The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bill adopted to help get people off probation
Midtown homes, businesses could reopen today.
The Georgia Senate approved a measure Thursday that could help thousands of people convicted of crimes get off probation.
Senate Bill 105 would allow those convicted of felonies to end probation early. To qualify, they must have spent at least three years on probation, paid all restitution and not been arrested for anything more serious than a traffic violation since being placed on probation. Only people who had no prior felony convictions would be eligible.
Sen. Brian Strickland, R-mcdonough, the bill’s sponsor, said it would benefit people trying to turn their lives around while easing the burden on Georgia’s probation system.
“It’s the right thing to do for fiscal responsibility. It’s the right thing to do for public safety,” Strickland told fellow senators Thursday. “It’s the right thing to do for criminal justice.”
SB 105 is the latest attempt to make Georgia’s criminal justice system more forgiving and to ease its toll on the state budget. In 2020, about 203,000 Georgians were on probation.
Under SB 105, the Department of Corrections could recommend that a judge waive the remainder of an offender’s probation if he or she meets the criteria. Prosecutors could request a hearing to object.
Senators approved the measure unanimously. It now goes to the House of Representatives.
Homes and businesses in Midtown may be accessible as early as today after crews complete a “critical part” of bringingdownamalfunctioned crane that caused evacuations and road closures last week.
Construction crews have officially begun dismantling the crane, which for nearly a week has been towering outside of the high-rise at 1105 West Peachtree Street, Alabama-based
construction company Brasfield & Gorrie said in a statement Thursday.
“Crews have begun the process of removing the upper horizontal members of the tower crane,” the company said. “This work will continue through the evening. Once that phase is complete and the area is safe, we will coordinate with Atlanta Fire and other officials to allow residents of the evacuated apartment building to return to the area.”
The Atlantic House apartments, along with several nearby businesses, have been closed since last Friday morning, when crews first became concerned about the teetering crane. A mechanical failure caused it to tilt as crews were attempting to lower it, officials previously said.
After determining it was in danger of falling onto buildings below, Atlanta firefighters went door to door clearing hundreds of residents. No one was injured in the construction mishap, and the crane operator was able to make it out safely.
Nearby restaurants were encouraged not to open, and a medical office was forced to close its doors and turn away urgent care patients. Northside Medical Midtown and several surrounding businesses have remained closed ever since.
Brasfield & Gorrie said it will coordinate with Atlanta Fire to determine when it is safe for residents to return and businesses to open. Those who were evacuated from their apartments and condominiums have been taking shelter in hotels paid for by the construction company.
“We know you have all been very anxious to go home and back to your normal lives,” Atlanta House apartments said in an email to its residents. “Therefore, tomorrow, Friday Feb. 26 we can really say TGIF ... because it has been confirmed we’re going home!!”
Michael Cunningham
The Hawks blew a game at draft lottery-bound Cleveland on Tuesday before coming home Wednesday and blowing out playoff-contending Boston. The Hawks, especially Danilo Gallinari, seemingly made all their open shots, but it wasn’t a case of great shooting covering up ills. The Hawks simply dominated the Celtics, who had handled them in Boston six nights earlier.
“It’s big for all of our guys that we are capable of putting a performance like that together,” Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said.
“How do we back it up is the question.”
We’ll get some answers before the NBA All-star break. The Hawks (14-18) are scheduled to play four road games over the next six days. They start the trip today at Oklahoma City, which owns victories over Eastern Conference-powers Milwaukee and Brooklyn. The Hawks then play three games against teams that are bunched up with them near the middle of the East standings: two at Miami and one at Orlando.
If the Hawks win all those games, they’ll reach the break with an even record despite injuries to key play
Cunningham
ers. Win half of the four, and it will be evidence the Hawks can go on a run once they are healthy and their newer players are fully integrated. If the Hawks lose more than they win on the trip, I’ll be back to wondering just how good they can be even when whole.
The loss at Cleveland raised some familiar doubts about the Hawks after they earned a good home victory over the Nuggets on Sunday. Their defensive miscues at winning time included allowing the Cavs an uncontested dunk for the deciding points. After the Hawks beat the Celtics, a questioner asked Gallinari what the victory means considering the bad losses the Hawks have suffered lately, before retracting that phrasing.
“You can say ‘bad losses,’ ” Gallinari said, smiling. “I always said in the beginning when you have a new group there is always going to be ups and downs . ... The most important thing we haven’t been able to do night in and night out is to play 48 minutes.
“To win an NBA game is tough and to have a winning record in the NBA is tough. To do that you need to play for 48 minutes and not have any (letdown).”
The Hawks haven’t been good at that. The blown game at Cleveland came after the Hawks faded late in losses this month to the Lakers, Mavericks and Pacers. That’s four of their seven losses this season that came after holding a lead through three quarters. The Hawks also lost by 11 points at the Knicks last week after trailing by two with less than four minutes to play.
It’s possible those fourth-quarter troubles can be attributed to a relatively young team still figuring how to win. The five core Hawks players all are 23 or younger. One of them, second-year forward De’andre Hunter, was on a star trajectory when he suffered a knee injury that’s kept him out since Feb. 1. And some veterans who can provide stability have spent a lot of time on the injured list.
Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee) has been out since Jan. 10. Kris Dunn (ankle surgery) has yet to play a game. Gallinari has moved slowly in the 18 games since recovering from an ankle injury. He said he only recently had his minutes restriction lifted.
“Hopefully, we get everybody back so we can approach the second part of the season with a full squad,” Gallinari said.
The Hawks will be a more talented team when that happens. Their best lineups include Hunter, and Bogdanovic’s savvy
is needed for the second unit. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be a better team when those players return. The Hawks need to be much better defensively late in games to win consistently. There’s no simple personnel fix for that.
The Hawks rank last in the league in fourth-quarter defensive efficiency. Hunter helps with that. The Hawks allowed about five points less per 100 possessions in the fourth quarters of games he’s played. But that just means they were merely bad instead of awful on defense late in games. That’s not good enough to consistently close out victories.
Capela does outstanding work protecting the basket behind his teammates. The Hawks need more from the defenders playing in front of him. After their loss at Boston last week, assistant coach Nate Mcmillan (subbing for Pierce) noted the Hawks “never established that we could keep this team in front of us, which puts a lot of pressure on Clint at the basket.”
That’s been a theme for the Hawks late in games. Their conundrum is they don’t have many two-way players on the perimeter to close out games. The Hawks have to improve their team defense with scorers on the floor late in games.
Young is among the best scorers and playmakers in the league, but his defense suffers from a combination of size mismatches and his wavering intensity. Cam Reddish can defend but still can’t shoot (so many of his misses aren’t even close). Kevin Huerter can shoot but defends inconsistently. Rajon Rondo’s defense seems to depend on whether he’s in the mood for it.
Perhaps the best way for the Hawks to be better in the fourth quarter is to be so good on offense that they mitigate any lapse on defense. That’s Brooklyn’s formula. The Nets are near the top of the East despite being next-to-last in fourth-quarter defensive efficiency. Of course, the Nets can deploy three elite scorers and playmakers while the Hawks have one.
Hunter and Bogdanovic can give the Hawks more scoring punch without the defense suffering too much. Tony Snell’s shooting has made a difference since he’s joined the playing rotation. Gallinari’s ability to shoot over tight defense is a big advantage for the Hawks.
I believe Pierce and his players eventually will figure out how to be better late in games. If the Hawks get healthy, they’ll be among the four East teams to make the “play-in” format for the playoffs. I’ll feel better about that prediction if the Hawks have a strong finish to their preall-star schedule.
Mavericks at 76ERS, late : Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic faced off in a game featuring two of the NBA’S best scorers. Embiid is third in the NBA averaging 29.8 points per game and Doncic is fifth in the league averaging 28.9 points per game. The 76ers entered 13-2 at home. Philadelphia is fifth in the Eastern Conference scoring 114 points while shooting 47.6% from the field. The Mavericks entered 7-7 on the road. Dallas gives up 113.6 points per game.
Magic at NETS late : The Nets entered on a seven-game win streak. James Harden is shooting 49.5% and averaging 25.2 points. Deandre Jordan is shooting 72.5% and averaging 8.6 points over the last 10 games for Brooklyn. The Nets won 122-115 in the last meeting on Jan. 16. Kevin Durant led Brooklyn with 42 points, and Nikola Vucevic led Orlando with 34 points.
Kings at KNICKS, late: New York entered as the top team in the Eastern Conference in team defense, allowing 103.8 points while holding opponents to 43.1% shooting. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton is averaging 16.7 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 53.5% over the last 10 games for Sacramento. The Kings won the last matchup 103-94 on Jan. 22. De’aaron Fox scored 22 points to help lead Sacramento to the win.
Clippers at GRIZZLIES, late: Kawhi Leonard entered the game eighth in the league averaging 27.1 points per game. The Grizzlies have gone 6-9 against Western Conference teams. Memphis ranks second in the league with 27.4 assists per game. Ja Morant leads the Grizzlies averaging 7.9. Morant adds 19.1 points per game. The Clippers are 13-6 in conference play.
Wizards at NUGGETS, late: Nikola Jokic is averaging 9.5 rebounds and 29 points per game over the last 10 games for Denver. Bradley Beal entered averaging 32.7 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Wizards. Russell Westbrook is averaging 17.8 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting 40.3% over the last 10 games for Washington.
Pelicans at BUCKS, late : Milwaukee was trying to keep its three-game home win streak intact. The Bucks entered the game 12-4 on their home court. Milwaukee is second in the Eastern Conference scoring 119.8 points while shooting 48.8% from the field. The Pelicans entered 5-10 in road games. New Orleans is fourth in the Western Conference scoring 115.2 points per game and is shooting 48.3%. Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks scoring 28.6 points per game, and is averaging 11.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists.
Ranked teams went 148-10 in the first round of the state basketball tournament this week, but at least 38 will be eliminated today and Saturday as each classification gets down to its final eight.
The 38 second-round games between ranked teams include one No. 1-vs.-no. 2 affair: Providence Christian of Lilburn, the top-ranked Class 1A Private boys team, is traveling to No. 2 Mount Pisgah Christian of Johns Creek. Both are up-andcoming programs with perhaps their best-ever teams.
Another prized second-round boys matchup has No. 4 Mceachern at No. 2 Grayson in Class 7A. That’s a rematch of a 2020 semifinal that Grayson won 82-76. Mceachern, the 2019 champion and 2020 semifinalist, is trying to make the quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive time.
Other boys games between top-five teams are No. 5 Shiloh at No. 2 Kell in Class 6A, No. 5 Woodward Academy at No. 4 Veterans in 5A and No. 5 Westover at No. 1 Spencer in 4A.
The most interesting girls game has No. 6 Wesleyan at No. 4 St. Francis in Class 1A Private.
A 13-time champion since 2002, Wesleyan must win to extend its state-record streak of 20 quarterfinals appearances. St. Francis, a threetime former champion, was the 2020 runner-up and hasn’t fallen short of the quarters since 2007.
Another highly ranked matchup, also in 1A Private, has No. 2 Holy Innocents’ at No. 3 Mount Paran Christian. Holy Innocents’, the two-time defending champion, has played in seven consecutive finals, winning three, and handled Mount Paran easily in a Jan. 13 meeting.
The best girls game in the highest class has No. 7 Norcross at No. 3 Cherokee. Norcross has made the quarters or better the past four seasons and missed only twice in the past 11 seasons. Cherokee has made the semifinals the past two seasons.
Other girls games between top-five teams are No. 5 Cass at No. 4 Southwest Dekalb in 5A and No. 5 Westminster at No. 2 Lumpkin County in 3A.
The most surprising news of the girls’ first round, played Tuesday and Wednesday, was the elimination of No. 1 Luella and No. 2 Baldwin in Class 4A. Both team’s region tournaments were canceled over COVID-19 concerns. Luella hadn’t played since Jan. 29. Baldwin hadn’t played since Feb. 5. Baldwin had been 14-0.
Other ranked girls teams that lost this week were No. 10 West Forsyth (7A), No. 9 Mount Zion of Jonesboro (4A) and No. 8 Lamar County (2A). Top-10 boys teams that lost were No. 6 South Forsyth and No. 10 Etowah (both 7A), No. 8 Douglas County (5A), No. 6 Chattooga (2A) and No. 5 Bowdon (1A Public).
Eight teams won state-playoff games for the first time in the first round.
One was Mount Zion’s girls, whose school in Carroll County dates to the 1930s. They beat Hancock Central 62-32 in 1A Public. Another was Brookstone, a Columbus private school that opened in 1968. Its girls team had been 0-6 at state before beating Mount de Sales 60-32.
Another drought-breaker was Chapel Hill’s boys from a Douglas County school that opened in 1999. They’d been 0-7 at state but defeated Region 7-5A champion Calhoun 56-37. Hiram, also opened in 1999, advanced its boys team for the first time after five previous losses.
Other first-time winners were Deerfield-windsor’s girls, B.E.S.T. Academy’s boys, Locust Grove’s boys and North Paulding’s boys.
The quarterfinals will be Tuesday and Wednesday. The finals are March 10-13 in Macon.