Atlanta Falters Late In Chicago, Loses 76-74 In Playoff Rematch

by Kris Willis on Jan 4, 2012 12:00 PM EST

CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 03: Al Horford #15 of the Atlanta Hawks dunks the ball over Omer Asik #3 of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on January 3, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls defeated the Hawks 76-74. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

A tough situation and a missed opportunity. That is how I would describe Atlanta's 76-74 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. It is a tough situation because as was described in the broadcast the Hawks are the only team that will play a back-to-back against the two Eastern Conference favorites in Miami and Chicago. It is also tough because Atlanta is in the midst of a nine games in 12 days stretch to start the season.

Its a missed opportunity because anytime you lead by 19 points in the second half of the game then you should win that game. Fatigue never reared its ugly head in that game until the Bulls made their run and then suddenly it was the Hawks that looked slow and unresponsive. After getting past the anger and disappointment of the game I have resigned myself that we will see more of this simply due to the compacted schedule.

However, it isn't like we haven't seen this sort of thing before involving the Hawks and once again the offense ground to a halt at crunch time. The player movement and ball movement that have been with the team throughout the season vanished when they needed it the most. No doubt Tracy McGrady would have helped the situation but he was on the bench with a bone bruise in his knee. With the game on the line, this core group has to prove that they can find the ball movement and player movement to get the shot they want. If they can't then Larry Drew is going to have to put the ball in Jeff Teague's hands to let him create an opportunity for one of the other starters.

Offense

Except for a few stretches in the game it was ugly most of the night. At times the player movement and ball movement were there through the first three quarters, the Hawks just simply missed the shots. Credit Chicago for being a heck of a defensive team and for having one of the few players in the NBA that is quick enough to cut Jeff Teague off and prevent him from getting to the basket. Even with the nitpicking of the offense, had the Hawks made free throws throughout the game or in crunch time, they still would have likely won the game.

Defense

Hawks got very little credit for Chicago's bad shooting throughout the first three quarters of the game. What I saw was an Atlanta team that was contesting at the rim and flying around while also switching in and out of the zone. More importantly they were rebounding Chicago's misses. In the fourth quarter, Derrick Rose happened and the Hawks lost the inbounder on the play that led to Deng's game-winning bucket. Still I can't help but feel that the defense as a whole was very good and that their stagnant offense in the fourth hurt them.

Bench

Chicago started their run at the beginning of the fourth quarter with Atlanta's second unit on the floor. Derrick Rose seemed to find his rhythm with Jannero Pargo guarding him. Hindsight suggests that Drew should have been quicker to come back with his starters but with a big lead I believe the thinking was to try to rest them for as long as they could. Neither Luol Deng nor Derrick Rose came out of the game in the second half but the Bulls aren't in the midst of a nine game in 12 days stretch to start the season. It turned out to be a gamble but at the time I didn't have a problem with it. Drew called a time out after two straight buckets by the Bulls and the starters re-entered with an 11 point lead.

Summary

Atlanta came within an eyelash of knocking off the two favorites in the Eastern Conference on back-to-back nights in their gyms. After the stinker in Houston on Saturday I am not sure anyone thought that was possible. Yet we are long past the need for moral victories and the slate will show a 1-2 road trip and a game that got away that was very winnable.

Atlanta will enjoy the day off on Wednesday before beginning their first back-to-back-to-back set of the season on Thursday when they host a rematch with the Heat. Atlanta hits the road on Friday with a game at Charlotte and then returns home on Saturday for the Bulls rematch. There is no rest for weary this go around.

Final Thought: I didn't even mention the fact that in this game I witnessed the absolute worst video overrule of a call that I have ever seen in the NBA. If they had the same look that we did on the TV broadcast I have no idea how you can make that call. Even though the call was atrocious, the Hawks still had opportunities to win the basketball game.

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That call after the review was disappointing

But as disappointing as the missed call/ foul on Horford, more dissapointing was the response from LD, which was none. I know you have to keep your cool in late game situations but that is the time to get a tech and complain for all the missed calls on Teague. Call me crazy, bht if I was LD I would plan my next tech and or ejection for the Miami game. At some point, the Big 3 will get a call that the Hawks never do. The Hawks are at home and its a national TV audience too. The perfect stage for LD to stand up for his guys.

by xavip on Jan 4, 2012 1:42 PM EST reply actions

Agreed

Esp. on standing up for Teague. For the love of all that’s holy, that dude gets killed and I just need the coach to send a message that the boy is getting disrespected. Seriously, it happened all playoffs and I’ve watched it happen now. I know the refs are used to Hawks trying to create contact, but still…(not that we would have made the free throws last night)

Hawk Str8Talk

by Hawk Str8Talk on Jan 4, 2012 5:28 PM EST up reply actions

Stagnant Offense and Coaching

At the end, we missed free throws. Sure that could be a reason for us losing, but who says Rose would not make another three pointer? Free throw shooting is fundamentals. I think Teague and Lion are both fundamentally sound. Smoove not so much. So the only thing makes them miss, is fatigue (no timeout prior to free throws) and the crowd. By the way, Al Horford missed two free throws near end of game with Jazz in ATL last year. But overall, he is a good free throw shooter.

I think the replay was not clear. There is no rule in NBA that says refs can not overrule the first call if it is not crystal like NFL. Zebras made a judgment call, and I live with that. Overall, Hawks got plenty of calls go their way last night, the refs were not the problem.

We lost foremost because offense became stagnant. While offense was not fluid prior to last few minutes, different players were at least shooting. I don’t fault JJ for having a bad shooting night, it happens. Hey Kobe had a bad shooting night vs. Denver couple nights ago. I do fault him and LD for leaving the ball in his hand. Letting him bring it up, and letting him win or lose, when he has been ice cold near the end.

I also blame LD because of not recognizing what the Chicago coach was doing. This is not the first time LD has done this it in this year. It is not about bringing all starters back once Chicago and Rose got going. It is about the fact that all five players for Hawks on the floor were the bench, going against the freaking MVP and their second most valuable player. LD is taking on a risk over and over when he does not mix and match starters and the bench. If that is not on the coach, I don’t what is

by ATLpaul on Jan 4, 2012 1:48 PM EST reply actions

AGREEDDDDDDDD!!!!

I said this to Kris with love last night, but here’s why I give LD more blame on that than the players. LD is supposed to react and response to the game and can do so without the excuse of ‘tired legs’ or ‘referee calls’. As much as I hate some of what happened on the floor, I can’t be all the way mad at LD when Josh shoots a jumper (mad that he’s not benching him, but for the minutes he’s there – Josh gotta take the weight), but for something like – hey, the MVP and Deng are on the floor throughout the 2nd half because their coach realizes that only THEY can win the game, then I want my coach to respond not in robotic fashion of – hey, I always rest my guys here – while watching the momentum completely turn. He has to know that this isn’t the Nets or Wizards and we’re not at home, we have a day off tomorrow and if you have a chance for a victory, take it. We might just lose those next 2 against those same teams, so while we got a shot – put the foot on their throats with OUR All Stars. So, he was 5 possessions too late. Was that decision the only reason for the loss? No, but was I saying to myself – mark every possession that Pargo is on Rose down – YES! And next thing you know Rose has 8 straight points and we’re calling a TO up 5. Very sour…I can live with that loss (since I said if we had a hard fought game – everything else is gravy), but if you have the game by the balls like that… you have to at least let your best players lose it. If the starters play just 3 extra minutes, we win that game.

Hawk Str8Talk

by Hawk Str8Talk on Jan 4, 2012 5:35 PM EST up reply actions

oops, respond not response

Hawk Str8Talk

by Hawk Str8Talk on Jan 4, 2012 5:35 PM EST up reply actions

A little bit of respect...

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/powerRankings

"Still ignored, but starting to prove that familiarity, athleticism, commitment to defense and perhaps league’s most underrated coach really do count for something."- Sam Amico

by Rufus1 on Jan 4, 2012 1:58 PM EST reply actions

omg who us?

"A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble."
Mohandas Gandhi

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
Winston Churchill

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"
Jesus

"We were real solid on both ends of the floor today and had positive energy coming from the bench tonight."
Jeff Teague

by Throw on Jan 4, 2012 4:02 PM EST up reply actions

Per ESPN 5 on 5

Beckley Mason, HoopSpeak: Tuesday night’s collapse notwithstanding, the Hawks appear to have taken a step forward this season, despite predictions to the contrary. The ball movement is snappy, the defense is frenetic and the Hawks are easily the third-best team in the East

I know where the bodies are buried.....I buried some of them myself. - David Stern

by a hooter's baby on Jan 4, 2012 4:14 PM EST up reply actions

Bulls fan here

I didnt see the game, but i did hear the last two minutes of each half on the radio (just coincidence i guess)..

I dont know how the video review call looked, but the radio guys (FAR FAR FAR LESS BIASED THAN TV GUYS btw) while watching the replay before the refs said anything said that you could see that horford touched the ball with his left hand as it went out of bounds. A minute later they sure enough ruled it chicago ball. Like i said i didnt actually see it, so im not sure if it was as obvious as the radio guys made it seem, but im thinking thats how the refs saw it as well.

Also i thought in terms of getting calls in crunch time, it was your team that actually got to the line more, especially on the horford drive near the end. It was just a matter of your team missing free throws.

I only mention this because it leads into my actual point of how much more brutal this loss could have been if you played a team like miami. In the sense that, miami would have gotten to the line more and won the game on free throws as opposed to basketball plays. I guess you could sort of look at it another way and say that those kind of losses arent as bad cuz you feel like you were screwed out of them, as opposed to being angry at your coach and your team…but i think for me id rather be mad at my coach or team than feel like part of some conspiracy that allowed the other team to win.

I would hope, mainly because of my pride as a bulls fan, that the hawks fanbase would walk away thinking that perhaps chicago showed heart or at least consider chicagos play a bit honorable, but by reading some of the quick post game thread comments, it seems that you guys dislike the bulls more than the heat…which is a shame for me i guess….

I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!

by piccolomair on Jan 4, 2012 2:14 PM EST reply actions

I really just dislike the Cs, speaking for me, Heat and Chicago are the same for me

The game came down to desire of your coach to win every game you play vs. possibly saving something for playoffs.

True Chicago was rested, but the trend continues from last year. Play Rose as much as possible, no matter what that means to end result. Is that heart? Your persecptive. I think it is a desire to win games at all costs. It is why Rose plays 44 minutes and Deng similar.

When playoffs come, you find out what that true cost is

by ATLpaul on Jan 4, 2012 2:36 PM EST up reply actions

i agree about the minute concept

i know last year derrick rose himself said something along those lines as well, that by the time the post season came he was gassed and he put the blame of the bulls failures on himself. I think yesterday the bulls were almost forced to play rose more than they should have mainly because of the injury to cj watson. John Lucas III (who..?) was our backup and for whatever reason the bulls didnt trust him with major minutes (despite having played well in the last game) as for deng….we on blogabull are confused why deng gets played so much especially since the bulls do have quite a few healthy and good wings to play in his stead (especially our rook) its a joke on blogabull that somehow the secret to keeping deng healthy is to play him vigirously (hes been pretty much injured in each year of his career save one pre-thibs)

My fear is just as you put it, that we get a great record going into the post season, but then have trouble sustaining a high level of play…or worse…guys that are key (namely rose) get injured…i think minute management this season more than any other will be a double edged sword for many teams….

I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!

by piccolomair on Jan 4, 2012 3:57 PM EST up reply actions

Not sure where you get that from

The two most hated teams around here are ORL and MIA

I know where the bodies are buried.....I buried some of them myself. - David Stern

by a hooter's baby on Jan 4, 2012 2:53 PM EST up reply actions

i got it from the gamethread

but of course its probably a bad example to use at any rate sense its immediate reactions, and you always hate your immediate opponents regardless, and also its not like ive read any threads of yours when the heat or orlando are playing…but there was one comment that suggested that miami was going to walk all over the bulls and others agreeing that miami was head and shoulders above the bulls and other teams in the east (which isnt exactly a wrong statement…) so it seemed like maybe you guys thought more of the heat as opposed to the bulls as opponents…

I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!

by piccolomair on Jan 4, 2012 3:59 PM EST up reply actions

I HATE the MAGIC and unreasonable BLOGGERS...

The Bulls are a measuring stick for the Hawks and so are the HEAT. The Bulls don’t do anything to make you HATE them. They play HARD, how could antone hate that.

by Rufus1 on Jan 4, 2012 3:24 PM EST up reply actions

i was going off gamethreads

which probably was a mistake in itself…

I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!

by piccolomair on Jan 4, 2012 3:59 PM EST up reply actions

bias aside

there was no clear evidence that Horford touched that ball. In the NFL, we all know if it isn’t clear then they go with the call on the floor.

Atlanta will win a championship....someday

by maxxj3 on Jan 4, 2012 5:20 PM EST up reply actions

after calming down

I see that it was a game between 2 of the better teams in the east and high level of play should be expected. atleast we lost to a good team on the road in a close game instead of getting blown out.
i think the thing for hawks fans is that we wish the nation would take us more seriously than just a team that the so called expert think that we wont make the playoffs every year (wish i knew where that article was)
oh yes and by the way, my hate for orlando rus so deep that I still hate rashard lewis and he’s not even on the team anymore………… and dont get me started on f*ckin Mickeal Pietrus

"A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble."
Mohandas Gandhi

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
Winston Churchill

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"
Jesus

"We were real solid on both ends of the floor today and had positive energy coming from the bench tonight."
Jeff Teague

by Throw on Jan 4, 2012 4:08 PM EST reply actions

dammit this was in response to piccolomair

"A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble."
Mohandas Gandhi

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
Winston Churchill

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"
Jesus

"We were real solid on both ends of the floor today and had positive energy coming from the bench tonight."
Jeff Teague

by Throw on Jan 4, 2012 4:08 PM EST up reply actions

Tmac is needs to finish the 4th quarter above Marvin

by HD Bud on Jan 4, 2012 4:09 PM EST reply actions

tmac was injured

no sense in pushing an injury prone player 6 games into the regular season

"A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble."
Mohandas Gandhi

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
Winston Churchill

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"
Jesus

"We were real solid on both ends of the floor today and had positive energy coming from the bench tonight."
Jeff Teague

by Throw on Jan 4, 2012 4:11 PM EST up reply actions

Tmac shouldn't have played at all.

He was injured before the game and Marvin started playing well and aggresively. If we want to see Tmac circa 2002 anymore this season he is going to have to get his rest. Has Jerry Stackhouse played at all this season? Why not run with Marvin and let Joe rest and then let Joe do his thing when Chicago goes with their bench and we spread the floor with some shooters.

More importantly I can’t wait for Kirk Hinrich (off the bench) to come back and I never thought I would say that.

by RealSquawk on Jan 4, 2012 4:24 PM EST up reply actions

TMac was not good yesturday

he was also injured, so no he shouldnt have been playing over Marvin Williams that game

by Jonesy24 on Jan 4, 2012 6:31 PM EST up reply actions

I saw that Wade was out against the Pacers

Will he be out for tomorrow’s game?

Will making it back to the Eastern Conference Semis give Larry Drew another year at the helm?

by Nique Fan on Jan 4, 2012 10:26 PM EST reply actions

you know he wants his vengance

"A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble."
Mohandas Gandhi

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
Winston Churchill

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"
Jesus

"We were real solid on both ends of the floor today and had positive energy coming from the bench tonight."
Jeff Teague

by Throw on Jan 4, 2012 11:36 PM EST up reply actions

Disappointing loss.

But hey, Jeff Teague is still young. can’t blame him for the missed FTs in the 4th. Looking forward to their game today though. Eventhough Bibby isn’t here anymore, this team became one of my fav team in the NBA. :)

"Limitations, like fear, are often just an illusion."
"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
----- His Airness (Michael Jordan)

by bibbY10 on Jan 5, 2012 6:09 PM EST reply actions