Los Angeles Lakers/Atlanta Hawks Game Review: What a Difference (48) Makes
by The Human Highlight Blog on Apr 1, 2010 2:27 AM EDT
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Bob Rathbun, on his telecast towards the end of the Hawks 109-92 lockdown of the visiting Lakers, said that not even the most ardent of Hawks fans could have pictured this.
He was right, but in the wrong way.
Every time the Hawks have come out of the locker room this season, they merely scratched at the surface of what was possible as a team. They would have moments, quarters, even halves of what their potential is, but have often lost focus. On (47) nights this year, that has been enough. To think that, in game (74), things would be any different would indeed be outside the "picture-able".
Against the Lakers on Wednesday night, in front of over 20 thousand basketball fans, the Hawks opened up a can of "what could be" and took turns frustrating, confounding, and ultimately beating the defending champs by playing a full (48) minutes of team basketball.
The Hawks came out determined to defend and though they did give up (25) points in the first quarter to the Lakers, Kobe Bryant had to get involved early to make it so. The Hawks disrupted Los Angeles' fabled triangle offense so much as to force them into a series of Iso-Kobe, Iso-Ron, and Iso-Pau sets. It stole the rhythm from the Lakers and set the tone to a perfect pitch for the Hawks.
An early turning point came late in the first quarter, when Al Horford picked up his second foul on somewhat questionable circumstances. What could have been an invitation for the Lakers to pound the ball inside and to deflate the Hawks offense was completely unscrewed by Zaza Pachulia.
As we said in our piece yesterday, Zaza's last double-double came at the expense of these cats in Philips last season, so it was little surprise to see Pachulia giving Los Angeles fits again inside. Everywhere the ball was, there was Zaza. Pachulia was passing, rebounding, scoring, annoying--he did everything but take the dry erase board from Woody and draw a big "Gotcha" for the Lakers to throw an elbow at. Zaza needed (7) free throws to make four, but on that last made free throw, Pachulia had his first double-double on the season.
But he wasn't the only thing cooking from the bench. Maurice Evans brought his aggression and attitude to the floor against his former teammates, taking a very efficient mid range game on offense on the way to an (18) point game. Defensively, Evans helped maintain the level of energy and fire that propelled the Hawks. Kobe Bryant scored (28) points against the Hawks Wednesday night, but he only scored (8) after the half and had to work like crazy for almost every single one of his points, thanks in large part to efforts like Evans'.
Jamal Crawford is often the leader of this pack, but he didn't have it from the outside tonight, even missing a couple of wide open gifts from Lakers. This would have been one of those nights to see more Mike Bibby late in the game, considering Mike was hot, hot, hot early in the game, scoring the Hawks first (7) points.
While talking about the bench, it has to be mentioned that Jeff Teague had a good couple of shifts. Teague moved the ball well and, on a sequence to remember in this one, went up high for a rebound on one possession, and then corralled a jump ball around Jordan Farmar and beat him down the court for a breakaway slam. Pride.
The bench helped the Hawks modest first quarter lead turn into a (9) point edge going into the half. Then the Starting Five came out and stretched things out further behind the play of Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Joe had (8) points and (4) assists in the quarter and his defensive participation on Kobe was significant. Johnson had his usual ho-hum (25) points and (8) assists while knocking down a bomb in the fourth quarter that defined the term "heat check" (ummm--yes---still hot).
Smith was again brilliant with his passing (6 assists) and the Hawks were more than willing to swing the ball to him at the top of the circle to survey the moving parts of the Hawks offense and then send a laser to his target. His pass to Joe Johnson under the basket rivaled NFL caliber passing, whipping the ball between two Laker defenders and catching Johnson in stride. Also, to continue to pro football like tribute to Smoove's efforts, Josh played the passing lanes like an All-Star defensive back, anticipating a swing pass and bolting for the pick, deflecting a number of passes and stealing (2) more.
Whereas the fourth quarter has been somewhat troublesome with the Hawks in terms of putting teams away, they had no such problem against the Lakers as the visitors' defense was unable to stop the Hawks and allow themselves to significantly lower the Hawks' lead. This despite a technical foul on Evans (Artesticide), an odd flagrant foul on Marvin Williams, and a slew of fourth quarter three pointers (mostly by Jordan Farmar) from the Lakers.
In the end, the home team had an easy victory, the folks who came dressed in gold and purple went away unhappy, and the Hawks showed what can be done if they come out focused for (48) minutes.
They can beat anyone.
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Fantastic Stats I didn't put in the recap
One: The Hawks had a mere (5) turnovers.
Two: The Hawks have now won (48) games, meaning they have officially improved from the last regular season.
Three: The Hawks bench was 10-14 from the free throw line. The Hawks starters were 0-1. Think about that.
by The Human Highlight Blog on Apr 1, 2010 2:32 AM EDT reply actions
One(of the many) things I liked about the game...
Was the new 4th quarter lineup of Crawford, Johnson, Evans, Smith and Horford. Now, I know Woody has an allergic reaction to change and this was only a result of Mo’s beast of a game, but the more I think about that lineup, the more I like its balance of offense and defense.
Great write up.. that is exactly how 48 minutes of work should look from the Hawks
- they were moving the ball great. (there weren’t to many iso Joe’s and it made me happy and he still got his)
- they showed aggression and hustle (that’s the Zaza I know and love)
- Woodson used the bench really well (didn’t run the starters in the ground…surprisingly)
- Joe Johnson seemed like he was in the best mood of his life, he was smiling, cutting up with guys, giving out fist pounds like candy, throwing his arm around peeps… it was awesome. It made me in a great mood. (that was the Joe i’ve always wished for)
- Overall, fantastic game. We would have stomped them even worse if Jamal had made a few more jumpers. Let’s bring this energy for 48 minutes on friday.
Excellent Game all around for the Hawks
Regardless of the fact Lakers were without their center, regardless of the fact they were at the tail end of a long road trip, this was still a GREAT win for Hawks. We got a focused Lakers team that really really wanted to win. It was in their eyes, it was in the way their prince was playing making tough shot after tough shot. And it was on them to make the fake Laker fans in the crowd happy.
Not on this night. Not in our house. Not in front of our REAL fans.
JJ was back to being his true self. Of-course he scores, of-course he plays injured, we take that for granted, but he was passing superbly. And wow that defense. Any one that can put a beating on Artest, has my respect. He was fighting Artest and beating him up. I ask you, how many guards in NBA can put a beating on Thug Artest? And get away with it? Superb D by Captain JJ.
Bibster has that thing in his eye this time of year. You can see it. He is younger, blood running hot. And that purple and gold does something to him, tremind him of his younger more glorious days. Smoove was efficient. A master quarterback from his position. Lion finally got it going in the third.
But let’s give a round of applause for the bench. This game was about them. For several games now they have been following their leader, the true Gem of Seattle, Mr Jamal "I am an incredible dribbler" Crawford. On this night, they followed the marching orders of their leader, and unleashed their fury.
There is Mo showing how defense and medium and outside shooting is to be done. There is rookie, surprisingly getting a second change in the second half ad showing speed. And then, there is Zaza The Great. On this night, for those magical moments, Zaza could do no wrong. Solid at everything he did. He has turned the corner. He has become that defensive rebounding center I have been asking us to acquire all year. And, to me the defining moment came when Thug Artest ran to Mo wanting to intimidate him, and there is Zaza running to separate the two, and forcing Thug Artest to step back. That is what I want to see. Have my back. Bravo Zaza.
And last but least, job well done to our coach Mr Mike Woodson. On this night, he showed tremendous growth, allowed the bench to take center stage, and kept starters fresh. We are all learning, as is Woody Meister.
I can not wait for the next challenge. On the road against a team with a crowd and refs on their side, and King on their team. Hawks need a good challenge. As the Great Doctor J said there is no reason why this team can not win a championship this year. And for all those non-believers last night at the old Phillips, the truth in Doctor’s prescription must have hit them in the head loud and long on their drive back to Alpharetta :)
Thank-you Hawks
just sat down to watch the game in full
DVR did not work. was this game not in HD?
While you are answering, I will be throwing things against the wall.
Man, this really did show how the hawks have a matchup advantage with this group of Lakers.
If Kobe can be managed by Joe (Kobe’s lost some quickness that Joe never had), and Pachulia can match up with Gasol, Derek Fisher is now so bad that Bibby can be effectively hidden without having to switch all the time.
The only x factor here is Bynum. His presence gives the Lakers two bigs that are too much for Horford on his own.
I feel this game proved what we all know he hawks are capable of
I love these guys! I was amazed woody let the bench play and thankful. can’t say what hasn’t already been said about zaza. he and mo were beasts last night. and jj, o’ capiton, was comfortable and having fun. I love seeing him smile and interact. bibster jutsa has been alive and woody is….okay woody was great
IF YOU CANT ACCEPT LOSING, YOU CANT WIN.
by Hawksgirl on Apr 1, 2010 10:05 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
And some people say it's all negative around here...
that seems pretty positive to me.
Lots of positives from last night—
the complete team effort
Teague getting more than one spurt of a handful of minutes as so many have wanted all along (we’re not saying he should start, but a couple minutes in the first half and a handful more in the second half depending on how he’s playing and the game situation would be nice)
the confidence boost going forward of a big win vs. a championship caliber team (albeit without Bynum)
having a packed house there for that win, and hopefully it can be a springboard for many of those fans making a return appearance and helping solve this poor attendance problem
among other positives
And could Zaza just have Pau’s number? Gasol has always seemed a bit on the finesse side, he’s thin and is extremely long, but could Zaza’s tenacity and strength be the perfect counter to Gasol and allow him for these big nights against his fellow Euro?
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