So your boy ditched his work-from-home duds last night and hit the Hawks game alongside brilliant AJC beat writer Lauren Williams.
It was fun!
Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. both sat courtside and got big ovations from the crowd. But the halftime performer who balanced on six skateboards on top of a sideways tube on top of a table was the real MVP.
Well … him and newcomer Georges Niang.
Quick links: Free agency predictions | Tech’s season opener rescheduled | The U.S.’s best soccer bar
FINDING A GROOVE
Credit: Colin Hubbard/AP
Credit: Colin Hubbard/AP
Georges Niang scored 24 points in 25 minutes last night.
He knocked down 3-pointers that fueled the Hawks’ fourth-quarter comeback (and their 124-118 win) against the Pacers. Like a proper product of the Boston area, he got a little trash talk in, too, barking back and forth with injured Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton.
“I always like to enjoy my moments on the court,” he told reporters afterward. Picture a grin on his face.
And honestly? The month or so since Niang, Caris LeVert and Terance Mann arrived in Atlanta has been up-and-down. The team’s 6-6 since the trade deadline.
But there’s more to smile about than most of us expected.
📈 Niang’s averaging more than 14 points a game and shooting over 40% on 3s.
📈 LeVert — who hit a game-winner earlier this week against Memphis AND is related to a bunch of iconic R&B singers — has put up 16 points and seven rebounds per contest.
With budding star Jalen Johnson sidelined until next season, this team won’t make any kind of significant playoff push. It now owns the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed, though — and things are starting to click.
“Long ways to go,” Trae Young said, “but we’re right there.”
I asked Niang about this, and if the current lengthy homestand (four more games at State Farm Arena over the next week) can help things jell more quickly.
He joked at first: “Yeah, we’re gonna start going over to each other’s houses and playing Fortnite and getting real close with each other, man. Yeah, exactly.”
For the record, I meant more along the lines of “less travel, a little more time to do basketball things.” And, thankfully, he continued with a genuinely thoughtful answer.
“This coaching staff doesn’t get enough credit because it’s not like this everywhere, where you can just implement guys and seamlessly find production,” Niang said, in part. “You look at all the games that we lost: Yes they’re losses, but we’re not getting blown out. We’re right in there. Nobody’s happy about that. But jelling takes time. It’s not lightning in a bottle.
“Like Trae said, I really feel like we’re finding our niche. And I’m excited to see what the rest of the month of March looks like.”
Me too, Georges. Me too.
Or curious, at the very least.
Make sure to follow beat writer Lauren Williams for all your Hawks coverage. And don’t miss her check-in with the aforementioned Jalen Johnson.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
We’ll have more on all this next week, when the NFL’s “legal tampering” period begins. But the Falcons have some big decisions to make on free agents like center Drew Dalman and receiver KhaDarel Hodge.
Meanwhile: The team already waved the white flag on nickel back Dee Alford, linebacker Nate Landman and occasionally effective pass rusher Matthew Judon, allowing them to hit free agency.
🤔 All three could still find their way back. Not sure fans would be heartbroken if Judon doesn’t … but the third-round pick that Fontenot & Co. surrendered for a grand total of 5 ½ sacks stings a bit.
BOBO AND BUFFALOES
If you’re a Georgia fan, you probably saw reports yesterday that offensive coordinator and perpetual punching bag Mike Bobo is now under contract through 2026.
They’re true! But take a deep breath. He did not get an extension after last season’s frustrating offensive performance.
🗣️ DawgNation’s Connor Riley explains: “So he signed it after the 2023 season ended, when the UGA offense averaged over 40 points per game. We knew this time last year he had gotten a raise from $1 million to $1.4 million. But UGA didn’t release the full contract details/length of the deal at the time.”
- Georgia Tech football also made some news: Its season opener against Coach Prime and Colorado will now be played on Friday, Aug. 29. No time announced yet, but that’s a day earlier than previously scheduled.
LIVING THE DREAM
Braves starter Ian Anderson pitched well again last night, putting up 3⅓ scoreless innings against the Marlins (he did walk four, though). Fellow rotation hopeful Grant Holmes, meanwhile, is still reveling in being a big leaguer.
A decade in the minors will do that to a guy.
🥲 Said the immaculately coiffed Holmes: “I feel like I belong, but it’s still cool having those feelings. I’m a couple lockers down from a guy (Cy Young winner Chris Sale) you played with on ‘MLB the Show’ when you were a kid. That’s still pretty cool, surreal.”
PUT A RING ON IT
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
More high school basketball champs entered the chat Thursday.
In Class 2A, the Butler boys won their first title in almost six decades and the Hardaway girls won their first, period. Class 4A followed that up with the Creekside girls completing an undefeated season and the North Oconee boys besting top-seeded Pace Academy to claim a second straight championship.
Here’s today’s slate in Macon (a location columnist Ken Sugiura argues should change). You can watch on GPB.
🏀 1 p.m.: Class A-D2 girls, Wilcox County vs. Washington-Wilkes
🏀 3 p.m.: Class A-D2 boys, Savannah vs. McIntosh County Academy
🏀 5:30 p.m.: Class 5A girls, Hughes vs. River Ridge
🏀 7:30 p.m.: Class 5A boys, Woodward Academy vs. Tri-Cities
The festivities finish with four more games Saturday. Here’s the full schedule.
WEEKEND WATCH PARTY
Today: Georgia Tech women’s basketball takes on top-seeded NC State in the second round of the ACC Tournament. Tipoff’s at 1:30 p.m. on ACC Network.
Saturday: On the men’s basketball front, Georgia (noon vs. Vanderbilt, ESPNU) and Tech (2:15 p.m. at Wake Forest, the CW) finish their regular seasons.
Atlanta United hosts the New York Red Bulls (7:30 p.m. on AppleTV).
Sunday: The Braves’ Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox airs on Peachtree TV. First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
The Brewhouse Cafe in Little Five Points just got voted the best soccer bar in the U.S. in a contest orchestrated by the uber-popular “Men In Blazers” TV show/podcast/media organization.
To celebrate, they’re taping a podcast at Brewhouse on March 25. And you’re invited!
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I can't tell you how happy I am. The success is, we are Atlanta United's No. 1 pub partner and the TVs, the sounds, the ambience, people from all over the world here in Atlanta come and watch their teams.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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