/18 Vs Detroit W 118-115

Dewayne Dedmon comes up huge down the stretch in close win. The moment Hawks fans had been awaiting for weeks finally happened Sunday Afternoon: Miles Plumlee was finally removed from the starting lineup in favor of Dewayne Dedmon. Safe to say, it paid off. Dedmon powered the Hawks to victory with his 20 Points and 13 Rebounds. He sealed the win late with a huge And-One and 3 Pointer in the final 2 minutes. Dennis Schroder led the Hawks in scoring with 23 in what was a very blanched effort. 9 players scored. Taurean Prince however continued to struggle. He finished with just 2 Points. The new look Pistons had been playing much better since acquiring Blake Griffin but dropped their second straight. Andre Drummond scored 25 and pulled down 15 Boards while the aforementioned Blake Griffin had 23 Points, 7 Rebounds and 6 Assists. Reggie Bullock scored 18 First Half Points, but finished with just 20. This was the final home game until after the All-Star Break for the Hawks. Attendance: 15,214.

What’s Up Next

2/13/18 @ Milwaukee

The Hawks are just 5-21 on the road but are usually able to stay within shouting distance. With Taurean’s offensive slump appearing to spread to other parts of his game, Atlanta has no shot at keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo in check. The Bucks will cruise in this one 112-93.

2/14/18 @ Detroit

The game before the All-Star Break is usually one of the hardest to stay focused in. Especially on the road. Coupled with Detroit wanting a bit of revenge after their narrow defeat to the Hawks on Sunday all equal a tall task for victory. Pistons 120 Hawks 99.

Stats and Standings Update

The Hawks continue to show that they are not the average “worst team in the league”. They continue to rank more like a slightly below average team rather than a terrible team in most metrics. Thanks to our friends over at NBA Math for the graphics below.

The Hawks continue to teeter between 28th and 30th in the league’s table but only 2 games separate them from being up to 22nd. While this may look like a good thing that would have a huge affect on Draft positioning.

News and Notes

Luke Babbitt was the only Hawk dealt on the Trade Deadline

Ersan Ilyasova used his No-Trade Clause and stated that he is content in Atlanta

Acquisitions Okaro White and Sheldon Mac were waived

Tyler Dorsey has really impressed and made the most of being in the rotation

Taurean Prince’s inconsistency continues

The 6th Man section garnered national attention for their chants Vs the Cavs Friday

Hawks’ crowd: 🗣 “LeBron will leave you! LeBron will leave you!” pic.twitter.com/rW8xvT6TTx — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 10, 2018

DeAndre’ Bembry was arrested for Speeding and Reckless Driving Friday Morning

DeAndre’ Bembry was activated for Sunday’s game but was a DNP-CD

Andrew White III was called up from Erie (Two-Way Contract)

Miles Plumlee was (finally) taken out the starting lineup Sunday

Phil Veasley | @_ATLPhil

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