Hawks Need 76ers' & Bucks' Help to Finish 3rd

I had pretty much written off any possibility of the Hawks catching the Pacers after the loss to the Celtics. Indiana has a number of games against mediocre teams remaining. However, I hadn't looked very closely at which teams those opponents were. Over their next 5 games, the Pacers play Milwaukee twice and Philladelphia twice, two teams that are battling for the final playoff spot in the East. The other opponent is Minnesota, which is struggling. But in those 4 games against the 76ers and Bucks, nobody is going to lay down for the Pacers.

Meanwhile, between now and April 21st when the Pacers play the last game of that 5-game stretch, the Hawks play Toronto twice, then the Pistons, and then the Celtics on Friday, April 20th. Let's say, just for laughs, the Hawks go 4-0 in those 4 games while the Pacers go 3-2. The Pacers would be 40-24 and the Hawks 39-24, a half game back. At that point, the Hawks would control their own destiny as they would be even in the loss column with Indiana. If the Hawks finish with the same record as the Pacers, they own the tie break by virtue of winning the season series.

As for the upcoming home-and-away set with Toronto, the Hawks can take nothing for granted after a massively-depleted Raptors squad stunned the Celtics last night. Here's a piece by Eric Koreen in the National Post that is yet another example of how Dwane Casey continues to get rave reviews even as his team has struggled. Quoth Casey:

"They’re playing for home-court advantage. We’re playing for pride. We’re playing for culture. That’s about it. Everybody who was in uniform tonight contributed to that. This win was huge."

Initial Feedback: The Old Guys Snapped

Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.

Your ratings and commentary, dear reader, are welcomed in the comments to this post.

Boxscore

Players
Jeff Teague: He and the team are suffering from the prior reluctance to play Jeff Teague. Watching him try to figure stuff out now is sub-optimal in the moment but will pay off should he succeed before the playoffs start. 4/10

Joe Johnson: A terribly inefficient scoring game (20 points on 23 shots, 2 free throw attempts) in a vacuum but, when compared to what Indiana mustered or weighed against his six rebounds and eight assists, it's not so damaging. 7/10

Marvin Williams: Seven rebounds in less than 23 minutes. Good defense on Granger, as well. I'll say he should play more until he makes me change my mind, probably sometime in the first half in Orlando on Friday. 5/10

Josh Smith: If he's going to shoot jump shots (my guess is that he will), then they might as well be those that count for an extra point every time they go in the basket. His two third quarter three-pointers were huge. The rest of his performance -- 28 points, 12 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists, and 3 blocks -- may have been more likely than both those shots going in from beyond the arc but was no less important. 10/10

Zaza Pachulia: Gave all he had but couldn't put away a couple of transition opportunities in the fourth quarter. He played way too few minutes the past couple seasons but 38 in one game is clearly too many. 5/10

Kirk Hinrich: I think Jannero Pargo should play more minutes. 7/10

Tracy McGrady: When he's got it, he's still got it and even in the games when he's got it, he saves the best for the fourth quarter. 7/10

Willie Green: You have to enjoy the nights Willie Green plays well because history tells us there will be plenty of nights like tonight, where he made Dahntay Jones look good. 2/10

Ivan Johnson: There are a lot of similarities between Ivan Johnson's game and Zaza Pachulia's. 2/10

Vladimir Radmanovic: I would have guess he played for less than 119 seconds. 1/10

The head coach
I think it's abundantly clear that the Hawks will rely on their defense to win both because stops can turn into transition opportunities an because the Hawks can't score consistently enough to control the game that way. I also think it's abundantly clear that the Hawks have seven quality rotation players with a handful of wild cards behind them. Minutes should be allotted along those lines. 6/10

A thought regarding the opposition
The Pacers aren't a good offensive team even at full strength but they really missed George Hill's efficiency and Jeff Foster's offensive rebounding tonight.

The Enervating Run-In

The meaninglessness of these final four games is not entirely a result of the vagaries of the schedule and the stratification of the Eastern Conference. The first 78 games the Atlanta Hawks played, even the Summer and parts of Autumn that preceded the season, inform the emptiness even Pape Sy's NBA debut and the signing of Magnum Rolle can't fully fill.

For much of the season, it felt a fool's errand to try to explain or draw conclusions about this team. And that was when they were at full strength and/or trying to win games. Given the circumstances surrounding games 79 through 81, particularly the vague motives regarding injury and rest, it appears impossible to write empirically about the team.

Presumptions are possible in one distinct case: Josh Smith. I presume Josh Smith missed the games in Indiana and Washington because he was injured rather than because he was resting. Joe Johnson, who figures to use a plurality of Atlanta's post-season possessions, has played hurt essentially the entire season. Al Horford has (mostly) played through hand, ankle, and hamstring injuries for months. They both played when Smith did not. Thus, I presume Smith, due to his sprained knee, could not.

Nor did Smith's return exactly inspire, with 15 of his 17 points coming after the Hawks had fell behind by double-digits, fueled by Smith using six of his last eight shot on jumpers. There's no joy in watching Josh Smith play like Michael Beasley.

Given Larry Drew's inscrutable approach to playing time, no such presumptions can be made, with any confidence, about the health of Jason Collins. It's a fair question as to how long Collins, at full strength, can neutralize Dwight Howard in a seven-game series. Overlay the question of the state of his ankle to the subject and, well, good luck with your answer.

The combination of Drew's aforementioned inscrutable approach to playing time and the season-long problem of the odd, unbalanced roster at his disposal undermined the pleasure potential of the spirited fourth quarter comeback Atlanta's second unit offered up last night. The AP recap described Atlanta's fourth quarter unit as "a bunch of backups." Literally true, but far different than the motley collection of young and short-term Washington Wizards who devastated the unmotivated Hawks on Saturday night.

20 of Atlanta's 23 fourth quarter points were scored or assisted by Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachulia, and Jeff Teague. Hardly LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh but clearly players six through eight in the Atlanta rotation and, competent a trio of Hawks as they are, their comeback may have drawn some aid from the 20-point hole the Atlanta starters dug partway through the third quarter.

The Heat could, quite reasonably, have expected the Hawks (now -56 on the season*) to give up as they'd done so many times before. To their credit, the Hawks didn't. Of course, the comeback didn't succeed for reasons fairly and equally credited to the Heat and blamed on Josh Powell. Powell, the patently terrible signing, provided one last, late reminder of all his flaws as a basketball player while sabotaging the good work of the four legitimate rotation players playing alongside him during the fourth quarter.

To wit:

• Zero (0) defensive rebounds in 23:02
• Two turnovers
• Four personal fouls
• The last two of which created a Crawford for James Jones with the game tied and a turnover with a minute left and the Hawks still down just six

Why did Josh Powell play 23 minutes? Because Jason Collins may or may not be capable of playing basketball at even his limited and particular current standard. Because Pape Sy and Magnum Rolle** were in street clothes making the other two options available to Drew:

• Etan Thomas
• Hilton Armstrong

Of the three, Powell might be the least bad option. But all three are bad, bad options for a professional*** basketball team. Which only underlines that all the limitations inhibiting this team (the rookie head coach, the expensive roster, the lack of depth, the lack of youth) are of their own making.

*Not entirely fair but, considering the Hawks were -4 on the season when they clinched the fifth seed, it's not entirely unfair either.

**Seriously, if Rolle had been signed in September and given Josh Powell's minutes all season, I'd have been interested and engaged. It's the timing of the signing that baffles me. And the age thing is an easy, irresistible gag at the organization's rather than the player's expense.

***I include most of Europe and the entirety of the D-League in this.

Quotes, Notes, and Links: Atlanta Hawks 108 Indiana Pacers 93

Recap

Gameflow

Hoopdata Boxscore

Highlights

Larry Drew:

"Our first couple wins against Indiana, we did the exact same thing, just went to some of the matchup problems, and if they didn’t come down, we scored. If they did, we got the ball out and made them pay."

Drew:

"We did a great job of passing the basketball. Everybody was moving the ball around."

Jim O'Brien:

"They're a terrifically talented basketball team, and they're just a little too much for us to handle right now."

Josh Smith:

"When we can swing the ball and get open looks, we're tough to beat."

Al Horford:

"It's fun. We're getting everybody involved. Jamal is starting to play like himself again and Joe, as well. It's great playing with them."

Mike Dunleavy, Jr. provides the opposite perspective:

"We're just really not playing well, particularly on the offensive end. There's not a lot of rhythm or flow to our offense, and it's not a whole lot of fun to play or watch right now."

Drew on the offense in general:

"I think in watching Joe and watching Al and Josh and all those guys, it seems like they’re stating to really pick up what were trying to do and they’re having fun with it."

Jeff Teague was not present on the court or on the bench during garbage time as he was receiving treatment on a contusion on his right hand he suffered during his first half stint.

Atlanta Hawks 108 Indiana Pacers 93

Boxscore

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
IND	94	0.989	44	24.1	25.6	16
ATL	93	1.161	49.4	29.8	27.3	16.1

The Indiana Pacers are a good defensive team. They entered tonight's game ranked sixth in the league in defensive efficiency. They also match up terribly with the Atlanta Hawks. That latter fact ruled the night as the Hawks put on a clinic of offensive execution to rival their performance in Utah on Wednesday night. The Hawks had exploitable mis-matches all over the floor. Josh Smith (27 points on 18 shots, 6 assists) against Tyler Hansbrough. Al Horford (14 points on 14 shots, 6 assists, no turnovers) against Roy Hibbert. Jamal Crawford (20 points on 15 shots, 4 assists) against TJ Ford. Smith against Danny Granger when Indiana went small.

The Hawks' recipe for success was simple. They got the ball to a player in an advantageous position quickly. The player attacked the mis-match immediately. Often, this created a good shot. Even if it did not, it forced the other four Indiana defenders to react and opened up passing lanes. The Hawks did not limit themselves to providing a demonstration on how to exploit matchups, their spacing and ball-movement were impeccable as well. That's how Mike Bibby scored 15 points on just 7 shots and how Joe Johnson looked so perfectly integrated into the offense, scoring 24 points on 19 shots and earning 6 assists.

It's a testament to the ease with which Atlanta did whatever they wanted offensively that, when the quintet of Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Al Horford exited the game en masse with 3:17 left and the Hawks up 104-85, those five players had scored 100 of Atlanta's 104 points and the Hawks had earned assists 26 of the team's 35 field goals. Indiana could do nothing to force the ball out of the hands of Atlanta's best offensive players.

The Hawks won the game through offensive execution but they put the game away with one sound defensive quarter. Content to outscore the Pacers for a half, the Hawks made a concerted effort to control the pace, limit Indiana's transition opportunities, and force the Pacers to try and score against a set defense. The Hawks committed just two turnovers in the third quarter (both Joe Johnson passes out of bounds, no chance to run off those), grabbed four offensive rebounds, and made a noticeable effort to get back on defense promptly and in numbers. After getting 49 offensive possessions in the first half, Indiana had just 21 offensive possessions to use in the third quarter. Denied easy transition buckets, Indiana's offense was rendered even more impotent than normal and scored just 14 points in the first eleven-and-a-half minutes of the second half, falling behind by 20 points, a margin they never seriously diminished.

January 8th Game Preview: Indiana Pacers (14-19) @ Atlanta Hawks 24-14

TIP-OFF: 7pm (EST)

TELEVISION: SportSouth

RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Pacers

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Marvin Williams has been upgraded to day-to-day.

INDIANA INJURY REPORT: None.

BY THE NUMBERS

2010-11	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
IND (off)	94.5	1.018	48.2	19.9	23.3	14.3
ATL (def)	90.4	1.045	48.2	27.4	25.3	14.5

2010-11	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
IND (def)	94.5	1.026	46.9	33.9	25.2	13
ATL (off)	90.2	1.077	51.2	22.6	23.7	15.5

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Eight Points Nine Seconds, Indy Cornrows

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -7, 192.5 o/u

PREVIOUSLY...the Indiana Pacers lost at home 90-87 to the San Antonio Spurs last night. It was the ninth loss in twelve games for the Pacers. Their 12-point fourth quarter overshadowed a surprise 23-point, 12-rebound night from Tyler Hansbrough in his first start of the season and the second start of his career.

The Hawks beat the Pacers both times the teams have met this season: 102-92 in Indiana on November 16th and 97-83 in Atlanta on December 11th.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Atlanta Hawks 97 Indiana Pacers 83

Boxscore

Gameflow

Highlights

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
IND	95	0.874	42	18.5	11.4	14.7
ATL	93	1.043	47.9	37	22.5	16.1

Some stale observations reconstituted from my game notes following 36 hours of bed-rest...

• It's too early to make generalizations (or compare numbers with any seriousness) about the Hawks with and without Joe Johnson but they do not appear to be qualitatively different in his absence. They have put together three of their four best defensive performances (in terms of defensive efficiency) of the season in his absence.
• Al Horford, it should be noted, put up a Joe Johnson-type line: only 16 points on 20 shots (3 points on 5 shots in the fourth quarter) but 8 assists against just 1 turnover. The 16 rebounds and the quality of Horford's defensive work against Roy Hibbert admittedly do not fit this analogy very well.
• The Horford Treatment wears no better on Josh Smith. He sat for 7:25 of the second quarter with two fouls and finished the game with two fouls. He played over 20 minutes of the second half so his minutes weren't especially curtailed but it's still a no-upside tactical tic.
• Damien Wilkins would be a nice, cheap alternative to Mo Evans, one that probably fits the needs of the roster better. I'm still not sold on playing both of them at the expense of Jordan Crawford.
• A day earlier, I would have included Jeff Teague's name alongside Jordan Crawford's in that previous sentence but not after that first half stint.

Now onto the observations culled from those who met their deadlines...

Larry Drew:

"I thought our bench did a great job in the second quarter. I thought Jeff Teague was the catalyst of that. His speed and his energy when he got into the game got us going."

Here's hoping it leads to better things. A sentiment directed at both player and coach.

Drew with a sound state of the state of Josh Smith's shot selection statement:

"I’ve got to stay on him about shot selection, but the thing with Josh, there’s some things you’ve got to live with and I’m willing to live with them when he’s giving me the energy and effort defensively and he’s still making great plays and great decisions on the offensive end."

Josh Smith on his back-to-back and-1s late in the fourth quarter:

"My team was looking for me, and I was able to deliver."

Jim O'Brien:

"It's a credit to their defense. They really defended us well."

O'Brien on Horford's defense of Hibbert:

"He shut down Roy. He didn't give Roy anything in the low post. He was more physical than Roy. He's a heck of a player. They have a really good basketball team."

December 11th Game Preview: Indiana Pacers (11-10) @ Atlanta Hawks (15-9)

TIP-OFF: 7pm (EST)

TELEVISION: SportSouth

RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Pacers

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Joe Johnson is out. No update, at the time of this writing, on the status of either Zaza Pachulia or Josh Smith.

INDIANA INJURY REPORT: None.

BY THE NUMBERS

2010-11	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
IND (off)	93.1	1.073	50.8	21.1	23.1	16.7
ATL (def)	90.4	1.062	49.1	28.7	26.2	14.5

2010-11	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
IND (def)	93.1	1.043	46.2	33.9	26	15.1
ATL (off)	90.5	1.088	51.2	22.1	24.3	14.7

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: 8 Points 9 Seconds, Indy Cornrows

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -3.5, 194 o/u

PREVIOUSLY...the Indiana Pacers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 100-92 in Indianapolis last night on the combined strength of a balanced offensive (Seven of the nine Pacers who played in the game scored between 9 and 18 points.) and a suppressive defensive attack.

Defense has been key to Indiana winning or losing for much of the season. In 8 of their 11 wins this season, they've held their opponents to less than one point per possession (or, less than 100 points per 100 possessions). In their last four losses, they've allowed 106, 107, 127, and 109 points per 100 possessions. I've no formal data on the subject but it seems a rather large disparity.

Despite a record two-and-a-half games worse than the Hawks, the Pacers have a slightly better point differential this season.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Quotes, Notes, and Links: Atlanta Hawks 102 Indiana Pacers 92

Recap

Gameflow

Hoopdata boxscore

Highlights

Mike Bibby:

"We got the stops. We were kind of going back and forth in the first half. Then, we started getting stops and rebounding better, and we scored at the other end."

One important thing I didn't include in the game recap (because I'd rather take the accurate numbers from the PopcornMachine boxscore than tally everything by hand from the play-by-play) was the difference on the glass between the two halves. Though the Hawks were out-rebounded on the game by the Pacers, the Hawks narrowed the final margin after being thoroughly dominated in the first half.

Atlanta Hawks rebounding rates by half:

Half	OR%	DR%
1st	10.5	55.6
2nd	18.8	78.9

Michael Cunningham reports on the Horford Treatment:

Al picked up his second foul early in the second quarter and L.D. again gave him the hook. Horford said he was “frustrated” by having to sit.

Al Horford on defending Roy Hibbert:

"Just contain him, keep him off the paint and make him shoot over the top. Obviously he’s gotten better but we weren’t going to come double and just kind of let him shoot over the top."

Larry Drew on attacking Hibbert the defender:

"If you play a halfcourt game and allow him to sit there he can affect the game. We wanted to get him on the move."

Cunningham also reports that the Hawks made a conscious effort to sacrifice offensive rebounds for transition defense:

L.D. said the Hawks only sent their centers and power forwards to the offensive boards because they were focused on getting back in transition to cut off 3-pointers. Indiana had four fastbreak points and was 4 of 18 on 3-pointers.

Roy Hibbert:

"I wasn’t able to get to my sweet spots where I wanted to go. They did a good job of pressuring me. I should be able to do more. I can’t have a real good first half and drop off in the second half."

You can when Josh Powell and Jason Collins disappear from the court.

Another item on which I could have kept better notes during the game concerned shot location. I know that, of Atlanta's first 17 field goal attempts, 2 were in the paint, 1 was a three-point attempt and the other 14 were two-point jump shots. For the game, the Hawks attempted just 9 shots at the rim and another 5 inside of 10 feet. 34* of their 74 field goal attempts were long two-point jump shots. They made 16 of those (47.1%) and 11 of the 16 makes were assisted which is always a mitigating factor when examining the lowest percentage shot in basketball.

The league averages 40% shooting from that range with 61.1% of the makes being assisted. The Hawks lead the league in shooting from that range (at 45.4%), but overachieved compared to their already lofty standard.

*Josh Smith led the way with 7 shot attempts between 16 and 23 feet. After the game he said:

"In the first half, I wasn't stepping into it, I was fading. I made some corrections, and my teammates were able to find me, and I was able to knock down shots more."

Smith improved all the way from 1-3 to 2-5 (including, to be fair, a three-pointer).

Atlanta Hawks 102 Indiana Pacers 92

Boxscore

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL	85	1.200	55.4	27	14.3	12.9
IND	85	1.082	47.1	42.5	32.4	18.8

If this game gets remembered at all it may be for Josh Powell playing just 2:52 and then only if this is the first step toward Larry Drew easing him out of the rotation for the good of the team. Powell's absence might just have been a response to Indiana going small, with Jim O'Brien using James Posey as his backup power forward, as Powell entered the game (to play center) only after both Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia picked up their second personal foul in the second quarter. Drew's decision to use first Powell, then Jason Collins at center in the second quarter allowed Roy Hibbert (he had 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 of his assists in the 7 minutes he played against Powell and Collins) to keep Indiana in the game until halftime but Drew's tighter second half rotation maintained control throughout the second half.

Yes, Danny Granger and TJ Ford cut the Atlanta lead to 5 points with 7:48 and 7:03 left in the game respectively but Al Horford scored on the possessions subsequent to both of those Indiana baskets during a four-possession stretch wherein he scored six points and assisted on the other three. Josh Smith had a similar seven points in four possessions streak to finish out the third quarter.

Smith led the way for the Hawks with 25 points (on 16 shots, 9 of them jump shots), 8 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Horford needed 12 shots to score his 15 points, grabbed 6 rebounds (3 offensive), earned 3 assists, and finished the game with two personal fouls in one second less than 31 minutes of action. Mike Bibby's 16 points (on 9 shots), 7 assists, and just one turnover propped up the starting backcourt's production on a night where Joe Johnson couldn't outscore Marvin Williams despite playing 12 more minutes and taking four more shots. Off the bench, Jamal Crawford chipped in 11 points on 7 shots and Jeff Teague knocked two threes (bringing his season total to three) in the first quarter and earned three assists on his homecoming.

Defensively, the Hawks benefited from Darren Collison's absence as Ford (6 points on 10 shots, 5 assists in 37:19) never managed to capitalize on his quickness advantage against Bibby. The presence of Josh McRoberts on the court allowed Josh Smith the freedom to roam for several of those seven blocks. James Posey got free a couple of times when Smith helped defensively bit could not score often enough to off-set Smith's offensive dominance of him in the post. Hibbert (18 points on 16 shots plus three turnovers) struggled to execute his post moves effectively against Al Horford's combination of size and strength. Danny Granger didn't find much resistance from either Marvin Williams or Joe Johnon but Ford's inherent limitations and Horford's good work against Hibbert in the post prevented Indiana's half-court offense from finding a productive rhythm in the second. Committing just 11 turnovers went a long way toward holding the Pacers to 4 fast break points for the game. Even then, Atlanta's defensive efficiency for the season was worse after the game than it was before.

It may have been uninspiring but it was a perfectly competent performance, especially coming on the road (where the Hawks are now 5-1 on the young season). The limited use of Powell encouraged and the unnecessary strictures prescribed as part of the Horford Treatment must have reached their absurd pinnacle in the second quarter. The Hawks likely can't count on Josh Smith and Jeff Teague to shoot over 60% on their jump shots every night but the commitment Larry Drew showed to playing his best players throughout the second half could, if it's extended to the first 24 minutes of future games, raise this team's ceiling.

November 16th Game Thread: Atlanta Hawks (7-4) @ Indiana Pacers (4-4)

TIP-OFF: 7pm (EST)

TELEVISION: SportSouth

RADIO: The Hawks have moved to 97.9 on the FM dial this season.

CHAT: Daily Dime Live

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Pacers

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Pape Sy is out

INDIANA INJURY REPORT: Darren Collison and Tyler Hansbrough are questionable. Jeff Foster is out.

BY THE NUMBERS

2010-11	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL (off)	91.5	1.110	52.7	27.1	26.7	16.6
IND (def)	94.2	1.066	48.2	35.4	24.9	15.3

2010-11	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL (def)	92.1	1.075	49.1	26.1	27.8	14
IND (off)	94.2	1.086	51.2	20.8	23.4	16.7

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Eight Points Nine Seconds, Indy Cornrows

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -2, 202.5 o/u

PREVIOUSLY...the Indiana Pacers won 99-85 in Cleveland on Saturday behind 34 points from Danny Granger (the invocation of Granger's name being a Marvin Williams import alert following his general absence from the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon). The Pacers have split their four games, beating Philadelphia and Denver while losing to Milwaukee and Houston.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Quotes, Notes, and Links: Hawks 94 Pacers 84

Gameflow

Highlights

Recap

Michael Cunningham had a more charitable view of the effort than did I:

After a poor effort led to a dispiriting loss at Eastern Conference also-ran Philadelphia on Friday, the Hawks said they would be ready for lottery-bound Indiana on Sunday.

It took them more than a quarter but the Hawks finally backed up their talk with action. Jamal Crawford and Al Horford provided jolts and Josh Smith helped put the finishing touches on a 94-84 victory at Philips arena.

Mike Woodson on Horford:

"He’s been consistent from Day One he stepped foot in Atlanta and put on a Hawks uniform. He’s been fantastic. He’s been on a nice roll here of late by getting the doubles-doubles and we are going to need him to continue to do that."

Woodson on the second unit:

"Our second unit came in and really picked up our defense up and got us going. I thought that was the difference in the game."

Crawford on Crawford:

"Now that’s what my team expects of me. If I’m not doing that I am kind of throwing everyone else out of wack."

Danny Granger on Atlanta's D:

"Atlanta always gives you problems because they switch every ball screen. We just really didn’t take advantage of the switches like we should have tonight."

In Indiana's defense, it's difficult to take advantage of switches when you have just one player capable of creating his own shot.

The perpetually enigmatic Brandon Rush on the same subject:

"Their switching on defense really gave us problems today, which really took us out of our rhythm to make any shots"

Indiana's all-Kansas City starting backcourt made me wonder if any other NBA team starts two guards from the same city. Not so much that I'd do the research myself but enough to wonder out loud. This query ignores whether or not Indiana wants to start an all-Kansas City backcourt.

Jim O'Brien:

"Their athleticism up front always gives us problems. They were quicker to the offensive rebounds, quicker driving by us with Josh Smith and Al Horford. We've struggled with them all year."

Horford's first quarter defense against Roy Hibbert was exemplary and, perhaps, the only thing that kept the Pacers under 40 points in the opening quarter. If anyone wants an object lesson as to why an increased role for Veteran Big Man Joe Smith in the playoffs sends a chill down my spine, compare Horford's repeated stmyies of Hibbert to the ease with which Hibbert scored the first time he caught the ball in the post after Joe Smith entered the game.

Eight Points, Nine Seconds compares Horford and Hibbert.

Peachtree Hoops:

Josh Smith finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds. He was the stat star of the game, but the quintessential play may have been his lazy self-led fast break in the third quarter where he dribbled half speed down the court, demanding you see how little he cared, then picked up his dribble around the free throw line and seemed to say, "I can think even less if I just run with it." Josh picked up an offensive foul and then a technical. There are better examples of going through the motions, like if someone is in a charades game and is trying to act out "going through the motions" but other than that Josh pretty much has it nailed. If you are looking for a positive, Josh Smith tried for around five minutes of this game and still dominated. Which is a pretty big positive, especially if the Hawks can find a way to play the Pacers in the playoffs.

Zing!

Soaring Down South provides the definitive sentence about the game:

Well it wasn’t pretty but a win always looks better than a loss.

Indy Cornrows searched high and low for positives in defeat:

Solomon Jones showed up against his former team, putting up 7 hustle points and 7 pride filled rebounds in front his old fans.

Solomon Jones had fans?

Hawks 94 Pacers 84

Boxscore

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
IND	87.9	0.956	45.7	12.3	18.8	14.8
ATL	87.9	1.07	46.6	14.9	33.3	13.7

Score one for just showing up and beating a team. It must be easier to do at home than on the road. The first quarter effort was shocking with both Mike Bibby and Josh Smith* spending much of the quarter walking from one end of the floor to the other. The Pacers played hard, were rewarded with open shots, and scored 31 first quarter points on 20 offensive possessions.

*Smith appeared interested (in basketball, not in complaining about calls referees got right) for about three minutes of the fourth quarter. He loafed through the rest of the game and finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds. He's ridiculously talented.

Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachulia, and Jeff Teague* provided some energetic production early in the second quarter as the Hawks went on a 12-5 run to take a 38-36 lead. Jim O'Brien called a timeout, the energy waned, and the Hawks scored just 10 points in the final 9:29 of the first half.

*It's a shame Teague's good work wasn't rewarded with third quarter minutes in relief of the diffident Bibby. It would be nice if some of those good looks Teague creates for big men, fell to Al Horford and Josh Smith rather than Joe Smith and Pachulia.

Al Horford showed up for the third quarter, scoring 12 of Atlanta's 24 points and grabbing seven rebounds, as did Marvin Williams and Mo Evans who were both on the court for much of Indiana's four minute scoring drought that allowed the Hawks to take control of the game for good. Barely. The early insertion of Jason Collins and Mario West appeared to have as much to do with the head coach wishing the game to be over than it actually being over. Either that, or Solomon Jones is less wildly incompetent than a rather unnecessary double agent.

I empathize with Woodson's frustration even as a feel a firmer hand with regard to accountability could have held preventative value. If effort and attitude were the test, some of the Hawks failed outright. None scored perfectly. But Danny Granger shot poorly, the Indiana bench shot worse, and Atlanta got away with a win.

March 28th Open Thread: Indiana (27-46) @ Atlanta (46-26)

TIP-OFF: 3:30pm (EDT)

TELEVISION: SportSouth

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Pacers

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.

INDIANA INJURY REPORT: Jeff Foster and Tyler Hansbrough are out. TJ Ford is listed as day-to-day.

BY THE NUMBERS

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
IND (off)	95.7	1.046	48.7	23.2	21.6	16
ATL (def)	89.2	1.085	49.9	28	27.5	15.8

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
IND (def)	95.7	1.084	48.9	34.8	26.8	15.5
ATL (off)	89.2	1.133	50.5	21.8	27.9	13.3

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -8, 207.5 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Eight Points, Nine Seconds

PREVIOUSLY, THE INDIANA PACERS...beat Utah 122-106 on Friday night. It was Indiana's fifth straight win.

The Hawks beat the Pacers both times they've met this season. 120-109 on opening night in Atlanta and 110-98 on December 26th.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

Hawks 110 Pacers 98

Boxscore

Hoopdata Boxscore

Gameflow

Highlights

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL	95.8	1.148	54.4	30.4	8.3	11.5
IND	95.8	1.022	47.8	13.3	29.2	16.7

I don't how much credit to give the schedule (both that this was not the second of back-to-back games and that the opponent was Indiana rather than Denver) and how much to Mike Woodson's decision to give the team a couple days off while on the road over the Christmas holiday but the Hawks showed none of the signs of fatigue they demonstrated in Denver on Wednesday night.

The Hawks used their superior size, speed, and skill to overwhelm the Pacers on both ends of the court in the first quarter and never let up (at least when the starters were on the floor). Indiana's going to struggle to create offense in Danny Granger's absence but the Hawks haven't always made poor offensive teams look poor this season, as Charlotte, New York, and New Jersey can each attest. Any good defensive performance on the road is worthy of acclamation.

With 25 points (on 14 shots), 19 rebounds, and 5 blocks, I think Al Horford earned first quote in the recap:

"It all started with Josh setting the tone early on defense and I just tried to go in there and take what the defense was giving me in the post. That's the way I like to play, that's the way we play."

Mike Woodson on Horford:

"Al had a monster game. It's nice to have him play like that."

More from Woodson:

"I thought the day off really rejuvenated us. We had fresh legs. I thought we came out and established our game right off. We had a lot of juice going. I thought it carried over throughout the game."

Jim O'Brien explains Indiana's role in the Atlanta win:

"We've been preparing for it [Atlanta's switches] for two days and it never registered with our players that the whole switching you spent Christmas Eve and this morning, talking about it in pregame and during timeouts and then acting like we were surprised they were switching. So I don't have an answer for that."

Boxing Day Game Thread: Atlanta (20-8) @ Indiana (9-18)

TIP-OFF: 7pm (EST)

TELEVISION: Fox Sports South

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Pacers

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: Joe Smith is again upgraded to day-to-day.

INDIANA INJURY REPORT: Danny Granger and Travis Diener are out. Jeff Foster is listed as day-to-day.

BY THE NUMBERS

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL (off)	90.6	1.149	51.2	21.3	29.2	13.3
IND (def)	95.2	1.064	47.7	36.5	26.9	16.2

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL (def)	90.6	1.064	50.0	27.9	26.4	16.4
IND (off)	95.2	1.022	47.2	24.2	24.4	17.1

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -6.5, 203.5 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Eight Points, Nine Seconds; Indy Cornrows

PREVIOUSLY, THE INDIANA PACERS...lost their fourth straight game to the Celtics in Boston, 103-94, on Tuesday night. Jim O'Brien, who admirably has a plan, has been flummoxed by poor performances this year, not least of which from the otherwise admirable and could be reasonably good if not excellent, duo of Brandon Rush and TJ Ford. Rush, who would have been the MOP of the 2008 Final Four had Kansas not needed Mario Chalmers, has doubled down on his passivity as a pro while Ford has doubled down on his passivity all around, losing his starting job to my second least-favorite (after Tyronn Lue) Kansas City player of all-time.

A healthy Mikey Dunleavy has mitigated the loss of Danny Granger but the Pacers will be treading water at best until both are healthy despite the surfeit of should-be useful role players. I like Indiana in theory but health and practicality have conspired to make them poor and me poor in reflection for going on two years now. Come 2012 I might not pick them to make the playoffs.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap*) thoughts.

Quotes, Notes, and Links: Hawks 120 Pacers 109

Gameflow

Highlights

Al Horford:

"It's just the first game. We can't make too many judgments. But we are trying to make an effort to play better and we needed to shut them down inside and we did a good job of that when it mattered late."

Joe Johnson:

"There's no doubt Josh and Al carried us in the first half and that's big. I knew I had to step it up after halftime because I was pressing a little too much early. But when you have those guys going off like that on both ends of the floor we're a tougher team to deal with."

Mike Woodson, on Josh Smith and Horford:

"They really did a great job of protecting the paint. [Smith] made some unbelievable blocks when guys had plays right at the rim and he came form nowhere and got the block and we were able to secure the ball and go the other way. We really need those two guys to be shot blockers as well as to protect our paint."

Josh Smith:

"You're going to have nights like this, when the other team is shooting lights out and you're forced to play outside of your comfort zone a little bit. We wanted to clamp down on the defensive end and put the onus ourselves to get stops when it mattered and I think we did that...I know it wasn’t the sort of defensive masterpiece coach loves to see, but it turned out positive for us in the end."

Mo Evans:

"I feel like we kind of succumbed to the way they wanted to play and to the rotation they wanted us to use instead of milking that newly formed bench we brought in here. We’ve got to learn how to trust our second unit as well to go out there and play. We’ve got a lot of talent over there and I think we got a little nervous because they were out there making shots and then we had to extend our starters’ minutes a little longer than we probably wanted. That’s not going to work during those stretches when we have four games in five or six nights."

Mike Woodson:

"We’re all trying to get used to one another. They’re especially trying to get used to me and what I’m expecting when they’re out on the floor."

I had no problems with the distribution of bench minutes. Mo Evans had a very nice game but Marvin Williams is a better player. There will be nights when Jamal Crawford or Zaza Pachulia or maybe even Jeff Teague are playing better than a starter but last night wasn't one of those nights. So let's hold off on criticizing the coach on this issue until it's, you know, an issue.

If you really want to vent about something, note the apparent return of the Horford Treatment: Marvin Williams sat the last 2:43 of the first half after picking up his second foul and Josh Smith sat out the last 41.1 seconds of the first half after picking his second foul.

The Human Highlight Blog:

Game One also showed some of how Woodson may plan to deploy his bench and not use Mike Bibby so much. In what was not a settled game until the fourth quarter wound down, Bibby still logged just (30) minutes. He used that rest to make three big fourth quarter shots that gave the Hawks the lead and then put it out of reach. Two of the buckets were bombs that were standard issue open Bibby looks, but the 2-pointer sandwiched in between was a runner in the lane in which Bibby seemed to lose the handle on, but was able to sneak it by the taller players inside and get the bucket. That basket gave the Hawks a (4) point lead with 7 1/2 minutes left and the Hawks never trailed again.

It was nice to see you too, department: CoCo has the good, the bad, and the ugly over at The Vent. I presume Hawk Str8Talk will have a recap once Larry recovers from witnessing Al Horford's IMPRESSIVE performance.

Be warned, the bar for describing Horford's performance has been set high atPeachtree Hoops:

Oooohhhh, Mr. Horford. I love you when you average 10 and 8. So 24 and 16 is going to cause problems for my marriage.

To answer Joe Johnson's earlier question again, yes, that is a guy writing.

Mark Bradley:

[Joe Johnson] deferred to Josh Smith and Al Horford for a half, and then the Hawks’ best player reminded us that, even though this team has more good players than at any time in two decades, he’s still the Hawks’ best player. And if that’s the new method — let others get involved early and let JJ save it for later — it just might work.

Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star has a nice piece on Indianapolis native Jeff Teague.

John Hollinger:

It’s a simple concept, really: get the rebound, throw it to a guard, and run.

Unfortunately, the Pacers were so focused on the “and run” part on Wednesday that they glossed over “throw it to a guard” on several occasions. Indiana made a whopping 25 turnovers in a frenetic 120-109 loss to the Hawks, and by my count at least six of them came in the backcourt while trying to advance the ball upcourt.

Each time, an Indiana player rebounded the ball and tried to throw it ahead to T.J. Ford or Earl Watson to push it upcourt. Each time, a Hawks defender was sitting on the outlet pass and pried the ball away from the Pacers.

Let's all spare a thought for Jared Wade of Eight Points, Nine Seconds:

Right after Solomon Jones entered the game, he found himself playing helpside D when the ball-handler was in the corner and his man was near the opposite elbow. He stood there under the basket, wildly looking back and forth between his two responsibilities and seemed to be overwhelmed by all the excitement going on around him.

I’ll chalk this up to Solo still being inexperienced and having nerves due to the fact that he is trying to carve out a role on a new team that he might actually be able to get burn for. But Solomon Jones looked lost and frenetic out there — and it wasn’t just on this one play.

That Indiana went with Jones as Hibbert's backup rather than the smaller, quicker, and more talented Jeff Foster may be an indication that other NBA teams do not consider Al Horford as undersized a center as do some Hawks fans. Or it might just mean that Foster was playing hurt.

A couple times last night, I forgot for a second that Brandon Rush doesn't play for Kansas anymore before I'd remember and feel the peace of not having to be frustrated by him anymore. Tom Lewis of Indy Cornrows does not feel that peace:

Despite the quibble about Dahntay being TOO aggressive, I'd much rather have that than what Brandon Rush ended up offering tonight. After a decent start and a couple of nice buckets in the lane, Rush wasn't able to rev up his game to match the intensity of the game. After a pair of turnovers where he literally just lost the ball on the dribble, JOB kept him tethered to the bench. Won't be surprised to see Dahntay starting on Friday.

In the long term, I like Jeff Teague a lot. Still, I note that, in his NBA debut, DeJuan Blair scored 14 points on 10 shots, grabbed 11 rebounds (5 offensive), and earned 3 assists against 2 turnovers all in 23 minutes. Blair needs a nickname. Forward your suggestions to @kpelton.

In another debut, Ty Lawson scored 17 points points on 13 shots and earned 6 assists against a single turnover. It would have been nice to get more than one of the underrated players available at the bottom of the first round.

Lest I injure myself in the act of premature self-congratulation, I should also note that Jonny Flynn had a very nice debut for the Timberwolves.

If you've made it this far, let me know what you think about the switch to two post-game posts per game: the game recap appearing at night and quotes, notes, and links in the morning.