boxscore
I hope you watched this game because there is no way I can describe how well Josh Smith played. He took charges, poked steals, skied for rebounds, block shots, and dunked. And that was on consecutive possessions. You can't expect Josh to get as lucky as he did tonight. The ball certainly bounced right. Still, games like this make it clear how far he has come. The man can take over games. Shoot, he can turn the tide with one shot and defense.
And I don't mean to beat a dead horse that has been dead since the mid way through the third, but I can't remember a player performing that well against a good team in a long time. Josh Smith was that good.
Woody allowed himself to smile. I sear I saw it.
On the other side of things, the Jazz missed a lot of open shots when the game mattered. A couple of those fall and the halftime score could easily have been tied. But if you think those turnovers were all careless or mental, you were not watching the game. The Jazz had no where to throw the ball inside. So you can blame them for trying but you have to give the Hawks credit for not allowing it to be a possibility. Every shot inside was altered. Every switch was with gusto. Shoot, Mike Bibby was running around like a mad man. This team was ready tonight, and for nine minutes in the third quarter, they were down right possessed.
Only Josh Smith can re-underrate Joe Johnson
Joe Johnson is so good when he does not press. If he played 32 minutes tonight, he probably has a triple double. And if you see your star battling for offensive rebounds in the first quarter and getting them, it may not be as shockingly inspiring as Josh Smith, but the team feeds off that. If your go to guy is at full effort and dishing out assists, expect good Hawks....and the Hawks were really good tonight.
Victory Bullets
- That is the kind of game we want from Marvin Williams.
- All Al Horford does is make buckets.
- Best 6-17 game for Jamal Crawford ever.
- Joe Johnson's defense on Deron Williams was incredible. Which means he has shut down Rudy Gay and Williams in consecutive games.
- The third quarter onslaught was probably most impressive in how the Hawks just never let up. They wanted to bury the Jazz, and they did so with such gusto, it was almost uncomfortable. A true dismantling.
- If you dvr'd the hawks game. fast forward to about 4:50 to go in the fourth.
- Randolph Morris is not afraid to cause a charge.
- Dear league, the Hawks are good. Merry Christmas, Us.
Go Hawks!