Well, I shelled out $100 so I could watch the games online, but I got sick of reading boxscores. Anyway, I watched the first half, and there was more running than I have to guess happens in most Hawks games, which I’m going to attribute to traveling back-to-backs for both teams—just not getting back on defense; Smith did not have to attack the basket so much because there were more than usual three-on-threes in the low post. Flip threw up shots as quickly as he could get over the timeline in the second quarter, when he took half of the shots for the entire team, but that and the fact that the Hawks shot so well is part of the reason Smith had no rebounds.

This is not an excuse as much as an explanation; even with a faster-paced, well-shot game in which the shots went up more quickly than usual, sheer lack of effort would result in zero rebounds. But there were fewer to be had overall. The Hawks’ lack of effort on the defensive end is evident in the rebounding stats, where Houston got 12 offensive rebounds and won the overall rebounding battle quite easily.

To this point, I rest on my earlier thesis: this team still plays hard only selectively, Joe Johnson included, though I still think he does it to save energy over the long haul. Josh Smith does it just because he’s lazy, which would result in not meeting Carter at the timeline with the game on the line, getting zero rebounds, and flinging jumpshots rather than attacking the basket.

Bibby is right, a win is a win, and increasingly I think we should not judge this team’s play strictly on what happens in games against lesser opponents (which Houston was, with those players out), but on what happens in games against the good teams. Let’s see what they can do with Orlando this week.

Yao Ming did not score in the second half; in fact, Adelman took him out with 3 minutes left in the third and he did not return until 4:41 to go in the game. During the time he was out the Rockets took their largest lead since the 1st qtr; Yao was ineffective because Woodson made an adjustment: he began doubling Yao, which they had not done in the first game a few weeks ago and did not do effectively in the first quarter when one of the doublers was, guess who, Josh Smith. When the doublers could be Horford and Pachulia, or Pachulia and Solomon Jones in the 3rd, the Rockets got more threes because of the personnel on the floor and the quickness edge their guards had, but Yao was unable to deal with strong, quick doublers who actually tried to maintain defensive position (which, again, is not in Josh Smith’s vocabulary).

Continuing on defense, Luis Scola abused Smith so badly in the 3rd that Jones came in for him. Regarding Jones, obviously he needs a lot of work on the fouls, but he does hustle and actually tries to play on-the-ball defense (unlike Smith for 98% of the game).
Rafer Alston and Von Wafer kept the Rockets in the game with ball penetration and feeds to Carl Landy—who, by the way, is a good finisher and inside scorer on offense, but an absolute defensive liability who got abused by Pachulia—Pachulia, now—three straight times down the floor on one stretch in the 2nd half. It was bad enough the Hawks isolated Pachulia on him, with success each time.

Offensively the game plan was to go inside from the start, because the Rockets did not have Artest and Battier and Yao is too slow for the Hawks’ bigs. It was very effective the whole game; almost all the shots from less then 20 feet. BTW, after watching last night’s game I am convinced that the reason Flip Murray plays so much is because he is excellent at moving without the ball, something no one else on the team does well other than Joe. It isn’t just moving per se—Bibby and Smith do that—but losing your defender or getting to a good spot to receive a pass. Down the stretch Murray was absolutely an asset because he and JJ worked a bit of a two-man game that got excellent shots for Flip, one an open three (made) and another a 5-footer in the lane that was wide open but rimmed out. Meanwhile Josh Smith was “crashing the boards”—standing on the perimeter waiting for the ball, near Bibby.

“So it sounds like Woodson had to figure the same thing out again instead of continuing what had previously worked. Rather typical for him to forget what’s effective.”

The problem was not that Woodson didn’t double Yao, it’s that his starting lineup (Evans, JJ, JS, Al, Bibby) could not do it properly without Marvin. He might have considered starting Pachulia and Al, but then he loses considerable speed against the Rockets’ small lineup. He was in a bit of a defensive pickle all night, but at least they did not let Yao have his way—that’s the choice he eventually made.

Here again, it would be nice to able to count on Josh to help with a double-team, but he’s too busy “crashing the boards” to be useful at it.