Atlanta Hawks 94, Indiana Pacers 84 or mailing in ten point victories

by hawksdawgs on Mar 28, 2010 9:21 PM EDT

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.

In the end, the Atlanta Hawks were just better. Jamal Crawford drained threes, Al Horford could not be guarded, and Josh Smith's best impersonation of a ridiculously athletic version of Zach Randolph was just too much. Horrible rotation defense and close outs not with standing, I am fine with a ten point victory where the longest stint by a starter was 34 minutes. I really am. Without the Philly lose, I might not have even picked up on lack of effort.

Would this be a great time to test different 5 man rotations, hammer home discipline to run the offense, develop a killer instinct to put teams away early, and actually make a run at being the best team this group of players can be? Yes, yes it would, but clearly, that is not what the Hawks are interested in doing. They will take their random 76ers loss alongside their easy win against Indy because when the rubber meats the road against the Orlando's of the world, they think they can win those too.

Good basketball is always better than bad basketball. 3-0 always better than 2-1. Destroying teams always more appealing than the possibility of developing bad habits, but right now, the Hawks are going for the common denominator. And that is they know they can beat any team in the standing below them and believe they can compete with any one above them. In their mind, a win or loss down the stretch is not going to change that. And if you want to change that, you might need to tune out for the next nine or so games.

Until then, enjoy the crap out of Jeff Teague's transition defense.

Go Hawks!

Tweet Comment 18 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

or wins like this don't matter

losses like Friday matter a whole lot. Let’s see what they do on hump day against the Lakers

Atlanta will win a championship....someday

by maxxj3 on Mar 28, 2010 9:52 PM EDT reply actions

i have a feeling they are going to show up big

but it will be a good test for this turn it on/off mentality.

by hawksdawgs on Mar 28, 2010 9:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I seriously believe

When they come out and play so uninspired……it’s almost like they all were fighting in a meeting before the game.

Atlanta will win a championship....someday

by maxxj3 on Mar 28, 2010 10:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Mentality is up to Josh Al and Mario and JJ

Josh is the key guy. He is the only one that takes our team to another level. We have a team of role players on the offensive end. We have players that can take over parts of games on the offensive end but Josh is the only one that can consistently take over a chunk of a game defensively. Al can dominate or win the battle with a weaker big post game on occasion – has nothing to do with effort. Mario gives the effort but has not had the minutes to make a real difference. JJ has always bothered me -= he has the skills but paces himself rather than go full out. My idea for JJ and Woody is have him play Mario type defense and give him the rest he needs to do it.

Could JJ be the game changer like Josh is? I think he has the skills but has not had that role explained or expected of him. In todays Hawks we have other players that can score. Woody you talk defense. Expect it from our #1 man.

by RivBoatGambler on Mar 28, 2010 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Smooth played great.

But I noticed something him about I had felt before. Cocky – MR confidence. Taking time off in between the plays or even during parts of them. The last 5 games he has not played with the same intensity he had since the snub. I worry about him thinking he can turn it on or off. Body language is everything. Please Smooth leave it all out on the court in measured response. I understand pacing but you have lost your edge.

by RivBoatGambler on Mar 28, 2010 10:16 PM EDT reply actions

I think (call me crazy) that Pachulia or Joe Smith should get more minutes..

than Marvin Williams in the Lakers and Cavs games. Maybe even Jason Collins too. The Lakers and Cavs are going to be big up front and we need to combat that. Maybe even if Marvin came off the bench with Jamal and Mo Evans.

Atlanta will win a championship....someday

by maxxj3 on Mar 29, 2010 12:07 AM EDT reply actions

I dont know

Bynum is hurt so the only real threat is gonna be gasol. or lamar odom. but who gonna be on ron artest if this happens

by Throw on Mar 29, 2010 10:04 AM EDT up reply actions

Just think about this...

if we had taken care of business against the Knicks, Raptors, Bucks, AND 76ers (ALL of them we SHOULD have won) we would be a half game back of the Magic for the division. The only games we weren’t winning going into the fourth was the Knicks and 76ers game which is ridiculous all in itself.
We were leading:
- the Heat by 3 going into the 4th (I’ll forgive them for that one).. outscored by 7
- the Raptors by 9 going into 4th… outscored by 11
- the Bucks by 7 going into 4th… outscored by 10
- they weren’t leading the 76ers or Knicks but there is no excuse for those loses either

SO really if we had won those games against teams that are well below our talent level we would be leading the division by half a game. I think if we had a coach like Larry Brown, Phil Jackson, or Gregg Popovich we would have taken care of business.

by BravesFanScout on Mar 29, 2010 1:24 AM EDT reply actions

I take the win and am happy

I love how the bench is playing. Zaza is playing smart ball, not taking it into a crowd. rebounding and passing out, and hitting the hooks and taking small jumpers.

Lion was lion, playing the way he needs to play in this league, sometimes I forget how young he is, and is still learning. Smoove, please no more Ts until end of year. Is that possible?

I am worried about JJ. What is wrong with him? His game is not the dominating game I have come to expect. Has he run out of steam? Those air balls were most worrisome.

Wed game is one where we can not take the night off. This is arguably the best team in the league, even if not record wise. Lakers play in the much tougher west, have so many talented big men, with legit 7 footers at 2 positions. And I have not even mentioned the most clutch player in the world. A big test for the Hawks. Then again we beat Spurs and Magic recently, and those two teams are hot(haha Celtics were embarrassed last night!!). Of-course we also lose to likes of Philly and Raptors on the road. So which Hawks shows up? I think Hawks will be on with a big crowd and Showtime Lakers in town, but regardless, it takes extra effort to beat the real team from Los Angeles.

Again let’s hear it for the bench. Mo, Zaza, and rookie. Jamal did his thing, and sad but i take him for granted nowadays. Our bench can be the difference maker come playoff time!! Marvin please show up to the game on Wed, we need you. Go Hawks

by ATLpaul on Mar 29, 2010 5:46 AM EDT reply actions

Joe is probably tired

which goes back to my nutty idea of getting the starters rest. Yes, he is youngish, but there are many minutes on those legs. Woody is going to run him into the ground right before the playoffs, then we can all but pencil in a below average playoff stint for Joe. We hobbled in on tired legs last year, this year will be the same.

@cocoqt81

by Co Co on Mar 29, 2010 8:30 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

It’s hard to appreciate Teague’s transition D when he gets pulled out of the game immediately after making a great play. Sigh.

by redwards95 on Mar 29, 2010 9:19 AM EDT reply actions

yeah, SMH

It seems that Teague is going to be pulled no matter what.

by DPhenomenal1 on Mar 29, 2010 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions

I definently noticed joshs cockiness

He needs to have his head in the game at all times and we could dominate more often. teague played like he should, doing all he can in his few minutes which was very useful. the lion roared! lol. jj looked exhausted and frustrated which results in airballs and half ass d. but he played well overall. now to get ready for la.

IF YOU CANT ACCEPT LOSING, YOU CANT WIN.

by Hawksgirl on Mar 29, 2010 10:05 AM EDT via mobile reply actions