As euphoric as the 113-93 drubbing the Bulls dealt the Atlanta Hawks was for Bulls fans, players and management alike, there’s a second side to every story. And the Hawks’ side to this one… ain’t pretty.
Sure, they, like the Bulls, were on the second night of a back-to-back and had to travel to Atlanta overnight Tuesday night. Unlike the Bulls, though, the Hawks won the front end of their back-to-back — quite impressively, in fact (108-100 over the San Antonio Spurs) — and have, for the most part, lived up to the cautious preseason hype that typically surrounds young, talented NBA teams.
So, needless to say, Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce wasn’t thrilled to get run off his home floor by (let’s face it) one of the worst teams in the league so far this season, and his postgame press conference reflected that. Pierce didn’t hold back, taking refreshingly candid shots at everyone from his own players to Jim Boylen in comments to assorted media members. Here’s a short clip to give you a taste:
But, you know what, even the most superheroic of athletes are allowed an off day. We’re all human, after all. In light of finding footage of Pierce’s full presser, we ran a quick fact-check on the best snippets, in an attempt to figure out whether Pierce was justified in his outrage, or if he was being a little too hard on his guys.
Let’s begin:
NBA
“I think the best thing about tonight is we didn’t waste a good game. No one had a great game. We stunk together.”
Fact-check: Mostly true
This is a tough one. The Hawks only had one player with a positive point differential in the game (Vince Carter, who had 14 points and shot 3-of-6 from three, was a +9), but in a 20-point loss you’re naturally going to be hard-pressed to find many guys who had prolonged, net-positive stretches. Jabari Parker had 18 points on 50% shooting, but also turned the ball over four times. Eh. He’s right. They mostly stunk.
“Tonight, I’ll actually say we were young, and I don’t say that much, we were young.”
Fact-check: Mostly true
According to RealGM’s roster composition database, there are actually 13 teams in the NBA with a lower average age than the Hawks (the Bulls included!). However, the average age of the Atlanta Hawks that played tonight was 24.3. Throw in the 24 turnovers the Hawks committed in the game, and we'll allow this premise. (Side bar: take Vince Carter out of this equation, and that average age number becomes 22.7.)
“Their motivation was, they blew a lead last night, they were up 18, they lead the NBA in blown leads already. They know they should’ve won last night, they blew it, so they came here knowing, let’s not let this one get away.”
Fact-check: True
All of that happened, yes.
“I didn’t know how to speed the game up. [Jim Boylen] called two timeouts in the fourth quarter, I’m looking at him, like, ‘You don’t need to sub just let it go.’”
Fact-check: Patently false
The Bulls took three timeouts in the fourth quarter, good sir. And all of them were necessary. They’re developing a bench.
“Chicago will never let Trae [Young] have an easy game for the rest of his career.”
Fact-check: Remains to be seen
Pierce said this in reference to the 49 points Young dropped on the Bulls in March, and how it was the memory of that performance that motivated the team in containing him to 9 points and 0-of-8 from behind the arc tonight. And maybe Pierce has a point. The Bulls defense was swarming tonight, especially on pick-and-roll blitzes, and they often made a point of attacking Young on the offensive side of the floor, as well.
But never another easy game for the rest of his career? Let’s wait for the rebuild to fully pan out first.
“The game is over, and we don’t have to worry about them anymore.”
Fact-check: False
The Bulls and Hawks meet again at the UC on December 11. Spooky season never ends.
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